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HISTORY 



O F 



FREEBOEN COUNTY; 



INCLUDING 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS of MINNESOTS, 



OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 

By Rev. Edward D. Neill; 



SIOUX MASSACRE OF 1862. 



State Edu(3/\tion, 



BY CHARLES S. BRYANT. 



MINNEAPOLIS: 

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COMPANY, 
i88z. 






MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. . 






\ 



CONTENTS. 





Page. . 




Page 


Preface - - - . - 


Ill 


CHAPTER LXI. 




CHAPTER I-XXIII. 




Geneva Township 


449-4.58 


Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota 


1-128 


CHAPTER LXII. 




CHAPTER XXIV-XXVII. 




Hayward Township - 


- 458-464 


Outline History of the State of Minnesota 


1 '29 -160 


CHAPTER LXIII. 




CHAPTER XXVIII-XXIX. 




Hartland Township - 


- 464-470 


State Education . . - - 


161-176 


CHAPTER LXIV. 




CHAPTER XXX-XLIII. 




London Township - - . 


- 470-474 


History of the Sioux Massacre 


177-256 


CHAPTER LXV. 




CHAPTER XLIV. 




Manchester Township 


- 475-483 


Chronology . • - . - 


257-262 


CHAPTER LXVL 




CHAPTER XLV-LI. 




Mansfield Township 


- 484-489 


Freeborn County - . . - 


263-357 


CHAPTER LXVII. 




CHAPTER LII-LIII. 




Moscow Township 


- 489-498 


City of Albert Lea - - - . 


358-402 


CHAPTER LXVIII. 




CHAPTER LIV. 




Nuuda Townnhip 


498-508 


Albert Lea Township 


403-406 


CHAPTER LXIX. 




CHAPTER LV. 
Alden Township . - - - 
CHAPTER LVI. 


407-414 


Newry Township 

CHAPTER LXX. 


- 509-511 


Bancroft Township - - - - 


415-423 


Oakland Township - 


- 512-516 


CHAPTER LVII. 




CHAPTER LXXI. 




Bath Township . . - . 


423-428 


Pickerel Lake Township - 


- 517-524 


CHAPTER LVIII. 




CHAPTER LXII. 




Carlston Township . . - - 
CHAPTER LIX. 

Freeborn Township - - - - 
CHAPTER LX. 

Freeman Township . - - - 


429-434 
434-442 

443-449 


Riceland Township - 

CHAPTER LXIII. 
Shell Rock Township 
Index . - - - - 


- 525-528 

- 528-540 

- 541-548 



PREFACE. 



In the compilatioi' of the History of Freeborn County it has been the aim of the Publishers 
to present a local history, comprising, in a single volume of convenient form, a varied fund of informa- 
tion, not only of interest to the present, but from which the cjming searcher for historic data may 
draw without the tedium incurred in its preparation. There is always more or less difficulty, even in a 
historical work, in selecting those things which will interest the greatest number of readers. Individual 
tastes differ so widely, that what may be of absorbing interest to one, has no attractions for another. Some 
are interested in that which concerns themselves, and do not care to read even the most thrilling adven- 
tures where they were not participants. Such persons are apt to conclude that what they are not in- 
terested in is of no value, and its preservation in history a useless expense. In the settlement of a new 
County or a new Township, there is no one person entitled to all the credit for what has been accom- 
plished. Each individual is a part of the great whole, and this work is prepared for the purpose of 
giving a general resmne. of what has thus far been done to plant the civilization of the present century 
in Freeborn County. 

That our work is wholly errorless, or that nothing of interest has been omitted, is more than we dare 
hope, and more than is reasonable to expect. In closing our labors we have the gratifying consciousness 
of having used our utmost endeavors in securing reliable data, and feel no hesitancy in submitting the 
result to an intelligent public. The impartial critic, to whom only we look for comment, will, in pass- 
ing judgment upon its merits, be governed by a knowledge of the manifold duties attending the pro- 
secution of the undertaking. 

We have been especially fortunate in enlisting the interest of Rev. Edward D. Neill and Charles S- 
Bryant, whose able productions are herewith presented. We also desire to express our sincere thanks 
to the County, Town, and Village officials for their uniform kindness to us in our tedious labors; and 
in general terms we express our indebtedness to the Press, the Pioneers, and the Citizens, who have 
extended universal encouragement and endorsement. 

That our efforts may prove satisfactory, and this volume receive a welcome commensurate with the 
care bestowed in its preparation, is the earnest desire of the publishers, 

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COMPANY. 



EXPLOBERS 



AND 



PIOI^EERS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER I. 



FOOTPRINTS OF CIVILIZATION TOWAKD THE EXTREMITY OF LAKE SUrEIlIOR. 



HitmefiotH's Central Position. — D'Avagour's Prediction. — Nicolet's Visit to Green 
Bay.— First Wliite Men in Minnesota.— Notices of Groselliers and Badisson.— 
Uurons Flee to Minnesota. — Visited by Frenchraen. — Father Menard Disap- 
pears.— Groselliers Visits Hudson's Bay.— Father Allouez Describes the Sioux 
Mission at La Pointe, — Father Marquette. — Sioux at Sault St. Marie. — Jesuit 
Missions Fail. — Groselliers Visits England.— Captain GiUam, ot Boston, at Hud- 
son's Bay.— Letter of Mother Superior of Ursulines., at Quebec— Death of 
Groselliers. 

The Dakotahs, called by the Ojibways, Nado- 
'waysioux, or Sioux (Soos), as abbreviated by the 
French, used to claim superiority over other peo- 
ple, because, their sacred men asserted that the 
mouth of the JNIinnesota River was immediately 
over the centre of the earth, and below the centre 
of the heavens. 

While this teaching is very different from tliat 
of the modem astronomer, it is certainly true, 
that the region west of Lake Superior, extending 
through the valley of the Miimesota, to the Mis- 
souri River, is one of the most healthful and fer- 
tile regions beneath the skies, and may prove to 
be the centre of the republic of the United States 
of America. Baron D'Avagour, a brave officer, 
who was killed in fightuig the Turks, while he 
was Governor of Canada, in a dispatch to the 
French Government, dated August 14th, 1663, 
after referrmg to Lake Huron, wrote, that beyond 
" is met another, called Lake Superior, the waters 
of which, it is believed, flow into New Spain, and 
this, according to general opinion, ought to he the 
centre of the country.'''' 

As early as 1635, one of Champlain's interpre- 
ters, Jean Kicolet (Kicolay), who came to Cana- 
da in 1618, reached the western shores of Lake 
Michigan. In the summer of 1634 he ascended 



the St. Lawrence, with a party of llurons, and 
probably during the next winter was trading at 
Green Bay, in Wisconsin. On the ninth of De- 
cember, 1635, he had returned to Canada, and on 
the 7th of October, 1637, was married at Quebec, 
and the next month, went to Three Rivers, where 
he lived until 1642, when he died. Of him it "is 
said, in a letter written in 1640, that he had pen- 
etrated farthest into those distant countries, and 
that if he had proceeded " three days more on a 
great river which flows from that lake [Green 
Bay] he would have found the sea." 

The first white men in Minnesota, of whom we 
have any record, were, according to Garneau, two 
persons of Huguenot aflinities, Medard Chouart, 
known as Sieur Groselliers, and Pierre d'Esprit, 
called Sieur Radisson. 

GroselUers (pronounced Gro-zay-yay) was born 
near Ferte-sous-Jouarre, eleven miles east of 
Meairx, in France, and when about sixteen years 
of age, in the year 1641, came to Canada. The fur 
trade was the great avenue to prosperity, and in 
1646, he was among the Huron Indians, who then 
dwelt upon the eastern shore of Liike Huron, 
bartering for peltries. On the second of Septem- 
ber, 1647, at Quebec, he was married to Helen, 
the widow of Claude Etienne, who was the daugh- 
ter of a pilot, Abraham Martin, whose baptismal 
name is still attached to the suburbs of that city, 
the " Plains of Abraham," made famous by the 
death there, of General Wolfe, of the English 
army, in 1759, and of General Montgomery, of 
the Continental armv, in December, 1775, at the 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



commencement of tlie " War for Independence." 
His son, Medard, was liorn in 1G57, and tlie next 
year his mother died. The second wife of Gro- 
selliers was Marguerite Hayet(IIayay) Radisson, 
the sister of his associate, in the exploration of 
the region west of Lalce Superior. 

Eadisson was born at St. Malo, and, wliile a 
boy, went to Paris, and from IheTice to Canada, 
and in 165G, at Three Eiver.s, maixied Elizabetli, 
the daugliter of Madelehie Ilainault, and, after 
her death, the daughter of Sir David Kirli or 
Kerkt, a zealous Huguenot, became his wife. 

The Iroquois of New York, about the year 1650, 
drove the Ilurons from their villages, and forced 
them to take refuge Mith their friends the Tinon- 
tates, called by the French, Petuns, because they 
cultivated tobacco. In time the Ilurons and 
their allies, the Ottawas (Ottaw - waws), were 
again driven by the Iroquois, and after successive 
wanderings, were found on the west side of Lake 
Michigan. In time they reached the Mississippi, 
and ascending above the Wisconsin, they found 
the Iowa River, on the west side, which they fol- 
lowed, and dwelt for a time with the Ayces 
(loways) who were very friendly ; but being ac- 
customed to a country of lakes and forests, they 
were not satisfied with the vast prairies. Return- 
ing to the Mississippi, they ascended this river, 
in .search of a better land, and were met by some 
of the Sioux or Dakotalis, and conducted to their 
villages, where they were well received. The 
Sioux, delighted with the axes, knives and awls 
of European manufacture, whieh had been pre- 
sented to them, allowed the refugees to settle 
upon an island in the Mississippi, below the 
mouth of the St. Croix River, called Bald Island 
from the absence of trees, about nine miles from 
the site of the present city of Hastings. Possessed 
of firearms, the Hurons and Ottawas asserted 
their superiority, and determined to conquer the 
country for themselves, and having incurred the 
hostility of the Sioux, were obliged to flee from 
the isle in the Mississippi Descending below 
Lake Pepin, they reached the Black River, and 
ascending it, found an imoccupied country around 
its sources and that of the Chippeway. In this 
region the Ilurons established themselves, wiiile 
their allies, the Ottawas, moved eastward, till 
they found the shores of Lake Superior, and set- 
tled at Chagouamikon (Sha - gah - wah - mik - ong ) 



near what is now Bayfield. In the year 1659, 

(iroselliers and Radisson arrived at Chagouamik- 
on, and deternuned to visit the Hurons and Pe- 
tuns, with whom the former had traded when 
they resided east of Lake Huron. After a six 
days" journey, in a .southwesterly direction, they 
reached their retreat toward the sources of the 
Black, Chippewa, and Wisconsin Rivers. From 
this pomt they journeyed north, and passed the 
winter of l(>59-60 among tlie " Xadoucchiouec," 
or Siou.x villages in the JSIille Lacs (Mil Lak) re- 
gion. From the Hurons they learned of a beau- 
tiful river, wide, large, deep, and comparable with 
the Samt Lawi'ence, the great Mississippi, which 
flows through the city of Minneapolis, and whose 
sources are in northern Minnesota. 

Northeast of Mille Lacs, toward the extremity 
of Lake Superior, they met the " Poualak," or 
Assiniboines of the prairie, a separated band of 
the Sioux, who, as wood was scarce and small, 
made fire with coal (charlion de terre) and dwelt 
in tents of skins ; although some of the more in- 
dustrious built cabins of clay (terre grasse), like 
the swallows build their nests. 

The spring and summer of 1660, Groselliers and 
Radisson passed in trading around Lake Superior. 
On the 19th of August they returned to ilon- 
treal, with three hundred Indians and sixty ca- 
noes loaded with " a wealth of skins." 

" Furs of bison and of beaver, 
Furs of sable and of ermine." 

The citizens were deeply stirred by the travelers' 
tales of the vastness and richness of the region 
they had visited, and their many romantic adven- 
tures. In a few days, they began their return to 
the far West, accompanied by six Frenchmen and 
two priests, one of whom was the Jesuit, Rene ^le- 
nard. His hair whitened by age, and liis mind 
ripened by long experience, he seemed the man 
for the mission. Two hours after micbiight, of tlie 
day before departure, the venerable missionary 
penned at " Three Rivers," the following letter 
to a friend : 

' Reverend Father : 
" The peace of Christ be with you : I write to 
you probably the last, which I hope will be the 
seal of our friendship \nitil eternity. Love wliom 
the Lord Jesus did not disdain to love, thougli 
the greatest of sinners; for he loves whom he 



FATHER MENARD LOST IN WISCONSIN. 



3 



loads with his cross. Let your friendship, my 
good Father, be useful to me by the desirable 
fruits of your daily sacrifice. 

" lu three or four months you may remember 
me at the memeuto for the dead, on accoimt of 
my old age, my weak constitution and the hard- 
ships I lay imder amongst these tribes. Never- 
theless, I am in peace, for I have not been led to 
this mission by any temporal motive, but I think 
it was by the voice of God. I was to resist the 
grace of God by not conihig. Eternal remorse 
would have tormented me, had I not come when 
I had the opportimity. 

" We have been a little surprized, not being 
able to provide ourselves with vestments and oth- 
er things, but he who feeds the little birds, and 
clothes the lilies of the fields, will take care of 
his servants ; and though it should happen we 
should die of want, we would esteem ourselves 
happy. I am burdened with business. What I 
can do is to recommend our journey to your daily 
sacrifice, and to embrace you with the same sen- 
timents of heart as I hope to do in eternity. 
" My Reverend Father, 

Your most humble and affectionate 
servant in Jesus Christ. 

R. MENARD. 
"From the Three Rivers, this 26th August, 2 

o'clock after midnight, 1660." 

On the loth of October, the party with which 
he journeyed reached a bay on Lake Superior, 
where he found some of the Ottawas, who had 
fled from the Iroquois of New York. For more 
than eight months, surroimded by a few French 
voyageurs, he lived, to use his words, " in a kind 
of small hermitage, a cabm built of flr branches 
piled one on another, not so much to shield us 
from the rigor of the season as to correct my im- 
agination, and persuade me I was sheltered." 

During the summer of 1661, he resolved to visit 
the Hurons, who had fled eastward from the Sioux 
of Minnesota, and encamped amid the marshes of 
Northern Wisconsin. Some Frenchmen, who had 
been among the Ilurons, in vain attempted to dis- 
suade him fi'om the journey. To their entreaties 
he repUed, " I must go, if it cost me my life. I 
can not suffer souls to perish on the ground of 
saving the bodily life of a miserable old man like 
myself. What! Are we to serve God only when 
there is nothing to suffer, and no risk of Ufe?" 



Upon De ITsle's map of Louisiana, pubUshed 
nearly two centuries ago, there appears the Lake 
of the Ottawas, and the Lake of the Old or De- 
serted Settlement, west of Green Bay, and south 
of Lake Superior. The Lake of the Old Planta- 
tion is supposed to have been the spot occupied 
by the Hurons at the time when Menard attempt- 
ed to visit them. One way of access to this seclu- 
ded spot was from Lake Superior to the head- 
waters of the Ontanagon River, and then by a port- 
age, to the lake. It could also be reached from 
the headwaters of the Wisconsin, Black and Chip- 
pewa Rivers, and some have said that Menard 
descended the AVisconsin and ascended the Black 
River. 

Perrot, who lived at the same time, writes : 
" Father Menard, who was sent as missionary 
among the Outaouas [Iltaw-waws] accompanied 
by certain Frenchmen who were going to trade 
with that people, was left by all who were with 
him, except one, who rendered to him until death, 
all of the services and help that he could have 
hoped. The Father followed the Outaouas [Utaw- 
waws]to the Lake of the Illinoets [Illino-ay, now 
Michigan] and in their flight to the Louisianne, 
[Mississippi] to above the Black River. There 
this missionary had but one Frenchman for a 
companion. This Frenchman carefully followed 
the route, and made a portage at the same place 
as the Outaouas. He found himself in a rapid, 
one day, that was carrying him away in his canoe. 
The Father, to assist, debarked from his own, but 
did not find a good path to come to him. He en- 
tered one that had been made by beasts, and de- 
siring to return, became confused in a labjTinth 
of trees, and was lost. The Frenchman, after 
having ascended the rapids with great labor, 
awaited the good Father, and, as he did not come, 
resolved to search for him. With all his might, 
for several days, he called his name in the woods, 
hoping to find him, but it was useless. He met, 
however, a Sakis [Sauk] who was carrying the 
camp-kettle of the missionary, and who gave him 
some intelligence. He assured him that he had 
foimd his foot -prints at some distance, but that 
he had not seen the Father. He told him, also, 
that he had foimd the tracks of several, who were 
going towards the Scioux. He declared that he 
supposed that the Scioux might have killed or 
captm-ed him. Indeed, several years afterwards, 



EXPLOREBS AND PIOKEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



there were found among this tribe, his breviary 
and cassock, which they exposed at their festivals, 
making offerings to them of food." 

In a journal of tlie Jesuits, Menard, about the 
seventh or eighth of August, 1661, is said to have 
been lost. 

GroselUers (Gro-zay-yay), while Menard was 
endeavoring to reach the retreat of the Hurons 
wliich he had made known to the authorities of 
Canada, was pushing through the country of the 
Assineboines, on the northwe.st shore of Lake 
Superior, and at length, probably by Lake Alem- 
pigon, or NepigOn, reached Hudson's Bay, and 
early in May, 1662, returned to Montreal, and 
sui-prised its citizens witli his tale of new iliscov- 
eries toward the Sea of the North. 

The Hurons ilid not remain long toward the 
sources of the Black River, after Menard's disap- 
pearance, and deserting iheir plantations, joined 
their allies, the Ottawas, at La Pointe, now Bay- 
field, on Lake Superior. While here, they deter- 
mined to send a war party of one huuth-ed agamst 
the Sioux of MiUe Lacs (Mil Lak) region. At 
length they met their foes, who drove them into 
one of the thousand marshes of the water-shed 
between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, wlierc 
they hid themselves among tlie tall grasses. Tlie 
Sioux, suspecting that they might attempt to es- 
cape in the night, cut up beaver skins into strips, 
and hung thereon little bells, which they had ob- 
tained from the French traders. The Hurons, 
emerging from their watery hiding place, stumbled 
over the unseen cords, ringing the bells, and the 
Sioux inst<anlly attacked, killing all but one. 

About the year 1665, four Frenchmen visited 
the Sioux of Minnesota, from the west end of 
Lake Superior, accompanied by an Ottawa cliief , 
and in the summer of the same year, a flotilla of 
ciinoes laden ■with peltries, came down to Mon- 
treal. Upon their return, on the eighth of Au- 
gust, the Jesuit Father, Allouez, accompanied the 
traders, and, by the first of October, reached Clie- 
goimegon Bay, on or near the site of the modern 
town of Bayfield, on Lake Superior, where he 
found tlie refugee Hurons and Ottawas. While 
on an excursion to Lake Alempigon, now Ne- 
pigon, tliis missionary saw, near the mouth of 
Saint Louis River, in Minnesota, some of the 
Sioux. lie writes : " Tliere is a tribe to the west 
of this, toward the great river called Messipi. 



They are forty or fifty leagues from here, in a 
country of prairies, abounding in all kinds of 
game. They have fields, in wliich they do not 
sow Indian corn, but only tobacco. Providence 
has provided them with a species of marsh rice, 
which, toward the end of summer, they go to col- 
lect in certain small lakes, that are covered with 
it. Tliey presented me with some when I ^\as at 
the extremity of Lake Tracy [Superior], where I 
saw- them. They do not use the gim, but only 
the bow and arrow with great dexterity. Their 
cabins are not covered with bark, but with deer- 
skins well dried, and stitched together so that the 
cold does not enter. These people are above all 
other savage and warUke. In our presence they 
seem abashed, and 'were motionless as statues. 
They speak a language eutkely unknown to us, 
and the savages about here do not understand 
them." 

The mission at La Pointe was not encouraging, 
and Allouez, " weary of their obstinate unbelief," 
departed, but Marquette succeeded him for a brief 
period. 

The ''Relations'" of the Jesuits for 1670-71, 
allude to the Sioux or Dakotahs, and then- attack 
upon the refugees at La Pointe : 

" There are certain people called Nadoussi, 
di'eaded by their neighbors, and although they 
only use the bow and arrow, they use it with so 
much skill and dexterity, that in a moment they 
lill the air. After the Parthian method, they 
turn their heads in flight, and discharge their ar- 
rows so rapidly that they are to be feared i;o less 
in their retreat than in their attack. 

" They dwell on the shores and around the 
great river Messipi, of which we shall speak. 
They number no less than fifteen populous towns, 
and yet they know not how to cultivate the earth 
by seeduig it, contenting themselves with a sort 
of marsh rye, which we call wild oats. 

" For sixty leagues from the extremity of the 
upper lakes, towards sunset, and, as it were, in 
the centre of the western nations, they have all 
united their force by a general league, which has 
been made against them, as agamst a common 
enemy. 

" They speak a peculiar language, entirely dis- 
tinct from that of the Algonquuis and Hurons. 
whom they generally surpass in generosity, since 
they often content themselves with the glory of 



GBOSELLIEBS AND RADISSON IN THE ENGLISH SER VICE. 



I 



having obtained the victory, and release the pris- 
oners they liave taken in battle. 

" Our Outouacs of the Poiat of the Holy Ghost 
[La Pointe, now Bayfield] had to the present time 
kept up a kind of peace vrith them, but affairs 
having become embroiled during last winter, and 
some murders having been committed on both 
sides, our savages had reason to apprehend tliat 
the storm would soon burst upon them, and judged 
that it was safer for them to leave the place, which 
in fact they did in the sprmg." 

Marquette, on the 13th of September, 1669, 
writes : " The Nadouessi are the Iroquois of this 
country. * * * they lie northwest of the Mission 
of the Holy Ghost [La Pointe, the modern Bay- 
field] and we have not yet visited them, having 
confined ourselves to the conversion of the Otta- 
was." 

A Soon after this, hostilities began between the 
Sioux and the Hurons and Ottawas of La Pointe, 
and the former compelled their foes to seek an- 
other resting place, toward the eastern extremity 
of Lake Superior, and at length they pitched 
their tents at Mackinaw. 

In 1674, some Sioux warriors came Actvni to 
Sault Saint Marie, to make a treaty of peace with 
adjacent tribes. A friend of the Abbe de Galli- 
nee wrote that a coimcil was had at the fort to 
which " the Nadouessioux sent twelve deputies, 
and the others forty. During the conference, 
one of the latter, knife in hand, drew near the 
breast of one of the Nadouessioux, who showed 
surprise at the movement ; when the Indian with 
the knife reproached him for cowardice. The 
Nadouessioux said he was not afraid, when the 
other planted the knife in his heart, and killed 
him. All the savages then engaged ui conflict, 
and the Nadouessioux bravely defended tliem- 
selves, but, overwhelmed by numbers, nine of 
them were killed. The two who survived rushed 
into the chapel, and closed the door. Here they 
found munitions of war, and fired gims at their 
enemies, who became anxious to burn down the 
chapel, but the Jesuits would not permit it, be- 
cause they had their skins stored between its roof 
and ceiling. In this extremity, a Jesuit, Louis 
Le Boeme, advised that a cannon should be point- 
ed at the door, which was discharged, and the two 
brave Sioux were killed." 

Governor Frontenac of Canada, was indignant 



at the occurrence, and in a letter to Colbert, one 
of the Ministers of Louis the Fourteenth, speaks 
in condemnation of this discharge of a cannon by 
a Brother attached to the Jesuit Mission. 

From this period, the missions of the Church of 
Kome, near Lake Superior, began to wane. Shea, 
a devout historian of that church, writes: " In 
ICSO, Father Enjalran was apparently alone at 
Green Bay, and Pierson at Mackinaw ; the latter 
mission still comprising the two villages, Huron 
and Kiskakon. Of the other missions, neither 
Le Clerq nor Hennepin, the Recollect, writers of 
the West at this time, makes any mention, or in 
any way alludes to their existence, and La Hon- 
tan mentions the Jesuit missions only to ridicule 
them." 

The Pigeon River, a part of the northern boun- 
dary of Minnesota, was called on the French maps 
Grosellier"s River, after the first explorer of Min- 
nesota, whose career, with his associate Radisson, 
became quite prominent in connection with the 
Hudson Bay region. 

A disagreement occurring between Groselliers 
and his partners in Quebec, he proceeded to Paris, 
and from thence to London, where he was intro- 
duced to the nephew of Charles I., who led the 
cavalry charge against Fairfax and Cromwell at 
Naseby, afterwards commander of the English 
fleet. The Prince listened with pleasure to the 
narrative of travel, and endorsed the plans for 
prosecuting the fur trade and seeking a north- 
west passage to Asia. The scientific men of Eng- 
land were also full of the enterprise. In the hope 
that it would increase a knowledge of nature. 
The Secretary of the Royal Society wrote to Rob- 
ert Boyle, the distinguished philosopher, a too 
sanguine letter. His words were : " Siu:ely I need 
not tell you from hence what is said here, with 
great joy, of the discovery of a northwest passage; 
and by two EngUshmen and one Frenchman 
represented to his Majesty at Oxford, and an- 
swered by the grant of a vessel to sail into Hud- 
son's Bay and channel into the South Sea." 

The ship Nonsuch was fitted out, in charge of 
Captam Zachary Gillain, a son of one of the early 
settlers of Boston ; and m this vessel GroseUiers 
and Radisson left the Thames, la June, 1668, and 
in September reached a tributary of Hudson's 
Bay. The next year, by way of Boston, they re- 
turned to England, and in 1670, a trading com- 



6 



EXFLOREBS Aim PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



pany was chartered, still known among venerable 
English corporations as " The Hudson's Bay 
Company." 

The Keverend Mother of the Incarnation, Su- 
perior of the Ursuliues of Quebec, in a letter of 
the 27th of August, 1670, writes thus : 

"It was about this time that a Frenchman of 
our Touraine, named des Groselliers, married in 
this coimtry, and as lie had not been successful 
in making a fortune, was seized with a fancy to 
go to New England to better his condition. He 
excited a hope among the English that he had 
found a passage to the Sea of the North. With 
this expectation, he was sent as an envoy to Eng- 
land, where there was given to him, a vessel, 
with crew and every thing necessary lor the voy- 
age. With these advantages, he put to sea, and 
in place of the usual route, which others had ta- 
ken in vain, he sailed in another direction, and 
searched so wide, that he found the grand Bay of 
the North. He found large popidation, and fiUed 
his ship or ships with peltries of great value. * * * 



He has taken possession of this great region for 
the King of England, and for Ms personal benefit 
A publication for the benefit of this French ad- 
venturer, has been made in England. He was 
a youth when he arrived here, and his wife and 
children are yet here." 

Talon, Intendent of Justice in Canada, in a dis- 
patcli to C(>ll)ert, Minister of the ("olonial Depart- 
ment of France, wrote on the 10th of November, 
167Q, that he has received intelligence that two 
English vessels are approaching Hudson's Bay, 
and adds : '• After reflecting on all the nations 
that might have penetrated as far north as that, 
I can ahght on only the EngUsh, who, under the 
guidance of a man named Des Grozellers, for- 
merly an inhabitant of Canada, might possibly 
have attempted that navigation." 

After years of service on the shores of Hudson's 
Bay, either with Englisli or French trading com- 
panies, the old explorer died in Canada, and it has 
been said that his son went to England, where he 
was Uving ui 1096, ui receipt of a pension. 



eauly mention of lake sufehiob copper. 



CHAPTER II. 



EARLY MENTION OF LAKE SUPERIOR COPPER. 



Sagard, A. D. 1636, on Copper Minop.— Boucher, A, D. 1640. Describes Lake Supo> 
rior Copper.— Jesuit Relatioas, A. D. 1666-67.— Copper on Isle Royals.— Half- 
Breed Voyaeeur Goes to France with Talon.— Jolhet and Perrot Search for 
Copper.— St. Lusson Plants the French Arms at Sault St. Marie.— Copper at 
Ontanagon and Head of Lake Superior, 

Before white men had explored the shores of 
Lake Superior, Indians had brought to the tra- 
ding posts of tlie St. Lawrence River, specimens of 
copper from that region. Sagard, in his History 
of Canada, published in 1636, at Paris, writes : 
" There are mines of copper which might be made 
profitable, if there were inliabitants and work- 
men who would labor faithfully. That would be 
done if colonies were established. About eighty 
or one hundred leagues from the Ilurons, there 
is a mine of copper, from which Truchemont 
Brusle showed me an ingot, on his return from a 
voyage whicli he made to the neighboring nation." 

Pierre Boucher, grandfather of Sieur de la Ye- 
rendrye, the explorer of the lakes of the northern 
boundary of Minnesota, in a volume published 
A. D. 1640, also at Paris, writes : " In Lake Su- 
perior there is a great island, fifty or one hundred 
leagues in circumference, in which there is a very 
beautiful mine of copper. There are other places 
in those quarters, where there are similar mines ; 
so I learned from four or five Frenchmen, who 
lately retiu-ned. They were gone three years, 
without finding an opportunity to I'etum; they 
told me that they had seen an ingot of copper all 
refined which was on the coast, and weighed more 
than eight hundred pounds, according to their es- 
timate. They said that the savages, on passing 
it, made a fire on it, after which they cut off pie- 
ces Willi their axes." 

In the Jesuit Relations of 1666-67, there is this 
description of Isle Royale : '• Advancing to a 
place called the Grand Anse, we meet with an 
island, three leagues from land, which is cele- 
brated for the metal which is found there, and 
for the thunder which takes place there; for tliey 
say it always thunders there. 



" But farther towards the west on the same 
north shore, is the island most famous for copper, 
Minong (Isle Royale). Tliis island is twenty-five 
leagues in length ; it is seven from the mainland, 
and sixty from the head of the lake. Nearly all 
around the island, on the water's edge, pieces of 
copper are found mixed with pebbles, but espe- 
cially on the side which is opposite the south, 
and principally in a certain bay, which is near 
the northeast exposure to the great lake. * * * 

" Advancing to the head of the lake {Fon du 
Lac) and returning one day's journey by the south 
coast, there is seen on the edge of the water, a 
rock of copper weighing seven or eight hundred 
poimds, and is so hard that steel can hardly cut it, 
but when it is heated it cuts as easily as lead. 
Near Point Chagouamigong [Sha - gah - wah - mik- 
ong, near Bayfield] where a mission was establish- 
ed rocks of copper and plates of the same metal 
were found. * * * Returning still toward the 
mouth of tlie lake, following the coast on the south 
as twenty leagues from the place last mentioned, 
we enter the river called Nantaouagan [Ontona- 
gon] on which is a hill where stones and copper 
fall into the water or upon the eartli. They are 
readily found. 

"Three years since we received a piece which 
was brought from this place, which weighed a 
lumdred pounds, and we sent it to Quebec to Mr. 
Talon. It is not certain exactly where this was 
broken from. We thmk it was from the forks of 
the river ; others, that it was from near the lake, 
and dug up." 

Talon, Intendent of Justice in Canada, visited 
France, taking a half-breed voyageur with him, 
and while in Paris, wrote on the 26th of Febru- 
ary, 1669, to Colbert, the Mmister of the Marine 
Department, " that this voyageur had penetrated 
among the western nations farther than any other 
Frenchman, and had seen the copper mine on 
Lake Huron. LSuperiory] The man offers to go 



8 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



to that mine, and explore, either by sea, or hy 
lake and river, the communication supposed to 
exist between Canada and the South Sea, or to 
the regions of Hudson's Bay." 

As soon as Talon returned to Canada he com- 
missioned Jolliet and Pere [Perrot] to search for 
the mines of copper on the upper Lakes. Jolliet 
received an outfit of four hundred livres, and four 
canoes, and Perrot one thousand Uvres. Mhiis- 
ister Colbert wrote from Paris to Talon, in Feb- 
ruary, 1671, approving of the search for copper, 
in these words ; " The resolution you have taken 
to send Sieur de La Salle toward the south, and 
Sieur de St. Lusson to the north, to discover the 
South Sea passage, is very good, but the principal 
thing you ought to apply yourself in discoveries 
of this nature, is to look for the copper mine. 

" Were this mine discovered, and its utility 
evident, it would be an assured means to attract 
several Frenchmen from old, to New France." 

On the 14th of June, 1671, Saint Lusson at Sault 
St. Marie, planted the arms of France, in the pres- 
ence of Nicholas Perrot, who acted as interpreter 
on the occasion ; the Sieur Jolliet ; Pierre Moreau 
or Sieur de la Taupine ; a soldier of the garrison 
of Quebec, and several other Frenchmen. 

Talon, in announcing Saint Lusson's explora- 
tions to Colbert, on the 2d of November, 1671, 
wrote from Quebec : " The copper which I send 
from Lake Superior and the river Nantaouagan 
[Ontonagon] proves that there is a mine on the 
border of some stream, which produces this ma- 
terial as pure as one could wish. More than 
twenty Frenchmen have seen one lump at the 
lake, which they estimate weighs more than eight 
hundred poimds. The Jesuit Fathers among the 
Outaouas [Ou-taw-waws] use an anvil of this ma- 
terial, which weighs about one hundred pounds. 
There will be no rest until the source from whence 
these detached lumps come is discovered. 

" The river Nantaouagan FOutonagouJ appears 



between two high hills, the plain above which 
feeds the lakes, and receives a great deal of snow, 
which, m melting, forms torrents which wash the 
borders of this river, composed of soUd gravel, 
which is rolled down by it. 

"The gravel at the bottom of this, hardens it- 
self, and assumes different shapes, such as those 
pebbles which I send to ^Mr. Bellinzany. My 
opuiion is that these pebbles, rounded and carried 
off by the rapid waters, then have a tendency to 
become copper, by the influence of the sun's rays 
which they absorb, and to form oilier nuggets of 
metal similar to those which I send to Sieur de 
Bellinzany, found by the Sieur de Saint Lusfon, 
about four hundred leagues, at some distance from 
the mouth of the river. 

" lie hoped by the frequent journeys of the 
savages, and French who are beginning to travel 
by these routes, to discern the source of nroduc- 
tion." 

Governor Denonville, of Canada, sixteen years 
after the above circumstances, WTote : " The cop- 
per, a sample of which I sent M. Anion, is found 
at the head of Lake Superior. The body of the 
mine has not yet been discovered. I have seen 
one of our voyageurs who assures me that, some 
lifteen months ago he saw a lump of two hundred 
weight, as yellow as gold, in a river which falls 
into Lake Superior. "When heated, it could be 
cut with an axe ; but the superstitious Indians, 
regarding this boulder as a good spirit, would 
never permit him to take any of it away. His 
opinion is that the frost undermined this piece, 
and that the mine is in that river. He has prom- 
ised to search for it on his w'ay back." 

In the year 17,30, there was some correspond- 
ence with the authorities in France relative to 
the discovery of copper at La Poiute, but, practi- 
cally, little was done by the French, in developing 
the mineral wealth of Lake Superior. 



DU LUTH PLANTS THE FRENCH AEMS IN MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER in. 



DU LUTH PLANTS THE FRENCH ARMS TN MINNESOTA 



Da Luth's Relatives. — Randin Visits Extremity of Lake Superior. —Do Loth 
Plants King's Arms.— Post at Kaministigoj-a.— Pierre MoreaF. alias La Taupine. 
—La Salle's Visit.— A Pilot Deserts to the Sioux Country.— uaifart, Du Lutli's 
Interpreter. — Descent of the River St. Croix.— Meets Fatlier Hennepm.- Crit. 
iciscd tiy La Salle.— Tra.les with New England.— Visits France.— In Command 
at Mackinaw, — Frenchmen Murdered at Keweenaw. — Du Lulh Arrests and 
Shoots Murderers.- Builds Fort above Detroit. — With Indian Allies in the 
Seneca War.— Du Luth's Brother.— Cadillac Defends the Brandy Trade.— Du 
Luth Disapproves of Selling Brandy to the Indians. — In Command at Fort 
Frontenac— Death. 

In the year 1678, se-«eral prominent merchants 
of Quebec and Montreal, with the support of 
Governor Frontenac of Canada, formed a com- 
pany to open trade with the Sioux of Minnesota, 
and a neplie'w of Patron, one of these merchants, 
a brother-in-law of Sieur de Lusigny, an oflBcer 
of the Governor's Guards, named Daniel Grey- 
solon Du Luth [Doo-loo], a native of St. Germain 
en Laye, a few miles from Paris, althougli Lalion- 
tan speaks of him as from Lyons, was made the 
leader of the expedition. At the battle of Sene'ffe 
against the Pruice of Orange, he was a gendarme, 
and one of tlie King's guards. 

Du Luth was also a cousin of Henry Tonty , who 
had been in the revolution at Naples, to throw off 
the Spanish dependence. Du Luth's name is va- 
riously spelled in the documents of liis day. Hen- 
nepin writes, "Du Luth;" others, "Dulhut," 
" Du Lhu," " Du Lut," " De Luth," " Du Lud." 

The temptation to procure valuable furs ft-om 
the Lake Superior region, contrary to the letter 
of the Canadian law, was very great ; and more 
than one Governor winked at the contraliand 
trade. Eandin, who visited tlie extremity of 
Lake Superior, distributed presents to the Sioux 
and Ottawas in the name of Governor Frontenac, 
to secure the trade, and after his death, DuLutli 
was sent to complete what he liad begun. With 
a party of twenty, seventeen Frenchmen and 
three Indians, he left Quebec on the first of 
September, 1678, and on the fifth of April, 1679, 
Du Luth writes to Governor Frontenac, that he 
is in the -woods, about nine miles from Sault St. 
Marie, at the entrance of Lake Superior, and 



adds that : he " -will not stir from the Nadous- 
sioux, until further orders, and, peace being con- 
cluded, he -will set up the King's Arms ; lest the 
English and other Europeans settled towards 
California, take possession of the country." 

On the second of July, 1679, he caused his 
Majesty's Arms to be planted in the great village 
of the Nadoussioiix, called Kathio, where no 
Frenchman had ever been, and at Songaskicons 
and Houetbatons, one hundred and twenty leagues 
distant from the former, where he also set up the 
King's Arms. In a letter to Seignaliiy, published 
for the first time by Ilarrisse, he writes that it 
was in the village of Izatys [Issati]. Upon Fran- 
queUn's map, the Mississippi branches into the 
Tintonha [Teeton Sioux] comitry , and not far from 
here, he alleges, was seen a tree upon which was 
this legend: " Arms of the King cut on this tree 
in the year 1679." 

He established a post at Kamanistigoya, which 
was distant fifteen leagues from the Grand Port- 
age at the western extremity of Lake Superior ; 
and here, on the fifteenth of September, he held 
a council with the Assenipoulaks [Assineboines] 
and other tribes, and urged them to be at peace 
with the Sioux. During tliis summer, he dis- 
patched Pierre Moreau, a celebrated voyageur, 
nicknamed La Taupine, with letters to Governor 
Frontenac, and valuable furs to the merchants. 
His arrival at Quebec, created some excitement. 
It was charged that the Governor corresponded 
with Du Luth, and that he passed the beaver, 
sent by him, in the name of merchants in his in- 
terest. The Intendant of Justice, Du Chesneau, 
wrote to the Minister of the Colonial Department 
of France, that " the man named La Taupine, a 
famous coureur des bois, who set out in the month 
of September of last year, 1678, to go to the Ou- 
tawacs, -with goods, and who has always been in- 
terested with the Governor, having returned this 
year, and I, being advised that he had traded in 



10 



EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



two days, one Inmdred and fifty beaver robes in 
one \'illage of this tribe, amounting to nearly nine 
hundred beavers, which is a matter of public no- 
toriety ; and that he left with Du Lut two men 
whom he had with him. considered myself bound 
to have him arrested, and to interrogate him ; but 
having presented me with a license from the Gov- 
ernor, pennittiiig him and his comrades, named 
Lamonde and Dupuy, to repair to the Outawac, 
to execute his secret orders. I liad him set at 
liberty : and immediately on Ids going out. Sieur 
Prevost, To^ii Mayor of Quebec, came at the head 
of some soldiers to force the prison, in case he 
was still there, pursuant to his orders from the 
Governor, in these terms : " Sieur Prevost, ^layor 
of (^»uebec, is ordered, in case the Intendant arrest 
Pierre ^loreau alias La Taupiue, whom we have 
sent to Quebec as bearer of our dispatches, upon 
pretext of his having been in the bush, to set him 
forthwith at libertVi and to employ every means 
for this purpose, at his peril. Done at Montreal, 
the 5th September, 1679." 

La Taupine. in due time returned to Lake Su- 
perior with another consignment of merchandise. 
The interpreter of Du LuUi, and trader with the 
Sioux, was Paffart, who had been a soldier under 
La Salle at Fort Frontenac. and had deserted. 

La Salle was commissioned in 1678, by the 
King of France, to explore the "West, and trade in 
Cibola, or buffalo skins, and on condition that he 
did not traffic with the Ottauwaws, who carried 
their beaver to Montreal. 

On the 27th of August, 1679, he anived at 
Mackinaw, in the " Griffin,'' the first saiUng ves- 
sel on the gi-eat Lakes of the West, and from 
thence went to Green Bay, where, in the face of 
his commission, he traded for beaver. Loading 
his vessel with peltries, he sent it back to Niag- 
ara, while he, in canoes, proceeded with his ex- 
pedition to the Illinois River. The ship was 
never heard of, and for a time supposed to be lost, 
but La Salle afterward leained from a Pawnee 
boy fourteen or fifteen years of age, who was 
brought prisoner to hisfort on the Illinois by some 
Indians, that the pilot of the " Griffin " had been 
among the tribes of the Upper ISIissouri. lie had 
ascended the Mississippi with four otliers in two 
birch canoes with goods and some hand grenades, 
taken from the ship, witli the intention of join 
ing Du Lutli, who had for months beeu trading 



with the Sioux ; and if their efforts were unsuc- 
cessful, they expected to push on to the English, 
at Hudson's Bay. AVliile ascendiilg the Missis- 
sippi they were attacked by Indians, and the pilot 
and one other only sursived, and they were sold 
to the Indians on the Jlissouri. 

In the month of June, 1680, Du Luth, accom- 
panied by Faffart, an interpreter, with four 
Frenchmen, also a Chippeway and a Sioux, with 
two canoes, entered a river, the mouth ot which 
is eight leagues from the head of Lake Superior 
on the South side, named Xemitsakouat. Beach- 
ing its head waters, by a short portage, of half a 
league, he reached a lake ■\\hich was the source 
of the Saint Croix River, and by this, he and his 
companions were the first Europeans to journey 
in a canoe from Lake Superior to the Mississippi. 

La Salle writes, that Du Luth, finding that 
the Sioux were on a hunt in the Mississippi val- 
ley, below the Saint Croix, and that Accault, Au- 
gelle and Hennepin, who had come up from the 
Illinois a few ^\eeks before, were with them, de- 
scended until he found them. In the same letter 
he disregards the truth in order to disparage his 
rival, and writes: 

'• Thirty-eight or forty leagues above the Cliip- 
peway they found the river by which the Sieur 
Du Luth did descend to the ilississippi. He had 
been three years, contrary to orders, with a com- 
pany of twenty " coureurs du hois " on Lake Su- 
perior; he had borne himself bravely, proclaiming 
everywhere that at the head of his brave fellows 
he did not fear the Grand Prevost, and that he 
would compel an amnesty. 

'• "Wliile he was at Lake Superior, the Nadoiie- 
sioux, enticed by the presents that the late Sieur 
Randin had made on the part of Coimt Fronte- 
nac. and the Sauteurs [Ojibways]. who are the sav- 
ages who carry the peltries to Montreal, and who 
dwell on Lake Superior, wislung to obey the re- 
peated orders of the Count, made a peace to 
unite the Sauteurs and French, and to trade with 
the Xadouesioux, situated about sixty leagues to 
the west of Lake Superior. Du Luth, to disguise 
liis desertion, seized the opportunity to make 
some reputation for himself, sending two messen- 
gers to the Count to negotiate a truce, during 
which period their comrades negotiated still bet- 
ter for beaver. 

Several conferences were held with the Na- 



FAFFART, BU LUTH'S INTEBPBETER. 



11 



douessionx, and as he needed an interpreter, he led 
off one of mine, named Faffart, formerly a sol- 
dier at Fort Frontenac. During tliis period there 
were frequent \'isits between the Sauteurs [Ojil)- 
ways] and Nadouesioux, and supposing that it 
might increase the number of beaver skins, lie 
sent Faffart by land, with the Nadouesioux and 
Sauteurs [Ojibways]. The yoiuig man on liis re- 
tnrn, having given an account of the quantity of 
beaver in that region, he wished to proceed thither 
himself, and, guided by a Sauteur and a Nadoue- 
« sioux, and four Frenchmen, he ascended the river' 
Nemitsakouat, where, by a short portage, he de- 
scended that stream, whereon he passed through 
forty leagues of rapids [Upper St. Croix Kiver], 
and finding that the IN^adouesioux were below with 
my men and the Father, Avho had come down 
again from the village of the Xadouesioux, he 
discovered them. They went iip again to the 
village, and from thence they all together came 
down. They returned by the river Ouisconsing, 
and came back to Montreal, where Du Luth in- 
sults the commissaries, and the deputy of the 
'procurem- general,' named d'Auteuil. Count 
Frontenac had him arrested and imprisoned in 
the castle of Quebec, with the intention of return- 
mg him to France for the amnesty accorded to 
the coureurs des bois^did not release him." 

At tills very period, another party charges 
Frontenac as being Du Luth's particular friend. 

Du Luth, during the fall of 1681, was engaged 
in the beaver trade at Montreal and Quebec. 
Du Chesneau, the Intendant of .Justice for Can- 
ada, on the 13th of November, 1G81, wrote to the 
Marquis de Siegnelay^ in Paris : " Not content 
with the profits to be derived from the countries 
under the King's dominion, the desire of making 
money everywhere, has led the Governor [Fron- 
tenac], Boisseau, Du Lut and Patron, his uncle, 
to send canoes loaded with peltries, to the En- 
glish. It is said sixty thousand livres' worth has 
been sent thither;" and he further stated that 
there was a very general report that within five 
or six days, Frontenac and his associates had di- 
vided the money received from the beavers ^ent 
to New England. 
"^ At a conference in Quebec of some of the dis- 
tinguished men in that city, relative to difficulties 
with the Iroquois, held on the 10th of October, 
1682, Du Luth was present. From thence he went 



to France, and, early in 1683, consulted with the 
Minister of ^Marine at Versailles relative to the 
interests of trade in the Hudson's Bay and Lake 
Superior region. Upon his return to Canada, he 
departed for Mackinaw. Governor De la Barre, 
on the 9th of November, 1683, wrote to the French 
Government that the Indians west and north of 
Lake Superior, " when they heard by expresses 
sent them by Du Lhut, of his arrival at Missili- 
makinak, that he was coming, sent him word to 
come quickly and they would unite with him to 
prevent others going tliither. If I stop that pass 
as I hope, and as it is necessary to do, as the Eng- 
lish of the Bay [Hudson's] excite against us the 
savages, whom Sieur Du Lhut alone can quiet." 

AVliile stationed at Mackinaw he was a partici- 
pant in a tragic occurrence. During the summer 
of 1683 Jacques le Maire and Colin Berthot, while 
on their way to trade at Keweenaw, on Lake Su- 
perior, were surprised by three Indians, robbed, 
and murdered. Du Luth was prompt to arrest 
and punish the assassins. In a letter from Mack- 
inaw, dated April 12, 1681, to the Governor of 
Canada, he writes: " Be pleased to know. Sir, 
that on the 24tli of October last, I was told that 
Folle Avome, accomplice in the murder and rob- 
bery of the two Frenchmen, had arrived at Sault 
Ste. Marie with fifteen families of the Sauteurs 
[Ojibways] who had fled from Chagoamigon [La 
Pointe] on accoimt of an attack wliicli they, to- 
gether with the people of the land, made last 
Spring upon the Nadouecioux [Dakotahs.] 

" He believed himself safe at the Sault, on ac- 
count of the number of allies and relatives he had 
there. Kev. Father Albanel informed me that 
the French at the Saut, being only twelve in num- 
ber, had not arrested him, beUeving themselves 
too weak to contend with such numbers, espe- 
cially as the Sauteurs had declared that they 
would not allow the French to redden the land 
of their fathers with the blood of their brothers. 

" On receiving this information, I immediately 
resolved to take with me six Frenchmen, and em- 
bark at the da^vn of the next day for Sault Ste. 
Marie, and if possible obtain possession of the 
mirrderer. I made known my design to the Kev. 
Father Engahran, and, at my request, as he had 
some business to arrange with Rev. Father Al- 
banel, he placed himself in my canoe. 

" Having arrived within a league of the village 



12 



EXPLOIiERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



of the Saut, the Rev. Father, the Chevalier de 
Fourcille, CanlonnieiTe, and I disembarked. I 
caused the canoe, iu wliicli were 15aribaud, Le 
Mere, La Fortune, and Macons, to proceed, wliile 
we went across the wood to the house of the Kev. 
Fatlier, fearing that the savages, seeing me, niiglit 
suspect the object of my visit, and cause Folle 
Avoine to escape. Fmally, to cut tlie matter 
short, I arrested him, and caused him to be 
guarded day and iiiglit by six Frenclimen. 

" I then called a council, at which I requested 
all the savages of the place to be present, where 
I repeated what I had often said to the Ilurons 
and Ottawas since the departure of M. Pere[Per- 
rot], giving them tlie message you ordered me. 
Sir, that in case there should be among them any 
spirits so evil disposed as to follow the example 
of those who have murdered the French on Lake 
Superior and Lake Michigan, they must separate 
the guilty from the innocent, as I did not wish 
the whole nation to suffer, unless they protected 
the guilty. * * * The savages held several 
councils, to whirli I was invited, bi;t their only 
object seemed to be to exculpate the prisoner, in 
order that I might release liim. 

" All united in accusmg Achiganaga and his 
children, assuring themselves with the belief that 
M. Pere, [Perrot] with his detachment would not 
be able to arrest them, and wishing to peisuade 
me that they apprehended that all the Frenchmen 
might be killed. 

"I answered them, * * * 'As to the antici- 
pated death of yi. Pere [Perrot], as well as of the 
other Frenchmen, that would not embaiTass me, 
since I believed neither the allies nor the nation 
of Achiganaga would ■wish to have a war witli us 
to sustain an action so dark as that of which we 
were speaking. Having only to attack a few 
murderers, or, at most, those of their own family. 
1 was certain that the French would have them 
dead or alive.' 

" This was the answer they had from me during 
the tliree days that the councils lasted ; after 
wliich 1 embarked, at ten o'clock in the moniing, 
sustained by only twelve Frenchmen, to show a 
few unruly persons who boasted of taking the 
prisoner away from me, that the French did not 
fear them. 

" Daily I received accounts of the number of 
savages that Achiganaga drew from his nation to 



Kiaonan [Keweenaw] mider pretext of going to 
war in the spring against the Kadouecioux, to 
avenge the death of one of his relatives, son of Ou- 
enaus, but really to protect himself against us, 
in case we should become convinced that his chil- 
dren had killed the Frenchmen. This precaution 
placed me between hope and fear respecting the 
expedition which M. Pere [Perrot] had imder- 
taken. 

" On the 24th of November, [1683], he came 
across the wood at ten o'clock at night, to tell me 
that he had arrested Achiganaga and four of his * 
children. He said they were not all guilty of the 
murder, but had thought proper, in this affair, to 
follow the custom of the savages, which is to seize 
all the relatives. Folle Avoine, whom I had ar- 
rested, he considered the most guilty, being wth- 
out doubt the originator of the mischief. 

'' I immediately gave orders that Folle Avoine 
should be more closely confined, and not allowed 
to speak to any one ; for I had also learned that 
he had a brother, sister, and uncle in the village 
of the Kiskakons. 

'• il. Pere informed me that he had released the 
youngest son of Achiganaga, aged about tliirteen 
or fourteen years, that he might make known to 
their nation and the Sauteurs [Ojibways], who are 
at Xocke and in the neighborhood, the reason 
why the French had arrested his father and bro- 
tliers. M. Pere bade him assure tlie savages tliat 
if any one wished to complain of what he had 
done, he would wait for them with a firm step ; for 
he considered himself in a condition to set them 
at defiance, havingfound at Kiaonau [Keweenaw] 
eighteen Frenchmen who had wintered there. 

"On the 2.')th, at daybreak, M. Pere embarked 
at the Sault, with four good men whom I gave 
him. to go and meet the prisoners. He left them 
four leagues from there, luider a guard of twelve 
I'renchmen ; and at two o'clock in the afternoon, 
they arrived. I had prepared a room Ln my house 
for the prisoners, in which they were placed under 
a strong guard, and were not allowed to converse 
with any one. 

"On the 26th, I commenced proceedings; and 
this, sir, is tlie course I pursued. I gave notice 
to all the chiefs and others, to appear at the 
council which I had appointed, and gave to Folle 
Avoine the privilege of selecting two of his rela 



INDIANS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT. 



13 



tives to supiwrt his interests ; and to tlie other 
prisoners I made the same offer. 

" The council being assembled, I sent for Folle 
Avorue to be interrogated, and caused his answers 
to be written, and afterwards they were read to 
Mm, and inquiry made whether they were not, 
word for word, what he had said. He was tlien 
removed under a safe guard. I used the same 
form with the two eldest sons of Achigauaga, and, 
as Folle Avoine had iiuUrectly charged the father 
with being accessory to the murder, I sent for 
him and also for Folle Avoine, and bringing them 
into the council, confronted the four. 

" FoUe Avoine and the two sons of Achiganaga 
accused each other of committing the murder, 
without denying that tliey were laarticipators in 
the crime. Achiganaga alone strongly mamtained 
that he knew nothing of the design of Folle 
Avoine, nor of his children, and called on them 
to say if he had advised them to kill the French- 
men. They answered, ' iSTo.' 

" This confrontation, which the savages did not 
expect, sui"prised them; and, seeing the prisoners 
had convicted themselves of the murder, the 
Chiefs said: ' It is enough; you accuse your- 
selves; the French are masters of yourl)odies.' 

" The next day I held another council, in which 
I said there could be no doubt that the French- 
men had been murdered, that the murderers were 
known, and that they knew what was the prac- 
tice among themselves upon such occasions. To 
all this they said nothing, which obliged us on 
the following day to hold another council in the 
cabin of Brochet, where, after having spoken, and 
seeing that tliey would make no decision, and that 
all my councils ended only in reducing tobacco to 
ashes, I told them that, since they did not wish to 
decide, I should take the responsibihty, and tliat 
the next day I would let them know the deter- 
mination of the French and myself. 

" It is proper. Sir, you should know that I ob- 
served all these forms only to see if they would 
feel it their duty to render to us the same justice 
that they do to each other, having had divers ex- 
amples m which when the tribes of those who 
had committed the murder did not wish to go to 
war with the tribe aggrieved, the nearest rela- 
tions of the murderers killed them themselves; 
that is to say, man for man. 

" On the 29th of November. I gathered together 



the French that were here, and, after the interro- 
■ gations and ans^\■ers of the accused had been read 
to them, the guilt of the three appeared so evi- 
dent, from their own confessions, that the vote 
was imanimous that all should die. But as the 
French who remained at Kiaonan to pass the win- 
ter had written to Father Engalran and to myself, 
to beg us to treat the affair with all possible len- 
iency, tlie savages declaring that if they made 
the prisoners die they would avenge themselves, 
I told the gentlemen who were with me in coun- 
cil that, this bemg a case witliout a precedent, I 
believed it was expedient for the safety of the 
French who would pass the winter in the Lake 
Superior country to put to death only two, as that 
of the third might bring about grievous conse- 
quences, while the putting to death, man for 
man, could give the savages no complaint, since 
this is then- custom. M. de la Tour, chief of tlie 
Fathers, who had served much, sustained my 
opinions by strong reasoning, and all decided that 
two should be shot, namely, Folle Avoine and 
the older of the two brothers, while the younger 
should be released, and hold his Life, Sir, as a gift 
from you. 

" I thni returned to the cabin of Brochet with 
Messrs. Boisguillot, Pere, De Repentigny, De 
Manthet, De la Ferte, and Macons, where were 
all the chiefs of the Outawas du Sable, Outawas 
Sinagos, Easkakons, Sauteurs, D'Achiliny, a part 
of the Ilurons, and Oumamens, the chief of the 
Amikoys. I informed them of our decision * 

* * that, the Frenclmien having been killed by 
the different nations, one of each must (.lie, and 
that the same death they had caused the French 
to suffer they must also suffer. * * * This 
decision to put the murderers to death was a hard 
stroke to them all, for none had believed that I 
would dare to undertake it. * * * I then left 
the council and asked the Kev. Fathers if they 
wished to baptize the prisoners, which they did. 

"An hour after, I put myself at the head of 
forty-two Frenchmen, and, in sight of more than 
four hundred savages, and within two himdred 
paces of their fort, I caused the two murderers 
to be shot. The impossibility of keeping them 
until sprmg made me hasten their death. * * 

* "Wlien M. Pere made the arrest, those who had 
committed the murder confessed it; and when he 
asked them what they had dlone with our gnodn 



11 



EXPLOBETiS AKD FIOXEEES OF MINNESOTA. 



they answered that they were ahnost all con- 
cealed. He jiroceeded to the place of conceal- 
ment, and was very much suiinised, as were also 
the French with him, to find them, in fifteen or 
twenty different places. By the carelessness of 
the savages, the tobacco and powder were entire- 
ly destroyed, having been placed in the pinery, 
imder the roots of trees, and being soaked in the 
water caused by ten or twelve days' continuous 
rain, which inundated all the lower country. 
The season for snow and ice having come, they 
had all the trouble in the world to get out the 
bales of cloth. 

'They then went to see the bodies, but could 
not remove them, these miserable wretches hav- 
ing thro%\ni them into a marsh, and thrust them 
down into holes which they had made. Kot sat- 
isfied with this, they had also piled branches of 
trees upon tlie bodies, to prevent them from float- 
ing when the water should rise in the spring, 
hopmg by this precaution the French would find 
no trace of those who were killed, but would tliink 
them drowned; as they reported that they had 
foimd in the lake on the other side of the Portage, 
a boat with the sides all broken in, which they 
believed to be a French boat. 

" Those goods which the French were able to 
secure, they took to Kiaouau [Keweenaw], where 
were a number of Frenchmen who bad gone tliere 
to pass the winter, who knew nothing of the deatli 
of Colin Berthot and Jacques le ilaire, imtil il. 
Pere arrived. 

'' Tlie ten who formed M. Pere's detachment 
having conferred together concerning the means 
they should take to prevent a total loss, decided 
to sell the goods to the highest bidder. The sale 
was made for 1 100 livres, which was to be paid in 
beavers, to M. de la Chesnaye, to whom I send 
the names of the purchsers. 

" The savages who were present when Acliiga- 
naga and his children were arrested wished to 
pass the calumet to M. Pere, and give him cap- 
tives to satisfy him for the miuder committed on 
the two Frenchmen ; but he knew their inten- 
tion, and would not accept their offer, lie told 
them neither a hundred captives nor a hundred 
packs of beaver would give back the blood of his 
brothers; that the murderers must be given up 
to me, and I would see what I woidd do. 

" I caused M. Pere to repeat these things in the 



council, tliat in future the savages need not think 
by presents to save those who commit similar 
deeds. Besides, sii", il. Pere showed plainly by 
his conduct, that be is not strongly inclined to 
favor the savages, as was reported. Indeed. I do 
not know any one whom they fear more, yet who 
flatters them less or knows them better. 

'■ The criminals being in two different places, 
M. Pere being obliged to keep four of them, sent 
Messrs. de Eepentigny, Manthet, and six other 
Frenchmen, to arrest the two who were eight 
leagues in the woods. Among others, M. de Re- 
pentigny and M. de Mauthet showed that they 
feared nothing when their honor called them. 

" M. de la Chevrotiere has also served well in 
person, and by his advice, havuig pointed out 
where the prisoners were. Achiganaga, who had 
adopted him as a son, had told him where he 
should hunt during the winter. ***** 
It still remained for me to give to Achiganaga and 
his three children the means to return to his 
family. Their home from which they were taken 
was nearly twenty-six leagues from here. Kjiow- 
ing their necessity, I told them you would not be 
satisfied in giving them life; you wished to pre- 
serve it, by giving them all that was necessary to 
prevent them from dying with himger and cold 
by the way, and that your gift was made by my 
hands. I gave them blankets, tobacco, meat, 
hatchets, knives, twine to make nets for beavers, 
and two bags of corn, to supply them tiU they 
could kill game. 

" They departed two days after, the most con- 
tented creatures in the world, but (iod was not ; 
fur when only two days' journey from here, the 
old Achiganaga fell sick of the quinsy, and died, 
and his children returned. "When the news of his 
death arrived, the greater part of the savages of 
this place [Mackinaw] attributed it to the French, 
sa>iiig we had caused him to die. I let them 
talk, and laughed at them. It is only about two 
months shice the children of Achiganaga retumel 
to Kiaonan." 

Some of those opposed to Du Liitli and Fron- 
tenac, prejudiced the King of France relative to 
the transaction we have described, and in a letter 
to the Governor of Canada, the King vrates : " It 
appears to me that one of the principal causes of 
tlie war arises from one Du Luth having caused 
two to be killed w ho had assassinated two French- 



ENGLISH TItADEBS CAPTUBED. 



13 



men on Lake Superior ; and you sufficiently see 
now mueli this man's voyage, wliicli can not pro- 
duce any advantage to the colony, and wliich was 
permitted only in the interest of some private 
persons, has contributed to distract the peace of 
the colony." 

Du Luth and his young brother appear to have 
traded at the western extremity of Lake Superior, 
and on the north shore, to Lake Nipegon. 

In June, 1684, Governor De la Barre sent Guil- 
let and Ilebert from Montreal to request Du Luth 
and I>urantaye to bring down voyageurs and In- 
dians to assist iu an expedition against the Iro- 
quois of New York. Early in September, they 
reported on the St. Lawi-ence, with one hundred 
and fifty coiu-eurs des bois and three hundred and 
fifty Indians ; but as a treaty had just been made 
with the Senecas, they returned. 

De la Barrels successor. Governor Denonvllle, 
in a dispatch to the French Government, dated 
November 12th, 1685, alludes to Du Luth being 
in the far West, in these words : " I likewise sent 
to M. De la Durantaye, who is at Lake Superior 
imder orders from M. De la Barre, and to Sieur 
Du Luth, who is also at a great distance in an- 
other direction, and all so far beyond reach that 
neither the one nor the other can hear news from 
me this year ; so that, not being able to see them 
at soonest, before next July, I considered it best 
not to think of undertaking any thing during the 
whole of next year, especially as a great number 
of our best men are among the Outaouacs, and 
can not return before the ensuing summer. * * * 
In regard to Sieur Du Luth, I sent him orders to 
repair here, so that I may learn the number of 
savages on whom I may depend. He is accredit- 
ed among them, and rendered great services to 
M. De la Barre by a lai'ge number, of savages he 
brought to Niagara, who would have attacked 
the Senecas, was it not for an express order from 
JSi. De la Barre to the contrary." 

In 1686, while at Mackinaw, he was ordereu to 
establish a post on tlie Detroit, near Lake Erie. 
A portion of the order reads as follows : " i\iter 
having given all the orders that you may judge 
necessary for the safety of this post, and having 
well secured the obedience of the Indians, you 
will return to Michil i mackinac, there to await 
Rev. Father Engelran, by whom I wiU commu- 
nicate what I wish of you, there." 



The design of this post was to block the pas- 
sage of the English to the upper lakes. Before 
it was established, in the fall of 1686, Thomas 
Roseboom, a daring trader from Albany, on the 
Hudson, had found his way to the vicinity of 
Jlackinaw, and by the proffer of ))randy, weak- 
ened the allegiance of the tribes to the French. 

A canoe coming to Mackinaw with dispatches 
for the French and their alUes, to march to the 
Seneca country, in New York, perceived this New 
York trader and associates, and, giving the alarm, 
they were met by three himdred coureurs du 
bois and captured. 

In the spring of 1687 Du Luth, Durantaye, 
and Tonty all left the vicuiity of Deti-oit for Ni- 
agara, and as they were coasting along Lake Erie 
they met another EngUsh trader, a Scotchman 
by birth, and by name Major Patrick McGregor, 
a person of some influence, going with a number 
of traders to Mackinaw. Having taken him pris- 
oner, he was sent with Roseboom to ^Montreal. 

Du Luth, Tonty, and Durantaye arrived at Ni- 
agara on the 27th of June, 1687, with one hun- 
dred and seventy French voyageurs, besides In- 
dians, and on the 10th of July jouied the army of 
Denonvllle at the mouth of the Genesee River, 
and on the 13th Du Luth and his associates had 
a skirmish near a Seneca village, now the site of 
the town of Victor, twenty miles southeast of the 
city of Rochester, New York. Governor Denon- 
vllle, in a report, writes: " On the 13th, about 4 
o'clock in the afternoon, having passed through 
two dangerous defiles, we arrived at the third, 
where we were vigorously attacked by eight hun- 
dred Senecas, two hundred of whom fired, wish- 
ing to attack our rear, while the rest would attack 
om' front, but the resistance, made produced 
such a great consternation that they soon resolved 
to fly. * * * We witnessed the p,iinful sight 
of the usual cruelties of the savages, who cut the 
dead into quarters, as is done in slaughter houses, 
in order to put them into the kettle. The greater 
nimiber were opened while still warm, that the 
blood might be drunk. Our rascally Otaoas dis- 
tinguished themselves particularly by these bar- 
barities. * * * We had five or six men killed 
on the spot, French and Indians, and about 
twenty wounded, among the first of whom was the 
Rev. Father Angelran, superior of all the Otaoan 
Missions, by a very severe gun-shot. It is a great 



ir> 



EXPLOIiEBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



misfortune that this woimd will prevent him go- 
jng back again, for he is a man of caiiacity." 

In the ord«r to Uu Luth assigning him to duty 
at the post on the site of tJie modem Fort Gra- 
tiot, above the city of Detroit, the Governor of 
Canada said: " If you can so arrange your affairs 
that your brother can be near you in tlie Spring. 
I shall be very glad. He is an mtelligent lad. 
and might bo a great assistance to you; he might 
also be very servicealile to us." 

This lad, CJreysolon de la Tourette, dining tliii 
wiuter of 1686-7 was trading among the Assina- 
boines and other tribes at tlie west eud of Lake 
Superior, but, upon receiving a dispatch, hastened 
to his brother, journeying in a canoe without any 
escort from ]Mackinaw. lie did not arrive until 
after the battle with the Senecas. Governor Den- 
onville, on the 2oth of August, 1687, wrote: 

" Du Luth's brother, who has recently arrived 
from the rivers above the Lake of the Allempi- 
gons [Nipegon], assures me that he saw more than 
fifteen hundred persons come to trade with liim, 
and they were very sorry he had not goods suffi- 
cient to satisfy them. They are of the triltes ac- 
customed to resort to the English at Port Kelson 
and River IJourbon, where, they say, they did not 
go this year, througli Sieur Du Lhu's iutluence." 

After the battle in the vicinity of Rochester, 
New York, Du Lutli, with his celebrated cousin. 
Henry Tonty, returned together as far as the post 
above the present city of Detroit, llichigan, but 
this point, after KiSS, was not again occupied. 

From this period Du Lutli becomes less prom- 
inent. At the time wlien the Jesuits attempted 
to exclude brandy from the Indian country a bit- 
ter controversy arose between them a^id the 
traders. Cadillac, a Gascon by birth, command- 
ing Fort Buade, at Mackinaw, on Aiigust 3, 16'.)o, 
wrote to Count Frontenae: "Now, what reason 
can we assign that the savages should not drink 
brandy bouglit with their own money as well as 
we? Is it prohibited to prevent them from be- 
coming intoxicated? Or is it because the use of 
brandy reduces them to extreme .misery, placing 
it out of their power to make war by depriving 
them of clothing and arms? If such representa- 
tions in regard to the Indians have been made to 
the Count, they are very false, as every one knows 
who is acciuaintcd with the ways of the savages. 
* * * It is bad faith to represent to the Count 



that the sale of brandy reduces the savage to a 
state of nudity, aifd by that means places it out 
of his power to make war, since he never goes to 
war in any other condition. » * » Perhaps it 
will be said th.at the sfile of brandy makes the 
labors of the missionaries unfruitful. It is neces- 
sary to examine this i)roposition. If the mission- 
aries care for only the extension of commerce, 
pursuing the coiurse they have hitherto, I agree 
to it; but if it is the use of brandy that hinders 
tlie advancement of the cause of God, I deny it, 
for it is a fact which no one can deny that there 
are a great number of savages who never drink 
brandy, yet who are not, for that, better Chris- 
tians. 

" All the Sioux, the most numerous of all the 
tribes, who inhabit the region along the .shore of 
Lake Superior, do not even like the smell of 
brandy. Are they more advanced in religion for 
that? They do not wish to have the subject men- 
tioned, and when the missionaries address them 
tlicy only laugh at the foolishness of preaching. 
Yet these priests boldly fling before the eyes of 
Europeans, whole volumes filled with glowing 
descriptions of the conversion of souls by thou- 
sands in this country, causing the poor missiona- 
ries from Eiu'ope, to run to martyrdom as flies to 
sugar and honey.'' 

Du Lutli, or Du Lliut, as he wrote his name, 
during this discussion, was found upon the .side 
of order and good morals. His attestation is as 
follows : " I certify that at different periods I 
have lived about ten years among the (Ottawa 
nation, from the time that I made an exploration 
to the Nadouecioux people until Fort Saint Jo- 
seph was established by order of the Monsieur 
Marquis Denonville, (kivernor (Jeneral, at the 
head of the Detroit of Lake Brie, wliich is in the 
Iroquois country, and which I had the honor to 
command. During this period, I have seen that 
tlie trade in eau-de-vie (brandy) produced great 
disorder, the father killing the son, and the son 
throwing his mother into the fire; and I maintain 
that, morally speaking, it is impossible to export 
liiandy to the woods and distant missions, with- 
out danger of its leading to misery." 

Governor Frontenae, in an expedition against 
tlie Oneidas of New York, arrived at Fort Fron- 
tenae, on the l!)th of July, 169.5, anil Captain Du 
Luth was left in command with forty soldiers, 



DU LUTE AFFLICTED WITH GOVT. 



17 



and masons and carpenters, with orders to erect 
new builtlings. In about four weeks he erected 
a building one hundred and twenty feet in length, 
contammg officers' quarters, store-rooms, a bakery 
and a chapel. Early in 1697 he was still in com- 
mand of the post, and in a report it is mentioned 
that " everybody was then in good health, except 
Captain DuUiut the commander, who was imwell 
of the gout." 

It was just before this period, that as a member 
of the Eoman Catholic Church, he was firmly 
impressed that he had been helped by prayers 
which he addressed to a deceased Iroquois girl, 
who had died in the odor of sanctity, and, as a 
thank offering, signed the following certificate : 
" I, the subscriber, certify to all whom it may 
concern, that having been tormented by the gout, 
for the space of twenty-three years, and with such 



severe pains, that it gave me no rest for the*pac 
of three montlis at a time, I addi-essed myself to 
Catherine Tegahkouita, an Iroquois virgin de- 
ceased at the Sault Saint Louis, in the reputation 
of sanctity, and I promised her to visit her tomb, 
if God should give me health, tlu'ough her inter- 
cession. I have been as perfectly cured at the 
end of one novena, which I made in her honor, 
tliat after five months, I have not perceived the 
slightest touch of my gout. Given at Fort Fron- 
tenac, this 18th day of August, 1696." 

As soon as cold weather returned, his old mal- 
ady again appeared. He died early in A. D. 1710. 
Marquis de Vaudreuil," Governor of Canada, xm- 
der date of first of May of that year, wrote to 
Count Pontchartrain, Colomal Mmister at Paris, 
" Captain Du Lud died this winter. He was a 
very honest man." 



Ifi 



EXl'LOllEliti AXD PIONEERS OF MIXKESOTA. 



CHAPTER IV. 



FIEST WHITE 3IEN AT FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA. 



FalU of SI. Anthony Visitcl liy White Men.— La Salle Gives the First IVscription 
of Upper Mississippi Valley.— Accault, the Leader, Aecompanieil by Anfelle 
and Hennepin, at Falls of Saint Anthony.— Hennepin Declared Unreliable by 
La Salle.— His E.»rly Life.— His First Book Criticised by Abbe Bernou and 
Tn>nson. — Dceeptivo Map. — First Meeting with Sioux.;— Astonishment at 
Reading' His Breviary,- Sioux Nitmc for Guns.- Accault and Hennepin at 
Liike Pepin.— Leave the River Below Saint Paul.- At Mille Lacs.— A Sweating 
Cabin.— Sioux Wonder at Mariner's CoUtp.iss.— Fears of an Iron Pot — Miikinf 
a Dictionary.- Infant Baptisfd. -Route to the Pacific— Hennepin Descends 
Rum River.- FirstVisitto Falls of Saint Anthony.— On a Buffalo Hunt.— Meets 
Du Luth.— Returns to Mille Ucs.— With Du Luth at Falls of St. Anthony.— 
Returns to France. — Subscijuent Life.- His Books Examined.— Peoies in First 
Book His Descent to the Gulf of Mexico.— Dispute with Du Luth at Falls of St, 
Anthony.- Patronage of Du Luth.— Tribute to Du Luth.— Hennepin's Answer 
to Cnticisms.— Denounced by D'lbcrviUo and Father Gravier.— Kcsidcuce in 
Rome. 

In the summer of 1680, Michael Accault (jVko), 
lleiuiepin, the Frauciscau missionary, Augelle, 
Du Luth, and Faffart all visited the Falls of 
Saint Aiitliony. 

The first description of the valley of the upper 
Mississippi ■was written by La Salle, at Fort 
Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, on the 22d of Au- 
gust, 1()82, a month before Hennepin, in Paris, 
obtained a license to print, and some time before 
the Franciscan's first work, was issued from the 
press. 

La Salle's knowledge must have been received 
from Michael Accault, the leader of the expedi- 
tion, Augelle, his comrade, or the clerical attache, 
the Franciscan, Hennepin. 

It differs from nennepin's narrative in its free- 
dom from bombast, and if its statements are to 
be credited, the Francisciin must be looked on as 
one given to exaggeration. The careful student, 
however, soon learns to be cautious m receiving 
the statement of any of the early explorers and 
ecclesiastics of the Northwest. The Franciscan 
depreciated the Jesuit missionary, and La Salle 
did not hesitate to misrepresent Du Lutli and 
others tor his own exaltation. La Salle makes 
statements which we deem to be -nide of the 
trutli when his prejudices are aroused. 

At the very time that the lutendant of Justice 
in Canada is complauiing that Governor Fronte- 
nac is a friend and correspondent of Du Luth, 



La Salle WTites to Ids friends in Paris, tliat Du 
Luth is looked upon as an outlaw by the governor. 

"While ollicial documents prove that Du Luth 
was in IMinnesota a year before Accault and asso- 
ciates, yet La Salle writes: " Moreover, the Xa- 
donesioux is not a region which he has discov- 
ered. It is known that it was discovered a long 
time before, and that the Rev. Father Hennepin 
and Michael Accault were there before him." 

La Salle in this communication describes Ac- 
cault as one well acquainted with the language 
and names of the Indians of the Illinois region, 
and also " cool, brave, and prudent," and the head 
of the party of exploration. 

We now proceed with tlie first description of 
the country above the Wisconsin, to which is 
given, for the first and only time, by any writer, 
the Sioux name, Meschetz Odeba, perhaps in- 
tended for Mcshdeke AVakpa, River of the Foxes. 

He describes the Upper Mississippi in these 
words : " Followuig the windings of the Missis- 
sippi, they found the river Ouisconsing, AViscon- 
smg, or Meschetz Odeba, which flows between 
Bay of Puans and the Grand river. * * * About 
twenty-three or twenty-four leagues to the north 
or northwest of the mouth of the Ouisconsing, 
* * * they fomid the Black river, called by tlie 
Nadouesioux, Chabadeba [Chapa AVakpa, Beaver 
river] not very large, the mouth of which is bor- 
dered on the two sliores by alders. 

" Ascending about thirty leagues, almost at the 
s.ame point of the compass, is the Buffalo river 
[Chippewa], as large at its mouth as tliat of the 
Ilhnois. They follow it ten or twelve leagues, 
where it is deep, smaU and without rapids, bor- 
dered by hills which widen out from tiu\e to time 
to form prairies." 

About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 1 Uh 
of April, 1680, the tl'avelers were met by a war 
party of one hundred Sioux ui thu'ty-three birch 
bark canoes. "Michael Accault, who was the 



BENNEPIN CRITICISED BY LA SALLE. 



19 



leader," says La Salle, "presented the Calumet." 
The Indians were presented by Accault with 
twenty knives and a fathom and a half of tobacco 
and some goods. Proceeduig with the Indians 
ten days, on the 22d of April the isles in the Mis- 
sissippi were reached, where the Sioux had killed 
some ilaskoutens, and they halted to weep over 
the death of two of their own number ; and to 
assuage their grief, Accault gave them in trade a 
box of goods and twenty-four hatchets. 

When they were eight leagues below the Falls 
of Saint Anthony, they resolved to go by land to 
their village, sixty leagues distant. They were 
well received ; the only strife among the villages 
was that which resulted from the desire to have 
a Frenchman in their midst. La Salle also states 
that it was not correct to give the impression that 
Du Luth had rescued his men from captivity, for 
they could not be properly called prisoners. 

He continues: " In going up the Mississippi 
again, twenty leagues above that river [Saint 
Croixj is found the falls, which those I sent, and 
who passing there first, named Saint Anthony. 
It is thirty or forty feet high, and the river is nar- 
rower here than elsewhere. There is a small 
islaild in the midst of the chute, and the two 
banks of the river are not bordered by high hills, 
which gradually diminish at this point, but the 
country on each side is covered with thin woods, 
such as oaks and other hard woods, scattered wide 
apart. 

" The canoes were carried three or four hun- 
dred steps, and eight leagues above was found 
the west [east?] bank of the river of the Nadoue- 
sioux, ending in a lake named Issati, which ex- 
pands into a great marsh, where the mid rice 
grows toward the mouth." 

In the latter part of his letter La Salle uses the 
foUowmg language relative to his old chaplain: 

" I believed that it was appropriate to make for 
you the narrative of the adventures of this canoe, 
because I doubt not that they will speak of it, and 
if you wish to confer with the Father Louis Hen- 
nepin, Recollect, who has returned to France, you 
must know him a little, because he will not fail 
to exaggerate all things; it is his character, and 
to me he has written as if he were about to be 
burned when he was not even in danger, but he 
beUeves that it is honorable to act in this manner, 



and he speaks more conformably to that wliich 
he wishes than to that which he knows." 

Hemiepin was born in Ath, an inland town of 
the Netherlands. From boyliood he longed to 
visit foreign lands, and it is not to be wondered 
at that he assumed the priest's garb, for next to 
the soldier's life, it suited one of wandering pro- 
pensities. 

At one time he is on a begging expedition to 
some of the towns on the sea coast. In a few 
months he occupies the post of chaplain at an 
hospital, where he shrives the dying and admin- 
isters extreme unction. From the quiet of the 
hospital he proceeds to the camp, and is present 
at the battle of Seneffe, which occurred in the 
year 1674. 

His whole mind, from the time that he became 
a priest, appears to have been on " things seen 
and temporal," rather than on those that are " un- 
seen and eternal." While on duty at some of the 
ports of the Straits of Dover, he exliibited the 
characteristic of an ancient Athenian more than 
that of a professed successor of the Apostles. 
He sought out the society of strangf.-rs " who 
spent their time in nothing else but either to tell 
or to hear some new thing." With perfect non- 
chalance he confesses that notwithstanding the 
nauseating fumes of tobacco, he used to slip be- 
hind the doors of sailors' taverns, and spend days, 
without regard to the loss of his meals, listening 
to the adventures and hair-breadth escapes of the 
mariners in lands beyond the sea. 

In the year 1676, he received a welcome order 
from his Superior, requiring liim to embark for 
Canada. Unaccustomed to the world, and arbi- 
trary in his disposition, he rendered the cabin of 
the ship in which he sailed any thing but heav- 
enly. As in modern days, the passengers in a 
vessel to the new world were composed of hete- 
rogeneous materials. There were young women 
going out in search for brothers or husbands, ec- 
clesiastics, and those engaged in the then new, 
but profitable, commerce in furs. One of his 
fellow passengers was the talented and enterpri- 
prising, though unfortunate. La Salle, with whom 
he was afterwards associated. If he is to be 
credited, his intercourse with La SaUe was not 
very pleasant on ship-board. The yoimg women, 
tired of being cooped up in the narrow accommo- 
dations of the ship, when the evening was fair 



20 



EXPLOBERS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOIA. 



sought the deck, and engaged in tlie rude dances 
of the French peasantry of that age. Hennepin, 
feeling that it was improper, began to assume 
the air of the priest, and forbade the sport. La 
Salle, feeling that his interference was uncalled 
for, called liim a pedant, and took the side of the 
girls, and dumg the voyage there were stormy 
discussions. 

Good hiunor appears to have been restored 
when they left the ship, for Hennepin would otli- 
er^vise liave not been the companion of La Salle 
in his great western journey. 

Sojourning for a short period at Quebec, the 
adventure-loving Franciscan is permitted to go 
to a mission station on or near the site of the 
present town of Kingston, Canada West. 

Here there was much to gratify his love of 
novelty, and he passed considerable time in ram- 
bling among the Iroquois of Kew York. In 1678 
he returned to (Juebec, and was ordered to join 
the expedition of Robert La Salle. 

On the 6th of December Father Hennepin and 
a portion of the exploring party had entered the 
Niagara river. In the vicinity of the Falls, the 
winter was passed, and wliile the artisans were 
preparing a ship above the Falls, to navigate the 
great lakes, the Recollect whiled away the hours, 
in studying the manners and customs of the Sen- 
eca Indians, and in admiring the subUmest han- 
diwork of God on the globe. 

On the 7th of August, 1679, the ship being 
completely rigged, luifurled its sails to the breezes 
of Lake Eiie. The vessel was named the " Grif- 
fin," in honor of the arms of Frontenac, Governor 
of Canada, the first ship of Em-opean constric- 
tion that had ever ploughed the waters of the 
great inland seas of North America. 

After encountering a violent and dangerous 
storm on one of the lakes, during which they had 
given up all hope of escaping .shipwreck, on the 
27th of the month, they were safely moored in 
the harbor of " MissiUmackinack."' From thence 
the party proceeded to Green Bay, where they 
left the ship, procured canoes, and continue<l 
along the coast of Lake Jliehigan. By the mid- 
dle of January, 16.S0, La Salle had conducted his 
expedition to tlie Illinois River, and, on an emi- 
nence near Lake Peoria, he commenced, with 
much heaviness of heart, the erection of a fort, 



which he called Crevecoeur, on account of the 
many disappointments he had experienced. 

On the last of February, Accault, Augelle, and 
Hennepin left to ascend the Mississippi. 

The first work bearhig the name of the Rev- 
erend Fatlier Louis Hennepin, Franciscan Mis- 
sionary of tlie Recollect order, was entitled, " De- 
scription de la Louisiane," and in 1683 published 
in Paris. 

As soon as the book appeared it was criticised. 
Abbe Bernou, on the 29th of February, 1684, 
writes from Rome about the " paltry book" (mes- 
hcant livre) of Father Hennepin. About a year 
before the pious Tronson, imder date of March 
13, 1683, wrote to a friend: " I have interviewed 
the P. Recollect, who pretends to have descended 
the Mississippi river to the Gulf of Mexico. I do 
not know that one li'ill believe n-hat he speaks any 
more than that which is in the pirintcd relation of 
P. Louis, which I send you that you may make 
your own reflections." 

On the map accompanymg his first booli, he 
boldly marks a Recollect Mission many miles 
north of the point he had visited. In the Utrecht 
edition of 1697 this deUberate fraiul is erased. 

Tliroughout the work he assumes, that he was 
the leader of the expedition, and magnifies trifles 
into tragedies. For mstance, Mr. La Salle writes 
that Michael Accault, also written Ako, who was 
the leader, presented the Sioux with the calu- 
met ;" but Hennepin makes the occurrence more 
formidable. 

He writes : " Our prayers were heard, when on 
the nth of April, 1680, about two o'clock in the 
afternoon, we suddenly perceived thirty -three 
bark canoes manned by a hundred and twenty 
Indians coming down mth very great speed, on a, 
war party, against the Miamis, Illinois and Jlaro- 
as. These Intlians sin-rounded us, and while at 
a distance, discharged some arrows at us, but as 
they approached our canoe, the old men seeing us 
with the calumet of peace in our hands, prevent- 
ed the young men from kilhiig us. These sava- 
ges leaping from their canoes, some on land, 
others into the water, with frightful cries and 
yells approached us, and as we mad6 no resist- 
ance, being only tliree against so great a number, 
one of them wrenched our caltunet from our 
hands, while our canoe and theirs were tied to 
the shore. We first presented to them a piece of 



HENJ^EPIN'S DIFFICULTY WITH PRAYER-BOOK. 



21 



French tobacco, better for smoking than theirs' 
and the eldest among them uttered the words' 
" Miamiha, Miamiha." 

" As we did not understand their language, we 
took a little stick, and by signs which we made 
on the sand, showed tliem that their enemies, the 
Miamis, whom they sought, had fled across the 
river Colbert [Mississippi] to jom the Islinois ; 
when they saw themselves discovered and unable 
to surprise their enemies, three or four old men 
laying their hands on my head, wept in a moiuTi- 
ful tone. 

" With a spare handkerchief I had left I vnped 
away their tears, but they would not smoke our 
Calumet. They made us cross the river with 
great cries, while all shouted with tears in their 
eyes; they made us row before them, and we 
heard yells capable of striking the most resolute 
with terror. After landmg our canoe and goods, 
part of which had already been taken, we made a 
fire to boil our kettle, and we gave them two large 
wild tiu-keys which we had killed. These Indians 
having called an assembly to deliberate what they 
were to do with us, the two head chiefs of the 
party approaching, showed us by signs that the 
warriors wished to tomahawk us. This com- 
pelled me to go to the war chiefs with one young 
man, leaving the other by our property, and 
throw into their midst six axes, fifteen knives 
and six fathom of onr black tobacco ; and then 
bringing down my head, I showed them with an 
axe that they might kill me, if they thought 
proper. This present appeased many individual 
members, who gave us some beaver to eat, put- 
ting the three first morsels into our mouths, accor- 
ding to the custom of the country, and blowing on 
the meat, which was too hot, before putting the 
bark dish before us to let us eat as we liked. We 
spent the night in anxiety, because, before reti- 
ring at night, they had returned us our peace 
calumet. 

" Our two boatmen were resolved to sell their 
lives dearly, and to resist if attacked ; their arms 
and swords were ready. As for my own part, I 
determined to allow myself to be killed without 
any resistance ; as I was going to amiounce to 
them a God who had been foully accused, un- 
justly condemned, and cruelly crucified, without 
showing the least aversion to those who put him 
to death. We watched in tm-u, in oui- anxiety, 



so as not to be surprised asleep. The next mom- 
mg, a chief named Narrhetoba asked for the 
peace calumet, filled it with wUlow bark, and all 
smoked. It was then signified that the white 
men were to return with them to then- villages." 

In liis narrative the Franciscan remarks, " I 
found it diflicult to say my office before these 
Indians. Many seeing me move my lips, said in 
a fierce tone, ' Ouakanche.' Aliehael, all out of 
countenance, told me, that if I continued to say 
my breviary, we should all three be killed, and 
the Picard begged me at least to prAy apart, so as 
not to provoke them. I followed the latter's 
advice, but the more I concealed myself the more 
I had the Indians at my heels ; for when I en- 
tered the wood, they thought I was going to hide 
some goods imder gromid, so that I knew not on 
what side to turn to pray, for they never let me 
out of sight. This obliged me to beg pardon of 
my canoe -men, assming them I could not dis- 
pense with saying my oflice. By the word, ' Ou- 
akanche,' the Indians meant that the book I was 
reading was a spuit, but by their gesture they 
nevertheless showed a kind of aversion, so that 
to accustom them to it, I chanted the litany of 
the Blessed Virgin in the canoe, vrtth my book 
opened. They thought that the breviary was a 
spirit which taught me to smgfor their diversion ; 
for these people are naturally fond of singing." 

This is the first mention of a Dahkotah word 
in a Eiu-opean book. The savages were annoyed 
rather than em-aged, at seeing the white man 
reading a book, and exclaimed, " Wakan-de I" 
this is wonderful or supernatiu'al. The war 
party was composed of several bands of the M'de- 
wahkantonwan Dahkotahs, and there was a di- 
versity of opinion m relation to the disposition 
that should be made of the white men. The 
relatives of those who had been killed by the 
Miamis, were in favor of taking theu* scalps, but 
others were anxious to retain the favor of the 
French, and open a trading intercoiuse. 

Perceiving one of the canoe-men shoot a wild 
turkey, they called the gun, ' ' Manza Ouackange," 
iron that has understanding; more correctly, 
" Maza Wakande," this is tlie supernatural metal. 

Aquipaguettn, one of the head men, resorted 
to the following device to obtain merchandise. 
Says the Father, " This wily savage had the 
bones of some distinguished relative, which he 



22 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



preserved with great care in some skins dressed 
and .idonied with several rows of black and red 
porcupine quills. From time to time he assem- 
bled his men to give it a smoke, and made us 
come several days to cover the bones with goods, 
and by a present wipe away tlie tears he liad shed 
for him, and for las own son kiUed by tlie Miamis. 
To appease this captious man, we threw on the 
bones several fathoms of tobacco, axes, knives, 
beads, and some black and white wampum brace- 
lets. * * * We slept at the pomt of the Lake 
of Tears [Lake Pepin], which we so called from 
the tears which this chief shed all night long, or 
by one of liis sons whom he caused to weep when 
he grew tired." 

The next day, after four or five leagues' sail, a 
chief came, and telling them to leave their canoes, 
he pulled up three piles of grass for seats. Then 
taking a piece of cedar fidl of Uttle holes, he 
placed a stick into one, which he revolved between 
the palms of liis liands, until he kuidled a lire, 
and informed the Frenchmen that they would be 
at Mille Lac in six days. On the nmeteenth day 
after their captivity, they arrived in the vicinity 
of Saint I'aul, not far, it is ]irt)baV)le, from the 
marshy ground on which the Kaposia baud once 
lived, and now called Pig's Eye. 

Tlie journal remarks, " Having arrived on the 
nineteenth day of our navigation, five leagues 
below St. Anthony's Falls, these Indians landed 
us in a bay, broke our canoe to nieces, and se- 
creted their own in tlie reeds."' 

They then followed the trail to MUle Lac, sixty 
leagues distant. As they approached their villa- 
ges, the various bands began to show tlieir spoils. 
The tobacco was liiglily prized, and led to some 
contention. The chalice of the Father, which 
gUstened in the sun, they were afraid to touch, 
supposing it was ''wakan." After five days' 
walk they reached the Issati [Dahkotah] settle- 
ments in the valley of the Kum or Knife river. 
The different bauds eacli conductcil a Frenchman 
to their village, the chief Aqiiipaguetiu taking 
charge of Hennepin. After marching through 
the marslies towards the sources of Eum river, 
five wives of the cliief, in tliree bark canoes, met 
them and took tliem a short league to an island 
where their cabins were. 

An aged Indian Mndly nibbed down the way- 
worn Franciscan ; placing him on a bear- skin 



near the fire, he anointed his legs and the soles 
of his feet with wildcat oil. 

The son of the chief took great pleasure in car- 
rying upon his bare back the priest's robe with 
dead men's bones enveloped. It was called Pere 
Louis Chinnen. In the Dabkotali language Shm- 
na or Shinnan signifies a buffalo robe. 

Hennepin's description of his life on the island 
is in tliese words : 

" Tlie day after our arrival, Aquipaguetln, who 
was the head of a large family, covered me with 
a robe made of ten large dressed beaver skins, 
trimmed with porcupine quills. Tliis Indian 
showed me five or six of his wives, telling them, 
as I afterwards learned, that they shoul-' in fu' 
ture regard me as one of their children. 

" He set before me a bark dish full of fish, and 
seeing that I could not rise from the ground, he 
had a small sweating-cabin made, in which he 
made me enter with four Indians. This cabin he 
covered with buffalo skins, and inside he put 
stones red-hot. He made me a sign to do as the 
others before beginning to sweat, but I merely 
concealed my nakedness with a handkerchief. 
As soon as these Indians had several times 
breathed out quite violently, he began to sing vo- 
ciferously, the others puttuig their liands on me 
and rubbing me while they wejit bitterly. I be- 
gan to faint, but I came out and could scarcely 
take my habit to put on. When he made me 
sweat thus three times a week. I felt as strong as 
ever." 

The mariner's compass was a constant source 
of wonder and amazement. Aquipaguetln hav- 
ing assembled the braves, would ask lleiinepin 
to show his compass. Perceiving that the needle 
turned, the chief harangued his men, and told 
them that the Europeans were spirits, capable of 
doing any thing. 

In the Franciscan's possession was an iron pot 
with feet Uke lions', which the Indians would not 
touch unless their hands were wrapped in buffalo 
skins. The women looked upon it as " wakan," 
and would not enter the cabin where it was. 

" The chiefs of these savages, seeing that I was 
desirous to learn, frequently made me write, 
naming aU the parts of the human body ; and as 
I would not put on paper certain indelicate words, 
at which they do not blush, they were heaitiiy 
amused." 



nENNEPlN'S VISIT TO FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY. 



23 



They often asked the Franciscan questions, to 
answer which it was necessary to refer to his lex- 
icon. This appeared very strange, and, as they 
had no word for paper, they said, " That white 
thuig must be a spirit which tells Fere Louis all 
we say." 

Ilennepm remarks : " These Indians often 
asked me how many wives and children I had, 
and how old I was, that is, how many winters ; 
for so these natives always coimt. Never illu- 
mined by the light of faith, they were surprised 
at my answer. Fointing to our two Frenchmen, 
wliom I was then visiting, at a pomt three leagues 
from our village, I told them that a man among 
us could only have one wife ; that as for me, I 
had promised the Master of life to live as they 
saw me, and to come and live with them to teach 
them to be like the French. 

" But that gross people, till then lawless and 
faithless, turned all I said into ridicule. ' How,' 
said they, ' would you have these two men with 
thee have wives? Ours would not Uve with them, 
for they have hair all over their face, and we have 
none there or elsewhere.' In fact, they were 
never better pleased with me than when I was 
sliaved, and from a complaisance, certainly not 
ciiminal, I shaved every week. 

" As often as I went to visit the cabins, I found 
a sick child. Whose father's name was ilamenisi. 
Michael Ako would not accompany me ; the 
Picard du Gay alone followed me to act as spon- 
sor, or, rather, to witness the baptism. 

" I christened the child Antoinette, in honor of 
St. Anthony of Padua, as well as for the Pieard"s 
name, which was Anthony Anguelle. He was a 
native of Amiens, and nephfew of the Procurator- 
General of the Premonstratensians both now at 
Paris. Having poured natural water on tlie head 
and uttered these words : ' Creature of God, I 
baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of 
tlie Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' I took half an 
altar cloth wliich I had wrested from the hands 
of an Indian who had stolen it from me, and put 
it on the body of the baptized child ; for as I 
could not say mass for want of wine and vest- 
ments, this piece of linen could not be put to bet- 
ter use than to enshroud the first Christian child 
among these tribes. I do not know whether the 
softness of the linen had refreslied her, but she 
was the next day smiling m her mother's arms. 



who beUeved that I had cured the child ; but she 
died soon after, to my great consolation. 

" During my stay among them, there arrived 
four savages, who said they were come alone five 
hundred leagues from the west, and had been four 
months upon the way. They assured us there 
was no such place as the Straits of Anian, and 
that they had traveled without restmg, except to 
sleep, and had not seen or passed over any great 
lake, by which phrase they always mean the sea. 

" They further informed us that the nation of 
the Assenipoulacs [Assiniboiues] who lie north- 
east of Issati, was not above six or seven days' 
joirmey ; that none of the natiojis, within their 
knowledge, who lie to the east or northwest, had 
any great lake about their comitries, which were 
very large, but only rivers, which came from the 
north. They further assured us that there were 
very few forests in the countries through which 
they passed, insomuch that now and then they 
were forced to make flres of buffaloes' dung to 
boil their food. All these circumstances make it 
appear that there is no such place as the Straits 
of Anian, as we usually see them set do^\ii on the 
maps. And whatever efforts have been made for 
many year;* past by the English and Dutch, to 
find out a passage to the Frozen Sea, tliey have 
not yet been able to effect it. But by the help of 
my discovery and the assistance of God, I doubt 
not but a passage may still be found, and that an 
easy one too. 

" For example, we may be transported into the 
Pacific Sea by rivers which are large and capable 
of carrying great vessels, and from thence it is 
very easy to go to China and Japan, without cross- 
ing the equinoctial line ; and, in all probability, 
Japan is on the same coniinent as America.'''' 

Hennepin in his first book, thus describes his 
first visit to the Falls of St. Anthony : " In the 
beginning of July, 1680, we descended the [Rum] 
River in a canoe southward, with the great chief 
Ouasicoude [AVauzeekootay] that is to say Pierced 
Pine, with about eighty cabins composed of more 
than a hundred and thirty families and about 
two hundred and fifty warriors. Scarcely would 
the Indians give me a place in their little flotilla, 
for they had only old canoes. They went four 
leagiies lower downi, to get birch bark to make 
some more. Having made a hole in the groinid, 
to hide our silver chalice and our papers, till our 



24 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



return from the hunt, and keeping onl)' our bre- 
viary, so as not to be loaded, I stood on the bank 
of the lake formed by the river we had called St. 
Francis [now Rum] and stretched out my hand 
to the canoes as they rapidly passed in succession. 

"Our Frenclimen also liad one for themselves, 
whicli the Indians had given them. They would 
not take me in, Michael Ako saying that he had 
taken me long enough to satisfy him. I was hurl 
at this answer, seeing myself thus abandoned by 
Christians, to whom I had always done good, as 
they both often acknowledged; but God never 
having abaniloned me on that painful voyage, in- 
spired t^vo Indians to take me in their little 
canoe, where I had no other employment than to 
bale out witli a little bark tray, the water which 
entered by little holes. This 1 did not do with- 
out getting all wet. Tliis boat might, indeed, be 
called a death box, for its lightness and fragility. 
These canoes do not generally weigli over hfty 
pounds, the least motion of the body upsets them, 
unless you are long accustomed to that kind of 
navigation. 

" On disembarking in the evening, the Picard, 
as an excuse, told me that their canoe was half- 
rotten, and that had we been three in it, we 
shoidd have run a gi'eat risk of remaining on the 
way. * * * Four days after our departure for 
the buffalo hunt, we halted eight leagues above 
St. Anthony of Padua's Falls, on an eminence 
opposite the mouth of the River St. Francis [Rum] 
* * * The Picard and myself went to look for 
haws, gooseberries, and little wild fruit, which 
often did us more harm than good. This obliged 
us to go alone, as Itlichael Ako refused, in a 
wretched canoe, to Ouisconsin river, which was 
more tlian a hundred leagues off, to see whether 
the Sieur dc la Salle liad sent to that place a re- 
inforcement of men, with powder, lead, and 
other mimitions, as he had promised us. 

"The Indians would not have suffered this 
voyage had not one of the three remained willi 
them. They wished me to stay, but Michael 
Ako absolutely refused. As we were making tlic 
portage of our canoe at St. Anthony of Padua's 
Falls, we perceived five or six of our Indians wlio 
had taken the start ; one of them was up in an 
oak opposite the great fall, weeping bitterly, witli 
a rich dressed beaver robe, whitened inside, and 
trimmed with porcupine quills, which he was 



offering as a sacrifice to the falls; which is, in it- 
self, admirable and fi-ightful. I heard him while 
shedding copious tears, say as he spoke to the 
great cataract, ' Thou who art a spirit, grant tliat 
our nation may pass here quietly, without acci- 
dent ; may kill buffalo in abundance ; conquer 
our enemies, and bring in slaves, some of whom 
we will put to death before thee. The Messenecqz 
(so they call the tribe named by the French Outa- 
gamis) have killed our kindred ; grant that we 
may avenge them.' This robe offered in sacrifice, 
served one of our Frenchmen, who took it as we 
returned." 

It is certainly wonderful, that Hennepin, who 
knew nothing of the Sioux language a few weeks 
before, should understand the prayer offered at 
the Falls without the aid of an interpreter. 

The narrator continues : " A league beyond 
St. Anthony of Padua's Falls, the Picard was 
obliged to land and get his powder horn, which he 
had left at the Falls. * * * As we descended 
the river Colbert [Mississippi] we fomwl some of 
our Indians on the islands loaded with buffalo 
meat, some of which they gave us. Two hours 
after landing, fifteen or sixteen warriors whom we 
had left above St. Anthony of Padua's Falls, en- 
tered, toniakawk in hand, upset the cabin of those 
who had invited us, took all the meat and bear 
oil they found, and greased themselves from head 
to foot," 

This was done because the others had violated 
the rules for the buffalo limit. With the Indians 
Hennepin went down the river sixty leagues, and 
then went up the river again, and met buffalo. 
He continues : 

" While seeking the Ouisconsin River, that 
savage father, Aquipaguetin, whom I had left, 
anil who I believed more than tv*-o hundred 
leagues off, on the 11th of July, 1680, appeared 
with the warriors." After this, Hennepin and 
I'icard continued to go up the river almost eighty 
leagues. 

There is great confusion here, as the reader 
will see. When at the mouth of the Rum River, 
he speaks of the "Wisconsin as more than a liun- 
dred leagues off. He floats down the river sixty 
leagues ; then he ascended, but does not stiite the 
distance; then he ascends eighty leagues. 

He continues : " The Indians whom he had left 
with Michael Ako at Buffalo [Chippuway] River, 



EENNEFIN MEETS SIEUB BU LUTH. 



26 



with the flotilla of canoes loaded with meat, came 
down. * * * AH the Indian women had their 
stock of meat at the month of Buffalo Kiver and 
on the islands, and again we went dowTi the Col- 
bert [Mississippi] about eighty leagues. * * * 
^ye had another alarm in our camp : the old men 
on duty on the top of the mountauis auuounced 
that they saw two warriors in the distance ; all 
the bowmen hastened there with speed, each try- 
ing to outstrip the others ; but they brought back 
only two of their enemies, who came to tell them 
that a party of their people were himting at the 
extremity of Lake Conde [Superior] and had found 
four Spirits (so they call the French) who, by 
means of a slave, had expressed a wish to come 
on, knowing us to be among them. * * * On 
the 25th of July, IbSO, as we were ascending the 
river Colbert, after the buffalo hunt, to the In- 
dian villages, we met Sieur du Luth, who came 
to the Nadouessious with five French soldiers. 
They joined us about two hundred and twenty 
leagues distant from the country of the Indians 
who had taken us. As we had some knowledge 
of the language, they begged us to accompany 
tliem to the villages of these tribes, to which I 
readily agreed, knowing that these two French- 
men had not approached the sacrament for two 
years." 

Here again the nimiber of leagues is confusing, 
and it is impossible to believe that Du Luth and 
liis interpreter Faffart, who had been trading 
with the Sionx for more than a year, needed the 
help of Hennepin, who had been about three 
months with these people. 

We are not told by what route Hennepin and 
Du Luth reached Lake Issati or Mille Lacs, but 
Hennepin says they arrived there on the 11th of 
August, 1680, and he adds, " Toward the end of 
September, having no implements to begin an 
establishment, we resolved to tell these people, 
that for their benefit, we would have to return to 
the French settlements. The grand Chief of the 
Issati or Nadouessiouz consented, and traced in 
pencil on paper I gave him, the route I should 
take for four hundred leagues. With this chart, 
we set out, eight Frenchmen, in two canoes, and 
descended the river St. Francis and Colbert [Rum 
and Mississippi]. Two of our men took two bea- 
ver robes at St. Anthony of Padua's Falls, which 
the Indians had himg in sacrifice on the ti-ees." 



The second work of Hennepin, an enlargement 
of the first, appeared at Lftrecht in the year 1697, 
ten years after La Salle's death. During the in- 
terval between the publication of the first and 
second book, he had passed three years as Super- 
intendent of the Recollects at Reny in the province 
of Artois, when Father Hyacinth Lef evre, a friend 
of La Salle, and Commissary Provincial of Recol- 
lects at Paris, wished him to return to Canada. 
He refused, and was ordered to go to Rome, and 
upon his coming back was sent to a convent at 
St. Omer, and there received a dispatch from the 
Minister of State in France to return to the coun- 
tries of the King of Spain, of which he was a 
subject. This order, he asserts, he afterwards 
learned was forged. 

In the preface to the English edition of the 
New Discovery, published m 1698, hi London, he 
writes : 

" The pretended reason of that violent order 
was because I refused to return into America, 
where I had been already eleven years ; though 
the particular laws of our Order oblige none of us 
to go beyond sea against his will. I would have, 
however, returned very willingly had I not kno\«i 
the malice of M. La Salle, who would have ex- 
posed me to perish, as he did one of the men who 
accompanied me in my discovery. God knows 
that I am sorry for his unfortunate death ; but 
the judgments of the Almighty are always just, 
for the gentleman was killed by one of his own 
men, who were at last sensible that he exposed 
them to visible dangers without any necessity and 
for his private designs." 

After this he was forabout five years at Gosse- 
lies, in Brabant, as Confessor in a convent, and 
from thence removed to his native place, Ath, in 
Belgium, where, according to his narrative in the 
preface to the " Nouveau Decouverte," he was 
again persecuted. Then Father Fayez, Grand 
Commissary of Recollects at Louvain, being in- 
formed that the King of Spain and the Elector of 
Bavaria recommended the step, consented that 
he should enter the service of William the Third 
of Great Britam, who had been very kind to the 
Roman Catholics of Netherlands. By order of 
Payez he was sent to Antwerp to take the lay 
habit in the convent there, and subsequently 
went to Utrecht, where he finished his second 
book known as the New Discovery. 



26 



EXPLOBEIiS AND PIONEERS OF ^flNKESOTA. 



His first volume, printed in 1683, contains 312 
pages, with an appendix of 107 pages, on the 
Customs of tlie Savages, while the Utreclit book 
of 1697 contains 5()9 pages without an appendix. 

On page 249 of the Xew Discovery, he begins 
an account of a voyage alleged to have been ma(k> 
to the mouth of the Mississippi, and occupies 
over sixty pages in tlie narrative. Tlie opening 
sentences give as a reason for concealing to this 
time his discovery, that La Salle would have re- 
ported him to his Superiors for presuming to go 
down instead of ascending the stream toward tlie 
north, as had been agreed ; and that the two with 
him threatened that if he did not consent to de- 
scend the river, they would leave him on shore 
during the night, and pursue their own course. 

lie asserts that he left the Gulf of Mexico, to 
return, on the 1st of Apiil, and on the 24th left 
the Arkansas ; but a week after tliis, he declares 
he lauded with the Sioux at the marsh about two 
miles below the city of Saint Paul. 

The account has been and is still a puzzle to 
the historical student. In our review of his first 
book we have noticed that as early as 1683, he 
claimed to have descended the ilississippi. In 
the Utrecht publication he declares that while at 
Quebec, upon his return to France, he gave to 
Father Valentine Roux, Commissary of Recol- 
lects, his journal, upon the promise that it would 
be kept secret, and that this Father made a copy 
of his whole voyage, including the visit to the 
Gulf of Mexico ; but in his Description of Louis- 
iana, Ilenneiiin wrote, " We had some design of 
going to tlie mouth of the river Colbert, which 
more probably empties into the Gulf of Mexico 
than into tlie Red Sea, but the tribes that seized 
us gave us no time to sail up and down the river." 

The additions in his Utrecht book to magnify 
his importance and detract from others, are 
many. As Sparks and Parkman have pointed 
oiit the plagiarisms of this edition, a reference 
here is unnecessary. 

Du Luth, who left Quebec in 1678, and had 
been in northern Minnesota, with an interpreter, 
for a year, after he met Ako and Hennepin, be- 
comes of secondary importance, in the eyes of 
the Franciscan. 

In the Description of Louisiana, on page 289, 
Uennepin speaks of passing the Falls of Saint 
Anthony, upon his return to Canada, in these 



few words : " Two of our men seized two beaver 
robes at the Falls of St. Anthony of Padua, 
which the Indians had in sacrifice, fastened to 
trees."' But m the Utrecht edition, conuuencing 
on page 416, there is nuuJi added concerning Du 
Luth. After using the language of the edition 
of 1683, already quoted it adds: "Hereupon 
there arose a dispute between Sieiir du Ltitli and 
my.self. I commended wliat they liad done, say- 
uig, 'The savages might judge by it that they 
disliked the superstition of these people.' Tlie 
Sieur du Luth, on tlie contrary, said tliat they 
ought to have left the robes where the savages 
placed them, for they would not fail to avenge 
the insult we had put upon tliem by this action, 
and that it was feared that they would attack iis 
on this journey. I confessed he had some foun- 
dation for what he said, and that he spoke accor- 
ding to the rules of jirudence. But one of the 
two men flatly replied, the two robes suited them, 
and they cared nothing for the savages and their 
superstitions. The Sieur du Luth atthe.se words 
was so greatly enraged that he nearly struck the 
one who uttered them, but I inlei-vened and set- 
tled the dispute. The Picard and Michael Ako 
ranged themselves on the side of those who had 
taken the robes in question, which might have 
resulted badly. 

" I argued with Sieur du Luth that the savages 
would not attack us, because I was persuaded 
that their great chief Ouasicoude would have our 
interests at heart, and he had great credit with 
his nation. The matter terminated pleasantly. 

" When we arrived near tlie river Ouiscoiisin, 
we halted to smoke tlie meat of the buffalo we 
had killed on the journey. During our stay, three 
savages of the nation we had left, came by the 
side of our canoe to tell us that their great chief 
Ouasicoude, liaving learned tliat another chief of 
these people wished to pursue and kill us, and 
that he entered the cabin wliere he was consult- 
ing, and had struck him on tlu^ liead with sucli 
violence as to scatter his brains upon his associ- 
iites ; thus preventing the executuig of this inju- 
rious project. 

'■ We regaled the three savages, having a great 
abundance of food at that time. The Sieur du 
Luth, after the savages had left, was as enraged 
as before, and feared that they would pursue and 
attack us on om' voyage. He w ould have pushed 



TRIBUTE TO DANIEL GBEYSOLON DU LUTH. 



27 



the matter f iirtlier, but seeing that one man would 
resist, and was not in the humor to be imposed 
upon, he moderated, and I appeased them in the 
end with tlie assurance that God would not aban- 
don us in distress, and, provided we confided in 
Ilim, he would deliver us from our foes, because 
lie is the protector of men and angels." 

After describing a conference with the Sioux, 
lie adds, "Thus the savages were very kind, 
without mentioning the beaver robes. Tlie chief 
Ouasicoude told me to offer a fathom of ilarti- 
nico tobacco to the chief Aquipaguetin, who had 
adopted me as a son. This had an admirable 
effect upon the barbarians, who went off shouting 
several times the word ' Louis,' [Ouis or We] 
which, as he said, means the sun. Without van- 
ity, I must say that my name will be for a long 
time among these people. 

"The savages having left us, to go to war 
against the Messorites, the Maroha, the Illinois, 
and other nations which live toward the lower 
part of the Mississippi, and are irreconcilalile foes 
of the people of tlie North, tlie Sieur du Lutb. 
who upon many occasions gave me marks of his 
friendship, could not forbear to tell our men that 
I had all the reason in the world to believe that 
the Viceroy of Canada would give me a favorable 
reception, should we arrive before winter, and 
that he wished with all his heart that he had been 
among as many natives as myself." 

The style of Louis Hennepin is unmistakable 
in this extract, and it is amusing to read his pa- 
tronage of one of the fearless explorers of the 
Northwest, a cousin of Tonty, favored by Fron- 
tenac, and who was in jyiinnesota a year before 
his arrival. 

In 1691, six years before the Utrecht edition of 
Hennepin, another Recollect Franciscan had pub- 
Ushed a book at Paris, called " The First Estab- 
lishment of the Faith in New France," in which 
is the following tribute to Du Luth, whom Ilen- 
nepui strives to make a subordinate : " In the last 
years of M. de Frontenac's administration, Sieur 
DuLuth,a man of talent and experience, opened 
a way to the missionary and the Gospel in many 
different nations, turning toward the north of 
that lake [Superior] where he even built a fort, 
he advanced as far as the Lake of the Issati, 
caUed Lake Buade, from the family name of M. 



de Frontenac, planting the arms of his Majesty 
in several nations on the right and left." 

In the second volume of his last book, which is 
called " A Continuance of the New Discovery of 
a vast Country in America," etc., Hennepin no- 
ticed some criticisms. 

To the objection that his work was dedicated 
to William the Third of Great Britain, he replies : 
" My King, his most Catholic Majesty, his Elec- 
toral Highness of Bavaria, the consent in writing 
of the Superior of my order, the integrity of my 
faith, and the regular observance of my vows, 
which his Britannic Majesty allows me, are the 
best warrants of the uprightness of my inten- 
tions." 

To the query, how he could travel so far upon 
the Mississippi in so little time, he answers with 
a bold face, " That we may, with a canoe and a 
pair of oars, go twenty, twenty-five, or thirty 
leagues every day, and more too, if there be oc- 
casion. And though we had gone but ten leagues 
a day, yet in thirty days we might easily have 
gone three hundred leagues. If during the time 
we spent from the river of the Illinois to the 
mouth of the Meschasipi, in the Gulf of Mexico, 
we had used a little more haste, we might have 
gone the same twice over." 

To the objection, that he said, he nad passed 
eleven years in America, when he had been there 
but about four, he evasively replies, that " reck- 
oning from the year 1674, when I first set out, to 
the year l(iS8, when I printed the second edition 
of my ' Louisiana,' it appears that I have spent 
fifteen years either in travels or prmting my 
Discoveries." 

To those who objected to the statement in his 
first book, in the dedication to Louis the Four- 
teenth, that the Sioux always call the sun Louis, 
he writes : " I repeat what I have said before, 
that being among the Issati and Nadouessans, by 
whom I was made a slave in America, I never 
heard them call the sun any other than Louis. 
It is true these savages call also the moon Louis, 
but with this distinction, that they give the moon 
the name of Louis Bastache, which in their lan- 
guage signifies, the sim that shines in the night." 

The Utrecht edition called forth much censure, 
and no one in France doubted that Hennepin 
was the author. D'Iberville, Governor of Lou- 
isiana, while in Paris, wrote on July 3d 1699, to 



EXPLOBEIiS Am) PIOXEERS OF ItlNNESOTA. 



the Minister of Marine and Colonies of France, 
in these words : " Very much vexed at the Rec- 
ollect, whose false narratives had deceived every 
one, and caused our suffering and total failure of 
our enterprise, by the time consumed in the 
' search of things which alone existed in his imag- 
ination." 

The Eev. Father James Gravier, in a letter 
from a fort on the Gulf of Mexico, near the Mis- 
sissippi, dated February 16th, 1701, expressed the 
sentiment of his times when he speaks of Hen- 
nepin " who presented to King William, the Rela- 
tion of the Mississippi, wliere he never was, and 
after a thousand falsehoods and ridiculous boasts, 



* * * he makes Mr. de la Salle appear in liis 
Relation, wounded with two balls in the head, 
turn toward the Recollect Father Anastase, to 
ask him for absolution, having been killed in- 
stantly, without uttering a word • and other like 
false stories." 

Hennepin gradually faded out of sight. Bru- 
net mentions a letter written by J. B. Dubos, 
from Rome, dated March 1st, 1701, which men- 
tions that Hennepin was li\ing on the Capitoline 
Hill, in the celebrated convent of Ara Coeli, and 
was a favorite of Cardinal Spada. The time and 
place of his death has not been ascertaiiied. 



NICHOLAS PJSBBOT, FOUNDEB OF FIBST POST ON LAKE PEPIN. 



29 



CHAPTER V. 



NICHOLAS PEKEOT, FOUNDEK OF FIRST POST ON LAKE PEPIN. 



£arly Life. — Searches for Topper. — Interpreter at Sault St. Marie, Employed Ijy 
La Salle. — Bmlds Stocl;ade at Lake Pepin. — Hostile Indians Relinked. — A 
Silver Ostensorium Given to a Jesuit Chapel. — Perrot in the Battle against 
Seneeas, in New York. — Second Visit to Sioux Country. — Taking Possession by 
"Proces Verbal." — Discovery of Lead Mines. — Attends Council at Montreal. — 
Establishes a Pbst near Detroit, in Michigan. — Perrot's Death, and his Wife. 



Nicholas Perrot, sometimes written Pere, was 
one of the most energetic of the class in Canada 
known as " coureurs des bois," or forest rangers. 
Born in 1644, at an early age he was identified 
with the fur trade of the great inland lakes. As 
early as 1665, he was among the Outagamies 
[Foxes], and in 1667 was at Green Bay. In 1669, 
he was appointed by Talon to go to the lake re- 
gion in search of copper mines. At the formal 
taking possession of that country in the name of 
the King of France, at Sault St. Marie, on the 
14th of May, 1671, he acted as interpreter. In 
1677, he seems to have been employed at Fort 
Froutenac. La Salle was made very sick the 
next year, from eating a salad, and one Nicholas 
Perrot, called Joly Coeur (Jolly Soul) was sus- 
pected of having mingled poison with the food. 
After this he was associated with Du Luth in 
the execution of two Indians, as we have seen. 
In 1684, he was appointed by De la Barre, the 
Governor of Canada, as Commandant for the 
West, and left Montreal with twenty men. Ar- 
riving at Green Bay in Wisconsin, some Indians 
told him that they had visited countries toward 
the sotting sun, where they obtained the blue 
and green stones suspended from their ears and 
nosts, and that they saw horses and men like 
Frenchmen, probably the Spaniards of New Mex- 
ico ; and otliers said that they had obtamed hatch- 
ets from persons who lived in a house that walked 
on the water, near the mouth of the river of the 
Assiniboines, alluding to the English established 
at Hudson's Bay. Proceeding to the portage be- 
tween the Fox and Wisconsui, thirteen Ilurons 
were met, who were bitterly opposed to the es- 
tablishment of a post near the Sioux. After the 



Mississippi was reached, a party of Winnebagoes 
was employed to notify the tribes of Northern 
Iowa that the French had ascended the river, 
and wished to meet them. It was further agreed 
that prairie fires would be kindled from time to 
time, so that the Indians could follow the French. 

After entering Lake Pepin, near its mouth, on 
the east side, Perrot foimd a place suitable for a 
post, where there was wood. The stockade was 
built at the foot of a bluff beyond which was a 
large prairie. La Potherie makes this statement, 
which is repeated by Penicaut, who writes of 
Lake Pepin : " To the right and left of its shores 
there are also prairies. In that on the right on 
the bank of the lake, there is a fort, which was 
built by Nicholas Perrot, whose name it yet [1700] 
bears." 

Soon after he was established, it was announced 
that a band of Aiouez [loways] was encamped 
above, and on the way to visit the post. The 
French ascended in canoes to meet them, but as 
they drew nigh, the Indian women ran up the 
bluffs, and hid in the woods ; but twenty of the 
braves mustered courage to advance and greet 
Perrot, and bore him to the chief's lodge. The 
chief, bending over Perrot, began to weep, and 
allowed the moisture to fall upon his visitor. 
After he had exhausted himself, the principal 
men of the party repeated the slabbering process. 
Then buffalo tongues were boiled in an earthen 
pot, and after being cut into small pieces, the 
chief took a piece, and, as a mark of respect, 
placed it in Perrot's mouth. 

During the winter of 1684-85, the French tra- 
ded in Minnesota. 

At the end of the beaver hunt, the Ayoes 
[loways] came to the post, but Perrot was absent 
visiting the Nadouaissioux. and they sent a chief 
to notify him of their arrival. Four Illinois met 
him on the way, and were anxious for the return 
of four children held by the French. When the 



30 



EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



Sioux, who were at war with tlie Illinois, per- 
ceived them, they wislied to seize their canoes, 
but the Frendi voyageurs who were guarding 
them, pushed into the middle of the river, and 
the French at the post coming to their assistance, 
a reconciliation was effected, and four of the 
Sioux took the Illinois upon their shoulders, and 
bore them to the shore. 

An order having been received from Denon- 
ville. Governor of Canada, to bring the JSIiamis, 
and other tribes, to the rendezvous at Niagara, 
to go on an expedition against the Senecas, Per- 
rot entrusting the post at Lake Pei)in to a few 
Frenchmen, visited the Miamis, who were dwel- 
ling below on the Mississippi, and with no guide 
but Indian camp fires, went sixty miles into the 
country beyond the river. 

Upon his return, he perceiveci a great smoke, 
and at first thought that it was a war party pro- 
ceeding to the Sioux country. Fortunately he 
met a Maskouten chief, who had been at the post 
to sec him, and he gave the intelligence, that the 
Outagamies [Foxes], Kikapous [Kickapoos], and 
Mascoutechs [Maskoutens], and others, from the 
region of Green Bay, had determined to pillage 
the post, kill the French, and then go to war 
against the Sioux. Hurrying on, he reached the 
fort, and learned that on that very day three 
spies had been there and seen that there were 
only SIX Frenchmen in charge. ' 

The next day two more spies appeared, but 
Perrot had taken the precaution to put loaded 
guns at the door of each hut, and caused his men 
frequently to change their clothes. To the query, 
" How m<any French were there?" the reply was 
given, " Forty, and that more w-ere daily expected, 
who had been on a buffalo hunt, and that the 
gims were well loaded and knives well shaqseued/' 
They were then told to go back to their camp 
and bring a chief of each nation represented, and 
that it Indians, in large numbers, came near, they 
would be fired at. In accordance with this mes- 
sage six chiefs presented themselves. After their 
bows and arrows were taken away they were in- 
vited to Perrot's cabin, who gave something to 
eat and tobacco to smoke. Looking at Perrot's 
loaded guns they asked, '-If he was afraid of his 
childrenV" He replied, he was not. They con- 
tinued, " You are disjileased." lie answered, 
" I have good reason to be. The Spirit has warned 



me of your designs; you wiU take my thmgs 
away and put me in tlie kettle, and proceed 
against the Nadouiiissioux, The Spirit told me 
to be on ray guard, and he would help me." At 
this they were astonished, and confessed that an 
attack was meditated. That night the chiefs 
slei)t in the stockade, and early the next morn- 
ing a part of the liostile force was encamped in 
the vicinity, and wished to trade. Perrot had 
now only a force of fifteen men, and seizing the 
chiefs, he told them he would break their heads 
if they did not disperse the Indians. One of the 
chiefs then stood up on the gate of the fort and 
said to the warriors, " Do not advance, young 
men, or you are dead. The Spirit has warned 
Metaminens [PerrotJ of your designs." They fol- 
lowed the advice, and afterwards Perrot present- 
ed them with two guns, two kettles, and some 
tobacco, to close the door of war against the Na- 
douaissioux, and the chiefs were all permitted to 
make a brief visit to the i)Ost. 

Ileturning to Green Hay in 1686, he passed much 
time in collecting allies for the expedition against 
the Iroquois in New York. During this year he 
gave to the Jesuit cliai)el at Depere, five miles 
above Green Bay, a church utensil of silver, fif- 
teen inches high, still in existence. The stand- 
ard, nine inches in height, supports a radiated 
circlet closed with glass on both sides and sur- 
moinited with a cross. This vessel, weighing 
about twenty ounces, was hitended to show the 
consecrated wafer of tlie mass, and is called a 
soleil, monstrance, or ostensorium. 

Around the oval base of the rim is the follow- 
ing inscription: 






^* 



.^ 



,^ 



ip' 



\ 









** 



"^■^ 



.^ 



& ^%0 



.^ 



In 1S(I2 some workmen in digging at (Jreen 
Bay, Wisconsin, ou the old Langlade estate dis- 



A cur OF BRANDY AND WATEIi DETECTS A THIEF. 



31 



covered this relic, wliicli is now kept iii the vault 
of the Koman Catholic bishop of that diocese. 

During the spring of 1687 Perrot, with De Lii- 
th and Tonty, was with the Indian allies and the 
French in the expedition against the Senecas of 
the Genessee Valley in New York. 

The next year Denonville, Governor of Canada, 
agaui sent Perrot with forty Frenchmen to the 
Sioux who, says Potherie, " were very distant, 
and who would not trade with us as easily as 
the other tribes, the Outagamis [Foxes] having 
boasted of having cut off the passage thereto." 

When Perrot arrived at Mackinaw, the tribes 
of that region were much excited at the hostility 
of tlie Outagamis [Foxes] toward the Sauteurs 
[Chippeways]. As soon as Perrot and his party 
reached Green Bay a deputation of the Foxes 
sought an interview. lie told them that he had 
nothing to do with this quarrel with the Chippe- 
ways. In justification, they said that a party of 
tlieir young men, in going to war against the 
Nadouaissioux, had found a young man and three 
Chippeway girls. 

Perrot was silent, and continued his journey 
towards the Nadouaissioux. Soon he wns met by 
five chiefs of the Foxes in a canoe, who begged 
him to go to their village. Perrot consented, and 
when he went into a chief's lodge they placed be- 
fore him broiled venison, and raw meat for the 
rest of the French. He refused to eat because, 
said he, "that meat did not give him any spirit, 
but he would take some when the Outagamis 
[Foxes] were more reasonable."' He then chided 
tliem for not havmg gone, as requested by the 
Governor of Canada, to the Detroit of Lake 
Erie, and during the absence of the French fight- 
ing with the Chippeways. Having ordered them 
to go on their beaver hunt and only fight against 
the Iroquois, he left a few Frenchmen to trade 
and proceeded on his journey to the Sioux coun- 
try. Arriving at the portage between the Fox and 
Wisconsin Rivers they were impeded by ice, but 
with the aid of some Pottawattomies they trans- 
ported their goods to the Wisconsin, which they 
found no longer frozen. Tlie Chippeways were 
informed that their daughters had been taken 
from the Foxes, and a deputation came to take 
them back, but being attacked by the Foxes, who 
did not know their errand, they fled without se- 
curing the three girls. Perrot then ascended the 



Mississippi to the post which in 1684 he had 
erected, just above the mouth, and on the east 
side of Lake Pepin. 

As soon as the rivers were navigable, the Na- 
douaissioux came down and escorted Perrot to 
one of their villages, where he was welcomed 
with much enthusiasm. He was carried upon a 
beaver robe, followed by a long line of warriors, 
each bearhig a pipe, and singing. After taking 
liim around the village, he was borne to the chief's 
lodge, when several came in to weep over his head, 
with the same tenderness that the Ayoes (loways) 
did, when Perrot several years before arrived at 
Lake Pepin. " These weepings," says an old 
chronicler " do not weaken their souls. They are 
very good warriors, and reported the bravest in 
that region. They are at war with all tlie tribes 
at present except the Saulteurs [Chippeways] and 
Ayoes [loways], and even with these they have 
quarrels. At the break of day the Nadouaissioux 
bathe, even to the youngest. They have very fine 
forms, but the women are not comely, and they 
look upon them as slaves. They are jealous and 
suspicious about them, and they are the cause 
of quarrels and blood-shedding. 

" The Sioux are very dextrous with their ca- 
noes, and they fight unto death if surrounded. 
Their country is full of swamps, which shelter 
them in summer from being molested. One must 
be a Nadouaissioux, to find the way to their vil- 
lages." 

While Perrot was absent in New York, fight- 
ing the Senecas, a Sioux chief knowing that few 
Frenchmen were left at Lake Pepin, came with 
one hundred warriors, and endeavored to pillage 
it. Of this complaint was made, and the guilty 
leader was near being put to death by his associ- 
ates. Amicable relations having been formed, 
preparations were made by Perrot to return to 
liis post. As they were going away, one of the 
Frenchmen complained that a box of his goods 
had been stolen. Perrot ordered a voyageur to 
bring a cup of water, and into it he poured some 
brandy. He then addressed the Indians ajid told 
them he would dry up their marshes if the goods 
were not restored ; and then he set on fire the 
brandy in tlie cup. The savages were astonislied 
and terrified, and supposed that he possessed su- 
pernatural powers ; and in aUttle "-'^'lethe goods 



32 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



were found and restored to the owner, and the 
French descended to llieir stockade. 

The Poxes, while rerrot was in the Sioux 
country, clianged their village, and settled on the 
Mississippi. Coming up to visit Perrot, they 
asked him to establish friendly relations between 
tliem and the Sioux. At the time some Sioux 
were at the post trading furs, and at first they 
supposed the French were plotting w^th the 
Foxes. Perrot, however, eased them by present- 
ing the cahunet and saying that the Preuch con- 
sidered the Outagamis [Foxes] as brothers, and 
then adding: "Smoke in my pipe; this is the 
maimer with which Onontio ((iovenior of Can- 
ada] feeds his children." The Sioux replied that 
they wished the Foxes to smoke first. This was 
reluctantly done, and the Sioux smoked, but 
would not conclude a definite peace until they 
consulted their chiefs. This was not concluded, 
because Perrot, before the chiefs came down, 
received orders to return to Canada. 

About this time, in the presence of Father Jo- 
seph James Marest, a Jesuit missionary, Boisguil- 
lot, a trader on the Wisconsin and Mississippi. I>e 
Sueur, who afterward built a post below tlie Saint 
Croix lliver, about nine miles from Hastings, the 
following document was prepared: 

" Nicholas Perrot, commanding for the King at 
the post of the Nadouessioux, commissioned by 
the Marquis Denonville, Governor and Lieuten- 
ant Governor of all New France, to manage the 
interests of commerce among all the Indian tribes 
and people of the Bay des Puants [Green Bay], 
Nadouessioux, Mascoutens, and other western na- 
tions of the Upper Mississijipi, and to take pos- 
session in the King's name of all the places where 
he has heretofore been and whither he will go: 

" We this day, the eighth of May, one thousand 
six hundred and eighty-nine, do, in the presence 
of the Reverend Father Marest, of the Society of 
Jesus, Missionary among the Nadouessioux, of 
Monsieur de BoisguUlot, commanding the French 
in the neighborliood of the Ouiskonclie, on the 
Mississippi, Augiistin Legardeur, Esquire, Sieur 
de Caumont, and of Messieurs Le Sueur, Hebert, 
Lemire and Blein. 

" Declare to all whom it may concern, that, be- 
ing come from the Bay des Puants, and to the 
Lake of the Ouiskonches, we did transport our- 
selves to the country of the Nadouessioux, on the 



border of the river St. Croix, and at the mouth 
of the river St. Pierre, on the bank of which were 
the Mantantans, and furtlier up to the interior, 
as far as the Menchokatonx [Med-ay-wah-kawn- 
twawn], with whom dwell the majority of the 
Songeskitons [Se-see-twawns] and otlier Nadou- 
essioux who are to the northwest of the Missis- 
sippi, to tiike possession, for and in the name of 
the King, of tlie countries and rivers inliabited by 
the said tribes, and of which they are prcijirietors. 
The present act done jn our presence, signed with 
our hand, and subscribed." 

The three Cliipiieway girls of whom mention 
has been made were still with tlie I'oxes, and 
Perrot took them with him to ^Mackinaw, upon 
his return to Canada. 

AVhile there, the Ottawas held some prisoners 
upon an island not far from the mainland. Tlie 
Jesuit Fathers went over and tried to save the 
captives from harsh treatment, but were misuc- 
cessful. The canoes appeared at length near each 
other, one man paddling in each, while the war- 
riors were answering the shouts of the prisoners, 
who each held a white stick in his hand. As 
they neared the shore the chief of the party made 
a speech to the Indians wiio lived on the shore, 
and giving a history of the campaign, told them 
that they were masters of the jirisoners. The 
warriors then came on land, and, according to 
custom, abandoned the spoils. An old man then 
ordered nine men to conduct the prisoners to a 
separate place. The women and the young men 
formed a line with big sticks. The young pris- 
oners soon found their feet, but the old men were 
so badly used they spat blood, and they were con- 
demned to be burned at the ilamilion. 

The Jesuit Fathers and the French officers 
were much embarrassed, and feared that the Iro- 
quois would complain of the little care which had 
been used to prevent cruelty. 

Perrot, in this emergency, walked to the place 
where the prisoners were singing the death dirge, 
in expectation of being l)unied, and told them to 
sit ilown and be silent. A few Ottauwaws rudely 
told them to sing on, but Perrot forbade. He 
then went back to the Council, where the old men 
had rendered judgment, and ordered one prisoner 
to be burned at Mackinaw, one at Saiilt St. Marie 
and another at Green Bay. Undaunted he spoke 
as follows : " I come to cut the strings of the 



PERROT VISITS THE LEAD M1N'£S. 



33 



(logs. I will not suffer them to be eaten • I have 
pity on them, since my Father, Onontio, has com- 
manded me. You Outaouaks [Ottavraws] are 
like tame bears, who will not recognize them who 
lias brouglit them up. You have foi^otten Onon- 
tio's protection. When he asks your obedience, 
you want to rule over him, and eat the flesh of 
those children he does not wish to give to you. 
Take care, that, if oyu swallow them, Onontio 
will tear them with violence from between your 
teeth. I speak as a brother, and I think I am 
showing pity to your children, by cuttmg the 
bonds of your prisoners." 

His boldness had the desired effect. The pris- 
oners were released, and two of them were sent 
witli him to Montreal, to be retimied to the Iro- 
quois. 

On the 22nd of May, 1690, with one hundred 
and forty-three voyageurs and six Indians, Fer- 
ret left Montreal as an escort of Sieur de Lou- 
vigny La Porte, a half-pay captain, appointed to 
succeed Durantaye at Mackinaw, l)y Frontenac, 
the new Governor of Canada, who in October of 
the previous year had arrived, to take the place 
of Denonville. 

Perrot, as he approached Mackinaw, went in 
advance to notify the French of the coming of 
the commander of the post. As he came in sight 
of the settlement, he hoisted the white flag with 
the fleur de lis and the voyageurs shouted, " Long 
live the king! " Louvigny soon appeared and was 
received by one hundred " coureur des bois " 
mider arms. 

From Mackinaw, Perrot proceeded to Green 
Bay, and a party of Miamis there begged him to 
make a trading establishment on the Mississippi 
towards the Ouiskonsing ( Wisconsin. ) The chief 
made him a present of a piece of lead from a 
muie which he had found in a small stream which 
flows into the Mississippi. Perrot promised to 
visit him within twenty days, and the chief then 
returned to his village below the d'Ouiskonche 
(iWsconsin) Eiver. 

Having at length reached his post on Lake 
Pepin, he was informed that the Sioux were 
forming a large war party against the Outaga- 
mis (Foxes) and other allies of the French. He 
gave notice of his arrival to a party of a))out four 
hundred Sioux who were on the Mississippi. 



They arrested the massengers and came to the 
post for the purpose of plunder. Perrot asked 
them why they acted in this manner, and said 
that the Foxes, Miamis, Kickapoos, Illinois, and 
Maskoutens had united in a war party against 
them, but that he had persuaded them to give it 
up, and now he wished them to return to their 
families and to their beaver. The Sioux declared 
that they had started on the war-path, and that 
they were ready to die. After they had traded 
their furs, they sent for Perrot to come to their 
camp, and begged that he would not hinder them 
from searching for their foes. Perrot tried to dis- 
suade them, but they insisted that the Spirit had 
given them men to eat, at three days' journey 
from the post Then more powerful influences 
were used. After giving them two kettles and 
some merchandise, Poerrt spoke thus: " I love 
your life, and I am sure you will be defeated. 
Your Evil Spirit has deceived you. If you kill 
the Outagamis, or their allies, you must strike me 
first; if you kill them, you kill me just tlie same, 
for I hold them luider one wing and you under 
the other." After this he extended the calumet, 
which they at first refused; but at length a chief 
said he was right, and, making invocations to the 
sun, wished Perrot to take him back to his arms. 
This was granted, on condition that he would 
give up his weapons of war. The chief then tied 
them to a pole in the centre of the fort, turning 
them toward the sun. He then persuaded the 
other chiefs to give up the expedition, and, send- 
ing for Perrot, he placed the calumet before him, 
one end in the earth aud the other on a small 
forked twig to hold it firm. Then he took from 
his own sack a pair of his cleanest moccasins, and 
taking off Ferret's shoes, put on these. After he 
had made him eat, presenting the calumet, he 
said: " We listen to you now. Do for us as you 
do for our enemies, and prevent them from kill- 
ing us, and we will separate for the beaver hunt. 
The sun is the witness of our obedience." 

After this, Perrot descended the Mississippi 
and revealed to the Maskoutens, who had come to 
meet him, how he had pacified the Sionx. He, 
about this period, in accordance with his prom- 
ise, visited the lead mines. He found the ore 
abundant " but the lead hard to work because it 
lay between rocks which required Ijlowing up. 
It had very little dross and was easily melted." 



34 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIOAEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



Pemcaut, who ascended the Mississippi in 1700, 
wrote that twenty leagues below the "Wisconsin, 
on both sides of the Mississippi, were mines of 
lead called '• Nicolas Perrofs." Early French 
maps indicate as the locality of lead mines the 
site of modem towns. Galena, in Illinois, and Du- 
buque, In Iowa. 

In August, 1693, about two hundred French- 
men from Mackinaw, with delegates from the 
tribes of the AVest, arrived at Montreal to at- 
tend a grand council called by Governor Fronte- 
nac, and among these was Perrot. 

On the first Sunday in September the governor 



gave the Indians a great feast, after which thej 
and the traders began to return to the wilder- 
ness. Perrot was ordered by Frontenac to es- 
tablish a new post for tlie !Miamis in ilichigan, 
in the neigliBbrhood of the Kalamazoo River. 

Two years later he is present again, in August, 
at a council in Montreal, then returned to the 
West, and in 1699 is recalled from (Jreen Hay. 
In 1701 he was at Montreal acting as interpreter, 
and appears to have died before 1718: his wife 
was Madeline Raclos, and his residence was in 
the Seigneury of Becancourt, not far from Three 
Rivers, on the St. Lawrence. 



BAROii LA HONTAN'S FABULOVS rol'.l^'A'. 



35 



CHAPTER VI. 



BAEON LA HONTAN'S FABULOUS VOYAGE. 



Ln Hoiitan, a Gascon by Birth.— Early Life-— Description of Fox ami Wisconsin 
Kivers — Indian Feast. — Alleged Ascent of Long River. — Bobe Exposes tlie 
Deception. — Route to the Pacific. 

The '• Travels" of Baron La Hontan appeared 
in A. D. 1703, both at London and at Hague, and 
were as saleable and readable as those of Ilerinepin, 
which were on the comiters of booksellers at the 
same time. 

La Hontan, a Gascon by birth, and in style of 
writing, when about seventeen years of age, ar- 
rived in Canada, m 1683, as a private soldier, and 
was with Gov. De la Barre in his expedition of 
1684, toward Niagara, and was also in the battle 
near Rochester, New York, in 1687, at which Du 
Lnth and Perrot, explorers of Minnesota, were 
present. 

In 1688 he appears to have been sent to Fort 
St. Joseph, which was built by Du Luth. on the 
St. Clare River, near the site of Fort Gratiot, 
Michigan. It is possible that he may have accom- 
panied Perrot to Lake Pepin, who came about 
this time to reoccupy his old post. 

From the following extracts it v^dll be seen that 
his style is graphic, and that he probably had been 
in 1688 in the valley of the Wisconsin. At Mack- 
inaw, after his return from his pretended voyage 
of the Long River, he writes: 

" I left here on the 24th September, with my 
men and five Outaouas, good hunters, whom I 
have before mentioned to you as having been of 
good service to me. All my brave men being 
provided with good canoes, filled with provisions 
and ammunition, together with goods for the In- 
dian trade, I took advantage of a north wind, and 
ill three days entered the Bay of the Pouteouata- 
mis, distant from here about forty leagues. The 
entrance to the bay is fidl of islands. It is ten 
leagues wide and twenty-five in length. 

" On the 29th we entered a river, wliich is quite 
deep, wliose waters are so affected by the lake 
that they often rise and fall three feet iu twelve 



Lours. This is an observation that I made dur- 
ing these three or four days that I passed here. 
The Sakis, the Poutouatamis, and a few of the 
Malominis have their villages on the border of this 
river, and the Jesuits have a house there. In the 
place there is carried on quite a commerce in furs 
and Indian corn, which the Indians traffic with 
the ' coureurs des bois' that go and come, for it is 
their nearest and most convenient passage to the 
Mississippi. 

" The lands here are very fertile, and produce, 
almost without culture, the wheat of our Europe, 
peas, beans, and any quantity of fruit unknown 
in France. 

" The moment I landed, the warriors of tliree 
nations came by turns to my cabin to entertain 
me with the pipe and chief dance ; the first in 
proof of peace and friendship, the second to indi- 
cate their esteem and consideration for me. In 
return, I gave them several yards of tobacco, and 
beads, with which they trimmed their capots. The 
next morning, I was asked as a guest, to one of 
the feasts of this nation, and after having sent my 
dishes, which is the custom, I went towards noon. 
They began to compliment me of ray arrival, and 
after hearing them, they all, one after the other, 
began to sing and dance, in a manner that I will 
detail to you when I have more leisure. These 
songs and dances lasted two hours, and were sea- 
soned with whoops of joy, and quililili^s that they 
have woven into their ridiculous miisifiue. Then 
the captives waited upon us. The whole troop 
were seated in the Oriental custom. Each one 
had his portion before him, like our monks in 
their refectories. They commenced by placing 
four dishes before me. The first consis^^^ed of two 
white fish simply boiled in water. The second 
was chopped meats with the boiled tongue of a 
bear ; the third a beaver's tail, all roasted. They 
made me drink also of a syrup, mixed with water, 
made out of the maple tree. The feast lasted two 



36 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



hours, after which, I requested a chief of the 
nation to sing for me ; for it is the custom, when 
we have husmess with them, to employ an inferior 
for self in all the ceremonies they perform. I 
gave him several pieces of tohacco, to oblige him 
to keep the party till dark. The next day and the 
day following, I attended the feasts of the other 
nations, where I observed the same formahties.'" 

He alleges that, on the 23d of October, he 
reached the Mississippi Kiver, and, ascending, on 
the .Sd of November he entered into a river, a 
tributary from the west, that was almost without 
a current, and at its mouth filled with rushes. 
He then describes a journey of five hundred miles 
up this stream. He declares he foimd upon its 
banks three great nations, the Eokoros, Essa- 
napes, and Gnacsitares, and because he ascended 
it for sixty days, he named it Long Eiver. 

For years his wondrous story was believed, and 
geographers hastened to trace it upon their maps. 
But in time the voyage up the Long Kiver was 
discovered to be a fabrication. There is extant 
a letter of Bobe, a Priest of the Congregation of 
the Mission, dated Versailles, March 15, 1716, and 
addressed to De L'Isle, the geographer of the 
Academy of Sciences at Paris, which exposes the 
deception. 

He writes: "It seems to me that you might 
give the name of Bourbonia to these vast coun- 
tries which are between the ^Missouri, ilississippi. 
and the "Western Ocean. "Would it not be well to 
efface that great river which La Hontan says he 
discovered? 

" All the Canadians, and even the Governor 
General, have told me that tliis river is unknown. 
If it existed, the French, who are on the Illinois, 
and at Ouabache, woidd know of it. The last 
volume of the ' Lettres Edifiantes' of the Jesuits, 
in wliich there is a very fine relation of the Illinois 
Coimtry, does not speak of it, any more than the 
letters \\iiich I received this year, which tell won- 
ders of the beauty and goodness of the country. 
They send me some quite pretty work, made by 
the wife of one of the princip.il chiefs. 

" They tell me, that among the Scioux, of the 
Mississippi, there are always Frenchmen trading; 
that the course of the Mississippi is from north 
to west, and from west to south; that it is knovsai 
that toward the soiux-e of the ^lississippi there is 
a river in the liighhmds that leads to the western 



ocean; that the Indians say that they have seen 
bearded men with caps, who gather gold-dust on 
the seashore, but that it is very far from this 
comitry, and that they pass through many nations 
unknown to the French. 

" I have a memoir of La :Motte Cadillac, form- 
erly Governor of Missilimacktnack, who says that 
if St. Peters [Minnesota] Hiver is ascended to its 
soiu'ce they will, according to all appearance, find 
in the higliland another river leading to the "West- 
ern Ocean. 

"For the last two years I have tormented 
exceedmgly the Governor-General, M. Baudot, 
and M. Duche, to move them to discover this 
ocean. If I succeed, as I hope, we shall hear 
tidings before three years, and I shall have the 
pleasure and the consolation of having rendered 
a good service to Geography, to Keligion and to 
the State." 

Charlevoix, m liis Ilistorj' of New France, al- 
luding to La Hontan's voyage, writes: " The 
voyage up the Long River is as fabulous as the 
Island of Barrataria, of which Sancho Panza was 
governor. Nevertheless, in France and else- 
where, most i)eople have received these memoirs 
as the fruits of the travels of a gentleman wIkj 
wrote badly, althougli (juite lightly, and who had 
no religion, but who described pretty sincerely 
what he had seen. The consequence is that the 
compilers of historical and geographical diction- 
aries have almost always followed and cited them 
in preference to more faithful records." 

Even in modern times, Nicollet, employed by 
the United States to explore the Upper 2ilississ- 
ippi, has the following in his report: 

"Having procured a copy of La Ilontan's 
book, m which there is a roughly made map of 
his Long River, I was struck \\ith the resem- 
blance of its course as laid down with that of 
Cannon River, which I had previously sketched 
in my own tield-book. I soon convinced myself 
that the principal statements of the Baron in ref- 
erence to the country and the few details he gives 
of the physical character of the the river, coui- 
cide remarkably with what I had laid dowii as 
belonging to Cannon River. Then the lakes and 
swamps corresponded; traces of Indian villages 
mentioned by him might be found by a growtli 
of wild grass that propagates itself around aU olii 
Indian settlements." 



LE SVEUIi, EXPLORER OF THE MINNESOTA RIVER. 



37 



CHAPTER Vn. 



LE STJETJR, EXPLORER OF THE ^IINNESOTA RIVER. 



Le Sueur Visits Lake Pepin. — Stationed at La Poinie. — Establishes a Post on an 
Island Above Lake Pepin. — Island Described by Penicaut. — First Sioux Chief 
at Montreal. — Ojibway Chiefs' Siteeches. — Speech of Sioux Chief. — Teeoskah- 
tay's Death. — Le Sueur Goes to France. — Posts West of Mackinaw Abandoned 
— Le Sueur's License Revoked. — Second Visit to France. — Arrives in Gulf of 
Mexico witli D'Iberville. — Ascends the Mississippi. — Lead Mines. — Canadians 
Fleeing from the Sioux. — At the Mouth of the Wisconsin. — Sioux Robbers, — Elk 
Hunting.— Lake Pepin Described.— Rattlesnakes.— La Place Killad.- St. Croix 
River Named After a Frenchman. — Le Sueur Reaches St. Pterre, now Minne' 
sola River. — Enters Mankahto, or Blue Earth, River.— Sioux of the Plains. — 
Port L'Huillier Completed. — Conferences with Sioux Bands — Assinaboines a 
Separated Sioux Band. — An Indian Feast. — Names of the Sioux Bands. — Char- 
levoix's Account. — Le Sueur Goes with D'Iberville to France. — D'Iberville's 
Memorial.— Early Census of Indian Tribes.— Penicaut's Account of Fort L'Huil 
lier. — Le Sueur's Departure from the Fort. — D'Evaqe Left in Charge. — Return' 
to Mobile.— Juchereau at Mouth of Wisconsin.— Bonder a Montreal Merchant. — 
Sioux Attack Miamis. — Boudor Robbed by the Sioux. 



Le Sueur -was a native of Canada, and a rela- 
tive of D'Iberville, the early Governor of Louis- 
iana. He came to Lake Pepin in 1683, -n'ith 
Nicholas Perrot, and his name also appears at- 
tached to the document prepared in May, 1689, 
after Perrot had re-occupied his post just above 
the entrance of the lake, on the east side. 

In 1692, he 'was sent by Governor Frontenae of 
Canada, to La Pointe, on Leake Superior, and m a 
dispatch of 1693, to the French Govermneut, is 
the following : " Le Sueur, another voyageiu-, is 
to remain at Chagouamagon [La Pointe] to en- 
deavor to maintain the peace lately concluded be- 
tween the Saulteurs [Chippeways] and Sioux. 
This is of the greatest consequence, as it is i\ov,' 
the sole pass by -which access can be had to the 
latter nation, whose trade is very profitable ; the 
comitry to the south being occupied by the Foxes 
and Maskoutens, who several times plundered the 
French, on the ground they were carrying ammu- 
nition to the Sioux, their ancient enemies." 

Entering the Sioux country in 1694, he estab- 
lished a post upon a prairie island in the Missis- 
sippi, about nine miles below the present to\A'n of 
Hastings, according to Bellin and others. Peni- 
caut, who accompanied him in the exploration of 
the Minnesota, -writes, " At the extremity of the 
lake [PepinJ you come to the Isle Pelee, so called 
because there are no trees on it. It is on this island 



that the French fi'om Canada established their 
fort and storehouse, and they also -winter here, 
because game is very abundant. In the month of 
September they bring their store of meat, obtained 
by hunting, and .after having skinned and cleaned 
it, hang it upon a crib of raised scaffolding, in 
order that the extreme cold, -which lasts from 
September to March, may preserve it from spoil- 
ing. During the whole winter they do not go out 
except for water, when they have to break the ice 
every day, and the cabin is generally built upon 
the bank, so as not to have far to go. When 
spring arrives, the savages come to the island, 
bringing their merchandize." 

On the fifteenth of July, 1695, Le Sueur arrived 
at Montreal with a party of Ojibways, and the 
first Ikikotah brave that had ever visited Canada. 

The Indians -were much impressed with the 
power of France by the marching of a detach- 
ment of seven hundred picked men, under Chev- 
aUer Cresafl, who were on their way to La Chine. 

On the eighteenth, Frontenae, in the presence 
of Callieres and other persons of distinction, gave 
them an audience. 

The first speaker was the chief of the Ojibway 
band at La Pointe, Shingowahbay, who said: 

" That he was come to pay his respects to Onon- 
tio [the title given the Governor of Canada] in the 
name of the young warriors of Pomt Chagouami- 
gon, and to thank him for having given them 
some Frenchmen to dwell with them; to testify 
their sorrow for one Jobin, a Frenchman, who 
was killed at a feast, accidentally, and not ma- 
liciously. We come to ask a favor of you, which 
is to let us act. We are allies of the Sciou. Some 
Outagamies, or Mascoutuis, have been killed. 
The Sciou came to mom-n with us. Let us act, 
Father; let us take revenge. 

" Le Sueiu- alone, who is acquainted -with the 
langufige of the one and the other, can serve us. 
We ask that he return with us." 



38 



EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



Another speaker of the Ojibways was Le Bro- 
chet. 

Teeoskahtay, the Dahkotah chief, before he 
spoke, spread out a beaver robe, and, laying an- 
otlier with a tobacco poudi and otter skin, liegan 
to weep bitterly. After drying his tears, he said: 

" All of the nations had a father, who afforded 
them protection; all of them have iron. B'lthe 
was a bastard in quest of a father; he was come 
to see him, and hopes that he will take pity on 
him." 

He then placed upon the beaver robe twenty- 
two arrows, at each aiTow naming a Dahkotah 
village that desired Frontenac's protection. Ke- 
suming his speech, he remarked: 

" It is not on account of what I bring that I 
hope him who rules the earth will have pity on 
me. I learned from the Sauteurs that he wanted 
nothing; that he was the Master of the Iron; that 
he had a big heart, into wliich he could receive 
all the nations. This has induced me to abandon 
my people and come to seek his protection, and 
to beseech bim to receive me among the number 
of his children. Take courage. Great Captain, 
and reject me not; despise me not, though I ap- 
pear poor in your eyes. jXJI the nations here 
present know tliat I am rich, and the little they 
oiler here is taken from my lands." 

Count Frontenac in reply told the chief that he 
would receive the Bahkotahs as his children, on 
condition that they would be obedient, and that 
he would send back Le Sueur with him. 

Teeoskahtay, taking hold of the governor's 
knees, wept, and said: "Take pity on us; we 
are well aware that we are not able to speak, be- 
ing children; but Le Sueiu', who imderstands our 
language, and has seen all our villages, will next 
year inform you what v\'ill liave been achieved by 
the Sioux nations represented by those arrows be- 
fore you." 

Having finished, a Dahkotah woman, the vnfe 
of a great chief whom Le Sueur liad purcliased 
from captivity at Mackinaw, approached those in 
authority, and, with downcast eyes, embraced 
their knees, weeping and saying: 

" I thank thee. Father; it is by thy means I 
have been liberated, and am no longer captive.'" 

Then Teeoskahtay resumed: 

" I speak like a man penetrated ■with joy. The 
Great CaptaLu; he who is the Master of Iron, as- i 



sures me of his protection, and I promise him that 

if he condescends to restore my children, now 
prisoners among the Foxes, Ottawas and llurous, 
I will return hither, and bring with me tlie twen- 
ty-two villages wlioin he lias just restored to life 
by promising to send tlieni Iron." 

On the 14th of August, two weeks after the 
Ojibway chief left for his home on Lake Superior, 
Nicholas I'errot arrived witli a dciiulation of 
Sauks, Foxes, Menomonees, Sliamis of Maramek 
and Pottowatomies. 

Two dajs after, they had a council witli the 
governor, who thus spoke to a Fox brave: 

" I see that you are a young man; your nation 
has quite tmned away from my wishes; it has 
pillaged some of my young men, wliom it has 
treated as slaves. I know tliat your father, who 
loved the French, had no hand in the indignity. 
You only imitate the example of your father 
who had sense, when you do not co-operate 
with those of your tribe who are wishing to go 
over to my enemies, after they grossly insulted 
me and defeated the Sioux, whom I now consider 
my son. I pity the Sioux; I pity the dead whose 
loss I deplore. Perrot goes up there, and he )jill 
speak to your nation from me for the release of 
their prisoners; let them attend to him." 

Teeoshkalitay never returned to his native land. 
"Wliile in Montreal he was taken sick, and in 
thirty-three days he ceased to breathe; and, fol- 
lowed by white men, his body was interred in the 
white man's grave. 

Le Sueur instead of going back to ilumesota 
that year, as was expected, went to France and 
received a license, in l(i9", to open certain mines 
supposed to exist in ilinnesota. The ship in 
which he was returning was captured by the Eng- 
lish, and he was taken to England. After liis 
release he went back to France, and, iu 1098, ob- 
tained a new commission for minhig. 

AVhile Le Sueur was in Europe, the Dahkotas 
waged war against tlie Foxes and Miamis. In 
retaliation, the latter raised a war party and en- 
tered the land of the Dahkotahs. Finding their 
foes intrenched, and assisted by " coureurs des 
bois," they were indignant; and on their return 
they had a skirmish with some Frenchmen, who 
were carrying goods to the Dahkotahs. 

Shortly after, they met Perrot, and were about 
to burn him to diath, when prevented by some 



LE SUEUB ASCENDS THE MISSISIPPI RIVEB. 



39 



friendly Foxes. The Miamis, after this, were 
disposed to be friendly to the Iroquois. In 1696, 
the year previous, the authorities at Quebec de- 
cided that it was expedient to abandon all the 
posts west of Mackinaw, and withdraw the French 
from Wisconsin and Minnesota. 

The voyageurs were not disposed to leave the 
country, and the governor wrote to Pontcbar- 
train for instructions, in October, 1698. In liis 
dispatch he remarks: 

" In this conjuncture, and under all these cir- 
cumstances, we consider it our duty to postpone, 
imtil new instructions from the court, the execu- 
tion of Sieur Le Sueur's enterprise for the mines, 
though the promise had already been given him 
to send two canoes in advance to Missilimackinac, 
for the puiijose of purchasing there some pro- 
visions and other necessaries for his voyage, and 
that he would be permitted to go and join them 
early in the sprmg with the rest of his hands. 
What led us to adopt this resolution has been, 
that the French who remained to trade off with 
the Five Nations the remamder of their merch- 
andise, might, on seeing entirely new comers 
arriving there, consider themselves entitled to 
dispense with coming down, and perhaps adopt 
the resolution to settle there; whilst, seeing no 
arrival there, with permission to do what is for- 
bidden, the reflection they will be able to make 
duruig the winter, and the apprehension of being 
guilty of crime, may oblige them to retm-n in the 
spring. 

" This would be very desirable, in consequence 
of the great difficulty there will be m constraining 
them to it, should they be inclined to Uft the mask 
altogether and become buccaneers ; or should 
Sieur Le Sueur, as he easily could do, furnish 
• them with goods for their beaver and smaller 
peltry, which he might send down by the retimi of 
other Frenchmen, whose sole desire is to obey, and 
who have remained only because of the impossi- 
bihty of getting tlieu- effects down. This would 
rather induce those who would continue to lead a 
vagaVxind life to remain there, as the goods they 
would receive from Le Sueur's people would afford 
them the means of doing so." 

In reply to this communication, Louis XIA'. 
answered that — 

" His majesty has approved that the late Sieur 
<ie Fronteuac and De Champigny suspended the 



execution of the Ucense granted to the man named 
Le Sueur to proceed, with fifty men, to explore 
some mines on the banks of the Mississippi. He 
has revoked said license, and desu'es that the said 
Le Sueur, or any other person, be prevented from 
leaving the colony on pretence of going in search 
of mines, without his majesty's express permis- 
sion." 

Le Sueur, undaimted by these drawbacks to the 
prosecution of a favorite project, again visited 
France. 

Fortunately for Le Sueur, D 'Iberville, who was 
a friend, and closely connected by marriage, was 
appointed governor of the new territory of Louis- 
iana. In the month of December he arrived from 
France, with thirty workmen, to proceed to the 
supposed mines in Minnesota. 

On the thirteenth of July, 1700, with a felucca, 
two canoes, and nineteen men, having ascended 
the Mississippi, he had reached the mouth of the 
Missouri, and six leagues above this he passed the 
Illinois. He there met three Canadians, who 
came to join him, with a letter from Father Mar- 
est, who had once attempted a mission among the 
Dahkotahs, dated July 13, Mission Immaculate 
Conception of the Holy Virgin, in Illinois. 

" I have the honor to write, in order to inform 
you that the Saugiestas have been defeated by the 
Scioux and Ayavois [lowas]. The people have 
formed an alliance with the Quincapous [Kicka-, 
poos], some of the Mecoutins, Eenards [Foxes], 
and Metesigamias, and gone to revenge them- 
selves, not on the Scioux, for they are too much 
afraid of them, but perhaps on the Ayavois, or 
very likely upon the Paoutees, or more probably 
upon the Osages, for these suspect nothing, and 
the others are on their guard. 

"As you -will probably meet these allied nar 
tions, you ought to take precaution against their 
plans, and not allow them to board your vessel, 
since they are traitors, and utterly faithless. I pray 
God to accompany you in all your designs." 

Twenty-two leagues above the Illinois, he passed 
a small stream which he called the River of Oxen, 
and nine leagues beyond tliis he passed a smaU 
river on the west side, where he met four Canar 
dians descending the Mississippi, on their way to 
the Illinois. On the 30th of July, nine leagues 
above the last-named river, he met seventeen 
Scioux, in seven canoes, who were going to re- 



40 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



venge the death of three Scioux, one of whom liad 
been burned, and tlie others killed, at Tamarois, 
a few days before his arrival in that village. As 
he had promised the chief of the Illinois to ap- 
pease the Scioux who should go to war against 
his nation, he made a present to the chief of the 
party to engage liim to turn back. He told tliem 
the King of France did not wish them to make 
this river more bloody, and that he was sent to teU 
them that, if tliey obeyed the king's word, they 
would receive in futiu'e all things necessary for 
them. The chief answered that he accepted the 
present, tliat is to say, that he would do as had 
been tuld liim. 

From tlie SOth of July to the 2oth of August, Le 
Sueur advanced lifty-thiee and one-foiuth leagues 
to a small river which he called the Elver of the 
Mine. At the mouth it nms from the north, but 
it tiuns to the noitheast. On the right seven 
leagues, there is a lead mine in a prairie, one and 
a half leagues. The river is only navigable in 
high water, that is to say, fi-om early spring till 
the month of June. 

From the 25th to the 27th he made ten leagues, 
passed two small rivers, and made himself ac- 
quainted vAih a inhie of lead, from which he took 
a supply. From the 27th to the SOth he made 
eleven and a half leagues, and met five Canadians, 
one of whom had been dangerously wounded in 
the head. They were naked, and had no ammu- 
nition except a miserable gmi, witli five or six 
loads of powder and balls. They said tliey were 
descending from the Scioux to go to Tamarois. 
and, when seventy leagues above, they perceived 
nine canoes in the Jlississippi, in which were 
ninety savages, who r<)bl)ed and cruelly beat them. 
Tliis party were gfiing lo war against the Scioux, 
and were composed of four different nations, the 
Outagamies [Foxes], Poutouwatamis [Pottowatta- 
mies], and Pnans [Winiiebagoes], \\\\o dwell in a 
country eiglil}' leagues east of the iiississippi 
from where Le Sueur then was. 

The Canadians determined to follow the detach- 
ment, wliidi was composed of twenty-eight men. 
Tills day they made seven and a half leagues. 
On the 1st of September he passed the Wisconsin 
river. It nms into the Mississippi from the north- 
east. It is nearly one and a half miles wide. At 
about seventy-five le;igues up this river, on the 
right, ascending, there is a portage of more than 



a league. The half of tins portage is shaking 
ground, and at the end of it is a small river wliich 
descends into a bay called "Winnebago Bay. It is 
inhabited by a great number of nations who cari-y 
their furs to Canada. Monsieur Le Sueur came 
by the Wisconsin river to the Mississippi, for tlie 
first time, in 1GS3, on his way to the Scioux coun- 
try, where he had aheady passed seven years at 
different periods. The Mississippi, opposite the 
mouth of tlie Wisconsin, is less than half a mile 
wide. From the 1st of September to tlie otli, our 
voyageur advanced fourteen leagues. He passed 
the river " Aux Canots." which comes from the 
northeast, and then the Quincapous. named from 
a nation which once dwelt upon its lianks. 

From the 5th to the 9th he made ten and a lialf 
leagues, and passed the rivers Cachee and Aux 
Ailes. The same day he perceived canoes, filled 
witli savages, descending the river, and the five 
Canadians recognized them as the party who liad 
robbed them. They placed sentinels in the wood, 
for fear of bemg surprised by land, and when 
they had approached within hearing, tliey cried to 
them that if they approached farther they would 
fire. They then drew up by an island, at lialf the 
distance of a gun shot. Soon, foiu' of the princi- 
pal men of tlie band approached in a canoe, and 
asked if it was forgotten that they were our 
brethren, and with what design we had taken 
arms when we perceived them. Le Sueur replied 
that he had cause to distrust them, since they liad 
lobbed five of his party. Nevertheless, for the 
surety of his trade, being forced to be at peace 
with all the tribes, he demanded no redress for 
the robbery, but added merely that the king, their 
master and his, wished that his subjects sliould 
navigate that river without insult, and that they 
had better beware how they acted. 

The Indian who had spoken was sDent, but an- 
other said they had been attacked liy the Scioux, 
and that if tliey did not have pity on tliem, and 
give them a little powder, they should not be able 
to reach their villages. The consideration of a 
missionary, who was to go up among the Scioux, 
and whom these savages might meet, induced 
them to give two pounds of powder. 

M. Le Sueur made the same day three leagues; 
passed a stream on the west, and afterward an- 
other river on the east, which is navigable at all 
times, and which the Indians call lied liiver. 



RATTLESNAKES ON SHORES OF LAKE PEPIN. 



41 



On the 10th, at daybreak, they heard an elk 
whistle, on the other side of the river. A Cana- 
dian crossed in a small ScioiLX canoe, which they 
had found, and shortly returned with the body of 
the animal, which was very easily killed, " quand 
11 est en rut,"' that is, from the beginnmg of Sep- 
tember until the end of October. The hunters at 
this time made a whistle of a piece of wood, or 
reed, and when they hear an elk whistle they an- 
swer it. The animal, believing it to be another 
elk, approaches, and is killed with ease. 

From the 10th to the 14th, JNI. Le Sueur made 
seventeen and a half leagues, passing the rivers 
Eaisin and Paquilenettes (perhaps the Wazi Ozu 
and Buffalo.) The same day he left, on the east 
side of the Mississippi, a beautiful and large river, 
which descends from the very far north, and 
called Bon Secours (Chippeway), on account of the 
great quantity of buffalo, elk, bears and deers 
which are fomid there. Three leagues up tliis 
river there is a mine of lead, and seven leagues 
above, on the same side, they found another long 
river, iu the \'lcinity of which there is a copper 
mine, from which he had taken a lump of sixty 
pomids in a former voyage. In order to make 
these mines of any account, peace must be ob- 
tained between the Seioux and Ouatagamis (Fox- 
es), because the latter, who dwell on the east side 
of the Mississippi, pass this road coutuiually when 
going to war against the Sioux. 

Penicaut, in his journal, gives a brief descrip- 
tion of the Mississippi between the Wisconsin 
and Lake Pepin. He writes: "Above the Wis- 
consin, and ten leagues higher on the same side, 
begins a great jirairie extending for sixty leagues 
along the bank; this prairie is called Aux Ailes. 
Opposite to Aux Ailes, on tlie left, there is 
another prairie facing it called Paquilanet wliich 
is not so long by a great deal. Twenty leagues 
above these prairies is found Lake Bon Secours " 
[Good Help, now Pepin.] 

In this region, at one and a half leagues on the 
northwest side, commenced a lake, which is six 
leagues long and more than one broad, called 
Lake Pepin. It is bounded on the "west by a 
chain of mountains; on the east is seen a prairie; 
and on the northwest of the lake there is another 
prairie two leagues long and one wide. In the 
neighborhood is a chain of mountains quite two 
hundred feet high, and more than one and a half 



miles long. In these are found several caves, to 
which the bears retire in winter. Most of the 
caverns are more than seventy feet in extent, and 
two hundred feet high. There are several of 
which the entrance is very narrow, and quite 
closed up with saltpetre, It would be dangerous 
to enter them in summer, for they are filled with 
rattlesnakes, the bite of which is very dangerous. 
Le Sueur saw some of these snakes which were 
six feet in length, but generally they are about 
four feet. They have teeth resembUng those of 
the pike, and their gums are f uU of small vessels, 
in which their poison is placed. The Seioux say 
they take it every mornin :, and cast it away at 
night. They have at the tail a kind of scale which 
makes a noise, and this is called the rattle. 

Le Sueur made on this day seven and a half 
leagues, and passed another river, called Iliam- 
bouxecate Ouataba, or the Kiver of Flat Eock. 
[The Sioux call the Cannon river Inyanbosndata.] 

On the loth he crossed a small river, and saw 
in the neighborhood several canoes, filled with 
Indians, descencUng the Mississippi. He sup- 
posed they were Seioux, because he could not dis- 
tinguish whether the canoes were large or small. 
The arms were placed in readiness, and soon they 
heard the cry of the savages, which they are ac- 
customed to raise when they rush upon their en- 
emies. He caused them to be answered in the 
same manner; and after having placed all the 
men behind the trees, he ordered them not to fire 
until they were commanded. He remained on 
shore to see what movement the savages would 
make, and perceivmg that they placed two on 
shore, on the other side, where from an eminence 
they could ascertain the strength of his forces, he 
caused tlie men to pass and repass from the shore 
to the wood, in order to make them believe that 
they were numerous. This ruse succeeded, for 
as soon as the two descended from the eminence 
the chief of the party came, bearing the calumet, 
which is a signal of peace among the Indians. 
They said that having never seen the French navi- 
gate the river with boats like the felucca, they had 
supposed them to be English, and for that reason 
they had raised the war cry, and arranged them- 
selves on the other side of the Mississippi; but 
havuig recognized their flag, they had come with- 
out fear to inform them, that one of their num- 
ber, who was crazy, had accidentallv killed a 



42 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



Frencliman, and tliat tliey would go and bring liis 
comrade, \\lio would tell how the mischief had 
happened. 

The Frenchman they brought was Deuis, a Ca- 
nadian, and he reported that his companion was 
accidentally killeil. Jlis name was I.,aplace. a de- 
serting soldier from Canada, who had ta^ieu ref- 
uge in this country. 

Le Sueur replied, that Ononlio (the name they 
give to all the governors of Canada), being their 
father and his, they ought not to seek justification 
elsewhere than before him; and he advised them 
to go and see him as soon as possible, and beg 
him to wipe ofi: the blood of this Frenchman from 
their faces. 

The party was composed of forty-seven men of 
different nations, who dwell far to the east, about 
the forty-fourth degree of latitude. Le Sueur, 
discovering who the chiefs were, said the king 
whom they had spoken of in Canada, had sent 
liim to take possession of the north of the river; 
and that he wished the nations wlio dwell on it, 
as well as those under his protection, to live in 
peace. 

He made this day tlii-ee and three-fourths 
leagues; and on the 16th of September, he left a 
large river on the east side, named St. Croix, be- 
cause a Frenchman of that name was shlpu'rcch'd 
at its mouth. It comes from the north-northwest. 
Four leagues higher, in gomg up, is found a small 
lake, at the mouth of which is a very large mass 
of copper. It is on the edge of the water, in a 
small ridge of sandy eailh, on the west of this 
lake. [One of La Salle's men was named St. 
Croix.] 

From the 16th to the 19th, he advanced thir- 
teen and three-fourths leagues. After ha\'ing 
made from Tamarois two hundred and nine and a 
half leagues, he left the navigation of the Missis- 
sippi, to enter the river St. Pierre, on the west 
side. By the 1st of October, he had made in this 
river forty-four and one-fourth leagues. After he 
entered lilue river, thus named on account of the 
mines of blue earth found at its mouth, he fomid- 
ed liis post, situated in forty-four degrees, thir- 
teen minutes north latitude. He met at this 
place nine Scioux, who told him that the river 
belonged to the Scioux of the west, the Ayavois 
(lowas) and Otoctatas (Ottoes), who lived a little 
farther off; that it was not their custom to hunt 



on ground belongmg to others, unless invited to 
do so by the owners, and that when they would 
come to the fort to obtain ijrovisions, they would 
be in danger of being killed in ascending or de- 
scending the rivers, v/hich were narrow, and that 
if they would show their pity, he must establish 
himself on the Jlississippi, near the mouth of the St. 
Pierre, where the Ayavois, the Otoctatas, and the 
other Scioux coidd go as well as they. 

Having linished their speech, they leaned over 
the head of Le Sueur, according to their custom, 
crying out, "Ouaechissou ouaepanimanabo," that 
is to say, " Have pity upon us." Le Sueur had 
foreseen that the establishment of Blue Earth 
river would not please the Scioux of the East, 
who were, so to speak, masters of the other Scioiix 
and of the nations which will be hereafter men- 
tioned, becaux they tcere the first with wham trade 
loas commenced, and in consequence of which they 
had already quite a number of guns. 

As he had commenced his operations not only 
with a view to the trade of beaver but also to 
gain a knowledge of the mines which he had pre- 
viously discovered, he told them that he was sor- 
ry that he had not known their intentions sooner, 
and that it was just, since he came expressly for 
them, that he should establish himself on their 
land, but that the season was too far advanced 
for him to return. He then made them a present 
of powder, balls and knives, and an armful of to- 
bacco, to entice them to assemble, as soon as pos- 
sible, near the fort he was about to construct, 
that when they should be all assembled he might 
tell them the intention of the king, their and his 
sovereign. 

The Scioux of the West, according to the state- 
ment of the Eastern Scioux, have more than a 
thousand lodges. They do not use canoes, nor 
cultivate the earth, nor gather wild riee. They 
remain venerally on the prairies which are be- 
tween the Upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers, 
and live entirely by the chase. The Scioux gen- 
erally say they have three souls, and that after 
death, that which has done well goes to the warm 
country, that which has done evil to the cold 
regions, and the other guards the body. Poly- 
gamy is common among them. They are very 
jealous, and sometimes fight in duel for their 
wives. They manage the bow admirably, and 
have been seen several times to kill ducks on the 



BLUE EARTH ASSAYED BY L'HULLIER IN PARIS. 



43 



whig. They make their lodges of a lumiljer of 
buffalo skins interlaced and sewed, and carry 
them wherever they go. They are all great smo- 
kers, but their mamier of smoking differs from 
that of other Indians. There are some Seioux 
who swallow all the smoke of the tobacco, and 
others wlio, after having kept it some time in 
their mouth, cause it to issue from the nose. In 
each lodge there are usually two or three men 
with their families. 

On the third of October, they received at the 
fort several Seioux, among whom was Wahkan- 
tape, chief of the village. Soon two Canadians 
arrived who had been hunting, and who had been 
robbed by the Seioux of the East, who had raised 
their gims against the establishment which M. 
Le Sueur had made on Blue Earth river. 

On the fourteenth the fort was finished and 
named Fort LTIuilher, and on the twenty-second 
two Canadians were sent out to invite the Aya- 
vois and Otoctatas to come and establish a vil- 
lage near the fort, because these Indians are in- 
dustrious and accustomed to cultivate the earth, 
and they hoped to get provisions from them, and 
to make them work in the mines. 

On the twenty-fourth, six Seioux Oujalespoi- 
tons wished to go into the fort, but were told 
that they did not receive men who had lulled 
Frenchmen. This is the term used when they 
have insulted them. The next day they came to 
the lodge of Le Sueur to beg him to have pity on 
them. They wished, according to custom, to 
weep over his head and make him a present of 
packs of beavers, which he refused. He told 
them he was surprised that people who had rob- 
bed should come to him ; to which they replied 
that they had heard it said that two Frenchmen 
had been robbed, but none from their village had 
been present at that wicked action. 

Le Sueur answered, that he knew it was the 
Mendeoucantous and not the Oujalespoitons ; 
" but," continued he, "you are Seioux; it is the 
Seioux who have robbed me. and if I were to fol- 
low your manner of acting I should break your 
heads; for is it not true, thft when a stranger 
(it is thus they call the Indians who are not 
Seioux) has insulted a Seioux, Mendeoucanton, 
Oujalespoitons, or others — all the villages revenge 
upon the first one they meet':"' 

As they had nothing f o answer to what he said 



to them, they wept and repeated, according to 
custom, " Ouaechissou ! ouaepanimanabo !'' Le 
Sueur told them to cease crying, and added that 
the French had good hearts, and tliat they had 
come into the country to have pity on them. At 
the same time he made them a present, saying to 
them, " Carry back your beavers and say to all 
the Seioux, that they will have from me no more 
powder or lead, and they will no longer smoke 
any long pipe until they have made satisfaction 
for robbing the Frenchman. 

The same day the Canadians, who had been 
sent off on the 22d, arrived without having found 
the road which led to the Ayavois and Otoctatas. 
On the 25th, Le Sueur went to the river with 
three canoes, which he filled with green and blue 
earth. It is taken from the hills near which are 
very abundant mines of copper, some of which 
was worked at Paris in 1696, by L"IIuillier, one 
of the chief collectors of the king. Stones were 
also found there which would be curious, if 
worked. 

On tlie ninth of November, eight Mantanton 
Seioux arrived, who had been sent by their chiefs 
to say that the Mendeoiicantons were still at their 
lake on the east of the Mississippi, and they could 
not come for a long time ; and that for a single 
village which had no good sense, the others ought 
not to bear the punishment ; and that they were 
willing to make reparation if they knew how. 
Le Sueur replied that he was glad that they had 
a disposition to do so. 

On the loth the two Mantanton Seioux, who 
had been sent expiessly to say that all of the 
Seioux of the east, and part of those of the west, 
were joined together to come to the French, be- 
cause they had heard that the Christianaux and 
the Assinipoils were making war on them. 
These two nations dwell above the fort on the 
east side, more than eighty leagues on the Upper 
Mississippi. 

The Assinipoils speak Seioux, and are certainly 
of that nation. It is only a few years since that 
they became enemies, The enmity thus origi- 
nated: The Christianaux, having the use of arms 
before the Seioux, through the English at Hud- 
son's Bay, they constantly warred upon the As- 
sinipoils, who were their nearest neighbors. 
The latter, being weak, sued for peace, and to 
render it more lasting, married the Christianaux 



44 



EXPLORERS AXD PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



women. The other Scioux, who had not made 
the compact, continued the war; and, seeing some 
Christianaux with the Assinipoils. biolve their 
heads. The Cliristianaiix furnished the Assini- 
poils with arms and merchandise. 

On the 16th the Scioux returned to their vil- 
lage, and it was reported that the Ayavois and 
Otoctatas were gone to establish themselves to- 
wards the Missouri River, near the llaha, who 
dwell in that region. On the 26th the Mantan- 
tons and Oujalespoitons arrived at the fort; and, 
after they had encamped in the woods, Wah 
kantape came to beg Le Sueur to go to his 
lodge. He there found sixteen men with women 
and children, with their faces daubed with black. 
In the middle of the lodge were several buffalo 
skins which were sewed for a carpet. After mo- 
tioning him to sit down, they wept for the fourth 
of an hour, and the chief gave him some wild 
rice to eat (as was their custom), putting the 
first three spoonsful to his mouth. After which, 
he said all present were relatives of Tioscate, 
whom Le Sueur took to Canada in 1695, and who 
died there in 1696. 

At the mention of Tioscate they began to weep 
again, and wipe their tears and heads upon the 
shoulders of Le Sueur. Then Wahkan tape again 
spoke, and said tliat Tioscate begged him to for- 
get the insult done to the Frenchmen by the 
Mendeoucantons, and take pity on his brethren 
by giving them powder and balls whereby they 
could defend themselves, and gain a living for 
their wives and children, wlio languish in a coun- 
■ try full of game, because they had not the means 
of killing them. " Look," added the chief, " Be- 
hold thy children, thy brethren, and thy sisters; 
it is to thee to see whether tlu)u wishest them to 
die. They will live if thou givest them powder 
and ball; they will die if thou refusest." 

Le Sueur granted them their request, but as 
the Scioux never answer on the spot, espeeially 
in matters of importance, and as he had to speak 
to them about his establishment he went out of 
the Iodide witliout saying a word. The chief and 
all those witliin followed him as far as the door 
of the fort; and when he had gone in, they went 
around it three times, crying with all their 
strength, " Atheouanan! " that is to say, " Father. 
have pity on us." [Ate un>anpi, means Our 
Father.] 



The next day, he assembled in the fort the 
principal men of both villages; and as it is not 
possible to subdue the Scioux or to hinder them 
from going to war, unless it be by inducing them 
to cultivate the earth, he said to them that if 
they wished to render themselves worthy of the 
protection of the king, tliey must abandon their 
ening life, and form a village near his dwelling, 
where they would be shielded from the insults of 
of their enemies; and that they might be happy 
and not hungry, he would give them all the corn 
necessary to plant a large piece of ground; that 
the king, their and liis chief, in sending him, had 
forbidden him to purchase beaver skins, knowing 
that this kind of hunting separates them and ex- 
poses them to their enemies; and that in conse- 
quence of this he had come to establish himself 
on Blue River and vicinity, where they had many 
times assured him were many kinds of beasts, 
for the skins of which he would give them all 
things necessary; that they ought to reflect that 
they could not do without French goods, and that 
the only way not to want tliem was, not to go to 
war with our alhed nations. 

As it is customary with the Indians to accom- 
pany their word with a present proportioned to 
the affair treated of, he gave them fifty pounds of 
powder, as many balls, six guns, ten axes, twelve 
armsful of tobacco, and a hatchet pipe. 

On the first of December, the Mantantons in- 
vited Le Sueur to a great feast. Of four of their 
lodges they had made one, in which were one 
hundred men seated around, and every one his 
dish before him. After the meal, Wahkautape, 
the cliief , made them all smoke, one after another, 
in the hatchet pipe which had been given them. 
He then made a present to Le Sueur of a slave 
and a sack of wild rice, and said to him, showing 
him his men: " Behold the remains of this great 
village, which thou hast aforetimes seen so nu- 
merous! All the others have been killed in war; 
and the few men whom thou seest in this lodge, 
accept the present thou hast made them, and are 
resolved to obey the great chief of all nations, of 
whom thou hast spoken to us. Thou onghtest 
not to regard us as Scioux, but as French, and in- 
stead of saying the Scioux are miserable, and have 
no mind, and are fit for nothing but to rob and 
steal from the French, thou shalt say my breth- 
ren are miserable and have no mind, and we must 



V IBERVILLE'S MEMOIB ON THE MISSISSIPPI THIBES. 



45 



try to procure some for them. They rob us, but 
I will take care that they do not lack iron, that is 
to say, all kinds of goods. If thou dost this, I as- 
sure thee tliat in a little time the Mantantons will 
become Frenchmen, and they will have none of 
those vices, with which thou reproachest us." 

Having finished his speech, he covered his face 
with his garment, and the others imitated him. 
They wept over their companions who had died 
in war, and chanted an adieu to their country in 
a tone so gloomy, that one could not keep from 
partaking of their sorrow. 

Wahkantape then made them smoke again, and 
distributed the presents, and said that he was go- 
ing to the Mendeoucantons, to inform them of the 
resolution, and invite them to do the same. 

On the twelfth, three Mendeoucauton chiefs, 
and a large number of Inilians of the same vil- 
lage, arrived at the fort, and the next day gave 
satisfaction for robbing the Frenchmen. They 
brought four hundred pounds of beaver skins, and 
promised that the summer follo^^'ing, after their 
canoes were built and they had gathered their 
wild rice, that they would come and establish 
themselves near the French. The same day they 
returned to their village east of the Mississippi. 

KAMES OF THE BANDS OF SCIOUX OF THE 
EAST, WITH THEIK SIGNIFICATION. 

Mantantons— That is to say, Village of the 
Great Lake which empties into a small one. 

Mendeotjacantons— Village of Spirit Lake. 

QuioPETONS — Village of the Lake with one 
River. 

PsiouMANiTONs — Village of Wild Rice Gath- 
erers. 

Otjadebatons— The River Village. 

OuAETEJiANETONS — Village of the Tribe who 
dwell on the Point of the Lake. 

SoNGASQUiTONS— The Brave Village, 

THE SCIOUX OF THE WEST. 

ToucHOUAESiNTONS— The Village of the Pole. 

PsiNCHATONS — A^illage of the Red Wild Rice. 

OuJALESPOiTONS — Village divided into many 
small Bands. 

PsiNOUTANHiNiiiNTONS — The Great Wild 
Rice Village. 

TiNTANGAOUGHiATONS — The Grand Lodge 
Village. 



OuAEPETONS — Village of the Leaf. 

OuGHETGEODATONS— Dung Village. 

OuAPEONTETONS — Village of those who shoot 
in the Large Pine. 

HiNHANETONS — Village of the Red Stone 
Quarry. 

The above catalogue of villages concludes the 
extract that La Harpe has made from Le Sueur's 
journal. 

In the narrative of Major Long's second expe- 
dition, there are just as many villages of the Gens 
du Lac, or M'dewakantonwan Scioux mentioned, 
though the names are different. After leaving 
tlie Mille Lac region, the divisions evidently were 
different, and the villages known by new names. 

Charlevoix, who visited the valley of the Lower 
iSIississippi in 1722, says that Le Sueiu: spent a 
winter in his fort on the banks of the Blue Earth, 
and that m the foUowmg April he went up to the 
mine, about a mile above. In twenty-two days 
they obtained more than thirty thousand pounds 
of the substance, four thousand of which were se- 
lected and sent to France. 

On the tenth of February, 1702, Le Sueur came 
back to the post on the Gulf of Mexico, and found 
D'lberville absent, who, however, arrived on the 
eighteenth of the next month, wth a ship from 
France , loaded with suppUes. After a few weeks, 
the Governor of Louisiana sailed again for the 
old coimtry, Le Sueur being a fellow passenger. 

On board of the ship, D'lberville wrote a mem- 
orial upon the Mississippi valley, with sugges- 
tions for carrying on commerce therein, which 
contains many facts furnished by Le Sueur. A 
copy of the manuscript was in possession of the 
Historical Society of Mimiesota, from which are 
the foUovrang extracts: 

"If the Sioux remain in their o-mi coimtry, 
they are useless to us, being too distant. We 
could have no commerce vnth them exeept that 
of the beaver. M. Le Sueur, who goes to France 
to give an account of this country, is the proper per- 
son to make these movements. He estimates the 
Sioux at four thousand families, who could settle 
upon the Missouri. 

" He has spoken to me of another which he 
calls the Mahas, composed of more than twelve 
hundi-ed families. The Ayooues (loways) and the 
Octoctatas, their neighbors, are about three 
hundred families. They occupy the lauds be- 



46 



EXPLOREBS AND PIOXEERS OF MIXXESOTA. 



tween tiie ilississippi and the Missouri, about 
one huncked leagues from the IllLuois. These 
savages do not know tlie iise of arms, and a de- 
scent miglit be made upon tliem in a river, wUicli 
is beyond tlie Wabash on the west. * * * 

" The Assinibouel. Quenistinos, and people of 
the north, who are upon the rivers which fall into 
the Mississippi, and trade at Fort Xelson (Hud- 
son Bay), are about four hundred. We could 
prevent them from going there if we wish."' 

" In four or five years we can establish a com- 
merce witli these savages of sixty or eighty thou- 
sand buffalo skins; more than one hundred deer 
slcins, which will yiroduce. delivered in France, 
more tlian two million four hundred thousand 
livres yearly. One might obtain for a buffalo 
skin four or five pounds of wool, wliich sells for 
twenty sous, two pounds of coarse hair at ten 
sous. 

" Besides, from smaller peltries, two hundred 
thousand livres can be made yearly." 

In the tliird volume of the " History and Sta- 
tistics of the Indian Tribes," prepared under the 
direction of the Commissioner of Indian affairs, 
by Mr. Schoolcraft, a manuscript, a copy of which 
was in possession of General Cass, is referred to as 
containing the first enimieration of the Indians of 
the Mississippi A'alley. The following was made 
thirty-four years earlier by D"Iberville: 

"The Sioux, Families, 4,000 

Mahas, 12,000 

Octata and Ayoues, 300 

Causes [Kansas], 1,500 

Missouri, 1,500 

Akansas, &c., 200 

jSIanton [.MandanJ, 100 

Panis [Pawnee], ti.oiiO 

Illinois, of the great village and Cania- 

roua [Tamaroa], 800 

Meosigamea [Metchigamias], .... 200 
Kikapous and Mascoutens, .... 4-50 

Aliamis, . , 500 

Chactas, 4,000 

Cliicachas, 2,000 

MobiUens and Chohomes, 3.50 

Concaques [Conchas], 2,000 

Ouma [Houmas], loO 

Colapissa, 250 

Bayogoula, 100 

People of the Fork, 200 



Counica, &c. [TonicasJ, 300 

Xadeches, 1,500 

Belochy, [Biloxi] Pascoboula, .... 100 

Total, . . ■ 23,850 

'■ The savage tribes located in tlie places I have 
marked out, make it necessary to establish three 
posts on tlie Mississippi, one at the ^Vrkiinsas, 
another at tlie Wabash (Ohio), and the third at 
the Missouri. At each post it would be proper 
to have an oflicer with a detachment of ten sol- 
diers with a sergeant and corporal. All French- 
men should be allowed to settle there with their 
families, and trade with the Indians, and they 
miglit eslabli.sli tanneries for properly dressing 
the buffalo and deer skins for transportation. 

" Xo Frenchman shall be allmced to follow the 
Indians on their hunts, as it tends to keeji them 
hiinters, as is seen in Canada, and when they are 
La the woods, they do not desire to become tillers 
of the soil. ******* 

•■ I have said nothing in this memoir of wliich 
I have not personal knowledge or the most relia- 
ble sources. The most of what I propose is 
founded uimn personal reflection in relation to 
what might Ije done for the defence and advance- 
ment of the colony. ***** 
* * * It ^\'ill be absolutely necessary 
that tlie king should define tlie limits of this 
country in relation to the govTsmment of Canada. 
It is important that the commandant of the 
^Mississippi should have a report of those who 
inhabit the rivers that fall into the ^Mississippi, 
and principally those of the river Illinois. 

'■ The Canadians intimate to the savages that 
tliey ouglit nf)t to listen to us but to the governor 
of Canada, who always speaks to tliem with large 
presents, that the governor of Mississippi is mean 
and never sends them any thing. This is ti'ue, 
and what I cannot do. It is imprudent to accus- 
tom the savages to be spoken to by presents, for, 
with so many, it would cost the king more than 
the revenue derived from the trade. AVhen they 
come to us, it will be necessary to bring them in 
subjection, make tliein no presents, and compel 
them to do what we wish, (i.s if they were'French- 
men. 

" The Spaniards have divided the Indians into 
parties on tliis point, and we can do the same. 
A\'hen one nation does wrong, we can cease to 



PENICAUT DESCRIBES LIFE AT FORT VHVILLIER. 



47 



trade with them, and threaten to draw down the 
hostility of other Indians. We rectify the ditli- 
culty by having missionaries, who will bring 
them into obedience secretly. 

" The Illinois and Mascoutens have detained 
the French canoes they find upon the ]\Iississippi, 
saymg that the governors of Canada have given 
them permission. I do not know whether this is 
so, but if true, it follows that we have not the 
liberty to send any one on the Mississippi. 

" M. Le Sueur would have been taken if he 
had not been the strongest. Only one of the 
canoes lie sent to the Sioux wasplmidered." * * * 

Penicaut's account varies in some particulars 
from that of La Ilarpe's. He calls the Mahkahto 
Green River instead of Blue and writes: " We 
took our route by its mouth and ascended it forty 
leagues, when we f ouud another river falling in- 
to the Saint Pierre, which we entered. We 
Dalled this the Green Eiver because it is of that 
color by reason of a green earth which loosening 
itself from from the copper mines, becomes dis- 
solved and makes it green. 

" A league up this river, we found a point 
of land a quarter of a league distant from the 
woods, and it was upon this point that M. Le 
Sueur resolved to build his fort, because we could 
not go any higher on account of the ice, it being 
the last day of Septemljer. Half of our people 
went hunting whilst the others worked on the 
fort. We killed foiu' hundred buffaloes, which 
were our provisions for the winter, and which we 
placed upon scaffolds in our fort, after havuig 
skinned and cleaned and quartered them. We 
also made cabins in the fort, and a magazine to 
keep our goods. After havmg drawn up our 
shallop within the inelosirre of the foi-t, we spent 
the winter in our cabins. 

" "WHien we were working in our fort in the 
begmning seven French traders from Canada 
took refuge there. They had been pillaged and 
stripped naked by the Sioux, a wandering nation 
hving only by liuuting and plundering. Among 
these seven persons there was a Canadian gen- 
tleman of Le Sueur's acquaintance, whom he rec- 
ognized at once, and gave him some clothes, as 
he did also to all the rest, and whatever else was 
necessary for them. They remained with us 
during the entire winter at our fort, where we 
had not food enough for all, except buffalo meat 



wlrich we had not even salt to eat with. We had 
a good deal of trouble the first two weeks in ac- 
customing ourselves to it, havmg fever and di- 
arrhoea and becoming so tired of it as to hate the 
smell. But by degrees our bodies became adapt- 
ed to it so well that at the end of six weeks there 
was not one of us who could not eat six pounds 
of nieat a day, and drink four bowls of broth. 
As soon as we were accustomed to this kind of 
livuig it made us very fat, and then there was no 
more sickness. 

" When spring arrived we went to work in the 
copper mine. This was the beginning of April of 
this year [1701.] We took with us twelve labor- 
ers and four hunters. This mine was situated 
about three-quarters of a league from our post. 
We took from the mine in twenty days more than 
twenty thousand pounds weight of ore, of which 
we only selected four thousand pomids of the 
finest, which M. Le Sueur, who was a very good 
judge of it, had carried to the fort, and which has 
since been sent to France, though I have not 
learned the result. 

'•This mine is situated at the beginning of a 
very long mountain, which is upon the bank of 
the river, so that boats can go right to the mouth 
of the mme itself. At this place is the green 
earth, which is a foot and a half in tliickness, 
and above it is a layer of earth as firm and 
hard as stone, and black and burnt like coal by 
the exlialation from the mme. The copper is 
Scratched out with a knife. There are no trees 
upon this mountain. * * * After twenty-two. 
days' work, we returned to our fort. When the 
Sioux, who belong to the nation of savages who 
pDlaged the Canadians, came they brought us 
merchandize of furs. 

"They had more than four hundred beaver 
robes, each robe made of nine skins sewed to- 
gether. M. Le Sueur purchased these and many 
other skins which he bargained for, in the week 
he traded with the savages. * * * * 
We sell in return wares which come very dear to 
the buyers, especially tobacco from Brazil, in the 
proportion of a hundred cro'wis the pound; two 
little horn-handled knives, and foiu- leaden bul- 
lets are equal to ten crowns in exchange for 
skins ; and so with the rest. 

" In the beginning of May, we launched our 
shallop ui the water, and loaded it with green 



48 



EXPLOREliS AND riOXEERti UF .UIXyESOTA. 



earth that hail hvcu taken out of the river, and 
Willi tlie furs we liail tiaih'd for, of wliieli we hiul 
three canoes full. M. Le Sueur before going 
held council with M. D'Evaque [or Eraque] the 
Canadian jieutlenian, and the three great chiefs 
of the Sioux, three lirothers, and told them that 
as he had to return to the sea, he desired them 
to live in peace with M. D'Evaque, whom he left 
ill command at Fort L'lluillicr. with twelve 
Frenchmen. M. Le Sueur made a considerable 
pre.sent to the three brothers, chiefs of the sava- 
ges, desiring them to never abanih>n the French. 
Afterward we the twelve men whom he had chosen 
to go down to the sea with him emliarked. In set- 
ting out, ^I, Le Sueur promised to M. D'Evaque 
and the twelve Frenchmen who remained with 
him to guard the fort, to send up munitions of 
war from the Illinois country as soon as he should 
arrive there ; which he did, for on getting there 
he sent off to him a canoe loaded with two thou- 
sand pounds of lead and powder, with three of 
our people iu charge.'' 

Le Sueur arrived at the French fort on the 
Gulf of Mexico in safety, and in a few weeks, in 
the spring of 1701, sailed for France, with his 
kinsman, D'Iberville, the first governor of Lou- 
isiana. 

In the spring of the next year (17(i2) D"Eva<ine 
came to ^Mobile and reported to D"lberville, who 
had come back from France, that he had been 
attacked by the Foxes and jMaskoutens, who killed 
three Frenchmen who were working near Fort 
L'Huillier, and that, being out of powder and 
lead, he had been obliged to conceal the goods 
which were left and abandon the post. At the 
Wisconsin River he had met Jucherean, formerly 
criminal judge in ilontreal, with thirty-fiv>' 
men, on his way to establish a tannery for buffalo 
skins at the Wabash, and that at the Illinois he 
met the canoe of supplies sent by tjienville, 
D'lbervUle's brother. 

La ^lotte Cadillac, in command at Detroit, in 
a letter written on August 31st, ITO.'i, alludes to 
Le Sueur's expedition in these w ords: " Last 
year they sent Mr. Boudor, a ^lontreal merchant, 
into the country of the Sioux to join Le Su- 
eur. He succeeded so well in that journey he 
transported thither twenty-five or thirty thous- 
and ])oimds of merchandize with which to trade 
in all the coinitry of the Outawas. This proved 



to him an unfortunate investment, as he has 
befu robbed of a part of the goods by the Outa- 
gamies. Tlie occiusion of the robbery by one of 
onr own allies was as follows. 1 speak with a 
full knowledge of the factsas they occurretl while 
I was at Michillimackianc. From time immemo- 
rial our allies have been at war with the Sioux, 
abd on my arrival there in conformity to the or- 
der of yi. Frontenac, the most able man who has 
ever come into Canada, I attempted to negotiate 
a truce between the Sioux and all om- allies. 
Succeeding in this negotiation I took the occa- 
sion to turn their arms against the Iroquois with 
whom we were then at war, and soon after I ef- 
fected a treaty of peace between the Sioux and 
the French and theirallieswiiich lasted two years. 

"At the end of tha time the SioiLX came, in 
great numbers, to the villages of the iliamis, un- 
der i)retense of ratifying the treaty. They were 
well received by the Miamis. and. after spending 
several days in their villages, 'departed, apparent- 
ly perfectly satisfied with their good reception, as 
they certainly had every reason to be. 

" The JSIiamis, believing them already far dis- 
tant, slept quietly; but the Sioux, who had pre- 
meditated the attack, retiu-ned the same night to 
the principal village of the Miamis, where most 
of the tribe were congregated, and, taking them 
by surprise, slaughtered nearly three thousandC:') 
and put the rest to fiight.. * 

"This perfectly infuriated all tne nations. 
They came with their complaints, liegging me to 
join with tliem and exterminate the Sioux. But 
the war we then had on our hands did not permit 
it, so it became necessary to play the orator in a 
long harangue. In conclusion I advised them to 
' weep their dead, and wrap them up, and leave 
them to sleep coldly till the day of vengeance 
should come;' telling them we must sweep the 
land on this side of the Iroquois, as it was neces- 
sary to extinguish even their memory, after which 
the allied tribes could more easily avenge the 
atrocious deed that the Sioux had just committed 
uiion them. In short, I managed them so well- 
that the affair was settled in the manner that I 
proposed. 

"But the twenty-five permits still existed, and 
the cupidity of the French induced them to go 
among the Sioux to trade for beaver. Our allies 
complained bitterly of this, sa\ing it was injust- 



TRADE FOBBIDDEN WITH THE SIOUX. 



49 



ice to them, as tbey had taken up arms in our 
quarrel against tlie Iroquois, while the French 
traders were carrying munitions of war to tlie 
Sioux to enable them to kiU the rest of our allies 
as they had the Miamis. 

" I immediately informed M. Frontenac, and M. 
Champigny having read tlie communication, and 
commanded that an ordinance be publ ished at Mon- 
treal forbidding the traders to go into the country 
of the Sioux for the purpose of traffic under penalty 
of a thousand francs fine, the confiscation of the 
goods, and other arbitrary penalties. The ordi- 
nance was sent to me and faithfully executed. 
The same year [1699] I descended to Quebec, 
having asked to be relieved. Since that time, in 
spite of this prohibition, the French have con- 
tinued to trade with the Sioux, but not without 
being subject to affronts and indignities from our 
allies themselves which bring dishonor on the 
French name. * * * I do notconsider it best 
any longer to allow the traders to carry on com- 
merce with the Sioux, under any pretext what- 



ever, especially as M. Boudor has just been 
robbed by the Fox nation, and M. Jucheraux has 
given a thousand crowns, in goods, for the right 
of passage through the country of the allies to 
his habitation. 

" The allies say that Le Sueur has gone to the 
Sioux on the Mississippi; that they are resolved 
to oppose him, and if he offers any resistance they 
will not be answerable for the consequences. 
It would be well, therefore, to give Le Sueur 
warning by the Governor of Mississippi. 

" The Sauteurs [Chippeways] being friendly 
with the Sioux wished to give passage through 
their country to M. Boudor and others, permit- 
ting them to carry arms and other munitions of 
war to this nation; but the other nations being 
opposed to it, differences have arisen betvsreen 
them which have resulted in the roljbery of M. 
Boudor. This has given occasion to the Sau- 
tem's to make an outbreak upon the Sacs and 
Foxes, killing thirty or forty of them. So there 
is war among the people." 



50 



EXPLOliEIiS AXD PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER yill. 



EVENTS AVUICII LED TO liUILDIXG FORT BEAUHAKNOIS ON LAKE PEPIN. 



Be'EsUbhshineut of Mackinaw.— Sieur do Louvigny at Mackinaw.— De Lignery 
at Mackinaw.- Louvigny Attacks the Foxes.— Du Luth's Post Bcoccupied.— 
Saint Pierre at 1a Poiuto on Lake Superior.- Preparations for a Jesuit Mission 
amoni; the Sioux.— Ia Perriere Boucher's Expedition to Lake Pepin.— Dc 
Conor and Guiguos, Jesuit Missionaries.— Visit to Foxes and Winnebagoes. — 
Wisconsin River Described.— Fort Beauharnuis Built.- Fireworks Displayed. — 
High Water at Lake Pepin.— De Conor Visits Mackinaw.— Boucherville, Mont- 
brun and Guiguas Captured by Indians.— Montbrun's Escape.— Boucherville's 
Presents to Indians.— Exaggerated Account of Father Guiguas' Capture.— liis- 
patches (.'oncerning Fort Beauhamois.— Sicur de la Jeineraye. — Saint Pierre at 
Fort Beauharnois.— Trouble between Sioux and Foxes —Sioux Visit Queliec.— 
De Lusignan Visits tlie Sioux Country.— Saint Pierre Noticed in the Travels 
of Jonathan Carver and Lieutenant Pike. 

After the Fox Indians drove away Le Sueur's 
men, in 1702, from the ^Slakalito, or Blue Earth 
river, t\w mercliants of :si<)iitreal and Quebec did 
not encourage trade with the tribes beyond :Mac'li- 
inaw. 

D'Aigreult, a French officer, sent to inspect 
that post, in the summer of 1708, reported tliat 
he arrived there, on the 19th of August, and 
found tliere but fourteen or fifteen Frenchmen. 
He also wrote: " Since tliere are now onlj' a few 
wanderers at Micliilimaclcinack, the greater part 
of the furs of tlie savages of the north goes to the 
English trading posts on Hudson's Bay. The 
Outawas are unable to make this trade by them- 
selves, because the northern savages are timid, 
and will not come near them, as they have often 
been plundered. It is, therefore, necessary that 
the French be allowed to seek these northern 
tribes at the mouth of theii- own river, which 
empties into Lake Superior." 

Louis de la Porte, the Sieur De Louvigny, in 
1690, accompanied by Nicholas Perrot, with a de- 
tachment of one hundred and seventy Canadians 
and Indians, came to ISIackinaw, jind until 1094 
was in command, when lie was recalled. 

In 1712, Father Joseph J. ISIarest the Jesuit 
missionary wrote, " If this country ever needs 
M. Louvigny it is now ; the savages say it is ab- 
solutely necessary that he should come for the 
safety of the country, to unite the tribes and to 
defend tliose wliom the war has caused to return 
to Michiliniaciiiac. ****** 



I do not know wliat course the Pottawatomies 
will take, nor even wliat course they will pursue 
who are here, if M. Louvigny does not come, es- 
pecially if the Foxes were to attack them or us." 

The next July, M. Lignery urged upon the au- 
thorities the establishment of a garrison of trained 
soldiers at Mackinaw, and the Intendant of Can- 
ada wrote to the King of France : 

" Michilimackinac might be re-established, 
without expense to his Jilajesty, either by sur- 
rendering the trade of the post to such individu- 
als as will obligate themselves to pay all the ex- 
penses of tw^enty-two soldiers and two officers; to 
furnish munitions of war for the defense of the 
fort, and to make presents to the savages. 

'■ Or the expenses of the post might be paid by 
the sale of permits, if the King should not tlihik 
proper to grant an exclusive commerce. It is ab- 
solutely necessary to know the •wishes of tlie King 
concerning these two propositions ; and as M. 
Lignery is at Michilimackinac, it will not be any 
greater injury to the colony to defer the re-estab- 
ment of this post, than it has been for eight or 
ten years past." 

The war with England ensued, and in April. 
1713, the treaty of Utrecht was ratified. Fniiice 
liad now more leisure to attend to the Inilian 
tribes of the "West. 

Early in 1714, ^Mackinaw was re-occupied, and 
on the fourteenth of March, 1716, an expedition 
under Lieutenant Lou-vigny, left Quebec. His 
arrival at Mackinaw, where he had beeU long ex- 
pected, gave confidence to the voyageurs, and 
friendly Indians, and with a force of eight hun- 
dred men, he proceeded against the Foxes in 
Wisconsin. He brought with him two pieces of 
cannon and a grenade mortar, and besieged the 
fort of the Fo.xes, wliich he stated contained five 
Inuidred warriors, and three thousand men, a 
declaration which can scarcely be credited. After 



DESIBE FOR A NOBIUERN ROUTE JO THE PACIFIC. 



51 



three days of skirmishing, he prepared to mine 
the fort, when the Foxes capitvilated. 

The paddles of the bircli bark canoes and the 
gay songs of the voyageiirs now began to be heard 
once more on the waters of Lake Superior and its 
tributaries. In 1717, tlie post erected by Du 
Luth, on Lake Superior near the northern boun- 
dary of ilinnesota, was re-occnpied by Lt. llo- 
bertel de la None. 

In view of the troubles among the tribes of the 
northwest, in the month of September, 1718, Cap- 
tain St. Pierre, who had great mfluence with the 
Indians of Wisconsin and Minnesota, was sent 
with Ensign Linctot and some soldiers to re-oc- 
cupy La Pointe on Lake Superior, now Bayfield, 
in the northwestern part of Wisconsin. The 
chiefs of the baud there, and at Keweenaw, 
had threatened, war against the Foxes, who had 
killed some of their nu mber. 

When the Jesuit Charlevoix returned to France 
after an examination of the resources of Canada 
and Louisiana, he urged that an attempt should 
be made to reacli the Pacific Ocean by an inland 
route, and suggested that an expedition should 
proceed from the mouth of the Missouri and fol- 
low that stream, or that a post should be estab- 
lished among the Sioux which should be the point 
of departure. The latter was accepted, and in 
1722 an allowance was made by the French Gov- 
ernment, of twelve hundred Uvres, for two Jes- 
uit missionaries to accompany those who should 
establish the new post. D'Avagour, Superin- 
tendent of Missions, in May, 1723, requested the 
authorities to grant a separate canoe for the con- 
veyance of the goods of the proposed mission, 
and as it was necessary to send a commandant 
to persuade the Indians to receive the mission- 
aries, he recommended Sieur Pachot, an officer of 
experience. 

A dispatch from Canada to the French govern- 
ment, dated October 14, 1723, amiounced that 
Father de la Chasse, Superior of the Jesuits, ex- 
pected that, the next spring, Father Guymoneau, 
and another missionary from Paris, would go to 
the Sioux, but that they had been hindered by the 
Sioux a few months before kiUing seven French- 
men, on their way to Louisiana. The aged 
Jesuit, Joseph J. Marest, who had been on Lake 
Pepin m 1089 with Perrot, and was now in Mon- 
treal, said that it was the wandering Sioux who 



had killed the French, but he thought the sta- 
tionary Sioux would receive Christian instruction. 

The hostility of the Foxes had also prevented 
the establishment of a fort and mission among the 
Sioux. \ 

On the seventh of June, 1726, peace was con- 
cluded by De Lignery with the Sauks, Foxes, and 
AVinnebagoes at Green Bay; and Linctot, who 
had succeeded Saint Pierre m command at La 
Pointe, was ordered, by presents and the promise 
of a missionary, to endeavor to detach the Dah- 
kotahs from their alliance with the Foxes. At 
this time Linctot made arrangements for peace 
between the Ojibways and Dahkotas, and sent 
tw^o Frenchmen to dwell in the villages of the 
latter, with a promise that, if they ceased to figlit 
the Ojibways, they should have regular trade, 
and a "black robe" reside in their country. 

Traders and missionaries now began to prepare 
for visitmg the Sioux, and in the spring of 1727 
the Governor of Canada wrote that the fathers, 
appointed for the Sioux mission, desired a case of 
mathematical instruments, a universal astro 
nomic dial, a spirit level, chain and stakes, and a 
telescope of six or seven feet tube. 

On the sixteenth of June, 1727, the expedition 
for the Sioux country left Montreal in charge of 
the Sieur de la Perriere who was son of the dis- 
tinguished and respected Canadian, Pierre Bou- 
cher, the Governor of Three Rivers. 

La Perriere had .served in aSTewfoimdland and 
been associated with Hertel de Rouville in raids 
into New England, and gained an unenviable no- 
toriety as the leader of the savages, while Rou- 
ville led the French in attacks upon towns like 
Haverhill, Massachusetts, where tlie Indians ex- 
ultuigly killed the Puritan pastor, scalped his 
loving wife, and dashed out his infant's brams 
against a rock. He was accompanied by his 
brother and other relatives. Two Jesuit fathers, 
De Gonor and Pierre Michel Guignas, were also 
of the party. 

In Shea's " Early French Voyages" there was 
printed, for the first time, a letter from Father 
Guignas, from the Brevoort manuscripts, written 
on May 29, 1728, at Fort Beauharnois, on Lake 
Pepin, which contains facts of much interest. 

He writes: " The Scioux convoy left the end 
of Montreal Island on the 16th of the month of 
Jime last year, at 11 a. m., and reached Michili- 



62 



EXPLORERS AND PIOXEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



mackinac the 22d of the month of July. This 
post is two hundred and fift)'-one leagues from 
Itlontreal, almost due west, at 45 degrees 46 min- 
utes north latitude. 

" We spent the rest of the month at this post, 
in the hope of receiving from day to day some 
news from Montreal, and in the design of 
strengthening ourselves against the alleged ex- 
treme difficulties of getting a free passage through 
the Foxes. At last, .seeing nothing, we .set out 
on our march, the first of the month of August, 
and. after seventy-three leagues quite pleasant 
sail along the northerly side of Lake Michigan, 
running to the southeast, we reached the Bay 
[Green] on the 8th of the same month, at 5:30 p. 
51. This post is at 44 degrees 43 minutes north 
latitude. 

""We stopped there Iavo days, and on the 11th 
in the morning, we embarked, in a very great 
impatience to reach the Foxes. On the third day 
after our departure from the bay, (juite late in 
the afternoon, in fact somewhat in tlie night, the 
chiefs of the Puans [Winnebagoes] came out three 
leagues from their village to meet the French, 
with their peace calumets and some bear meat as 
a refresliment, and the next day we were received 
by that small nation, amid several discharges of 
a few guns, and with great demonstrations. 

" They asked us with so good a grace to do 
them the honor to stay some time with them tliat 
we granted them the rest of the day from noon, 
and the following day. Tliere may be in all the 
village, sixty to eighty men, but all tlie men and 
women of very tall stature, and well made. They 
are on the bank of a very pretty little lake, in a 
most agreeable spot for its situation and the 
goodness of the soil, nineteen leagues from the 
bay and eight leagues from the Foxes. 

" Early the next morning, the loth of the montli 
of August, the convoy preferred to continue its 
route, with quite pleasant weather, but a storm 
coming on in the afternoon, we arrived quite wet, 
still in the rain, at the ••al)ins of tlie Foxes, a nation 
so much dreaded, and really so little to be dreaded. 
From all that we could see, it is composed of 
two hundred men at most, but there is a perfect 
hive of children, especially boys from ten to 
fourteen years old, well formed. 

'• They are cabined on a little eminence on the 
bank of a small river that bears their name, ex- 



tremely tortuous or wmding, so that you are con- 
stantly boxing the compass. Yet it is apparently 
quite wide, with a cliain of hills on both sides, 
but there is only one miserable little channel 
amid this extent of apparent bed, which is a kind 
of marsh full of rushes and wild rice of almost 
impenetrable thickness. They have nothing but 
mere bark cabins, without any kind of pahsade or 
other fortification. As soon as the French ca- 
noes touched their sliore they ran do«ii with 
their peace calumets, liglited in spite of the rain, 
and all smoked. 

" "We stayed among them the rest of this day, 
and all the next, to know wliat were their designs 
and ideas as to the French post among the Sioux. 
The Sieur Reaume, interpreter of Indian lan- 
guages at the Bay, acted efficiently there, and 
with devotion to tlie King's service. Even if my 
testimony, Sii', should be deemed not impartial, I 
must have the honor to tell you that Rev. Father 
Chardon, an old missionary, was of very great as- 
sistance there, and the presence of three mission- 
aries reassured these cut-throats and assassins of 
the French more than all the speeches of the best 
orators could have done. 

" A general council was convened in one of the 
cabins, they were addressed in decided friendly 
terms, and they replied in the same way. A 
small present was made to tliem. On tlieir side 
they gave some quite handsome dishes, lined with 
dry meat. 

On the following Simday, 17th of the month 
of August, very early in the morning, Fatlier 
Chardon set out, with Sieur Reaume, to return 
to the Bay, and the Sioux expedition, greatly re- 
joiced to have so easily got over this difficulty, 
which had everywhere been represented as so in- 
surmountable, got uiider way to endeavor to 
reach its journey's end. 

" Never was navigation more tedious than 
what we subsequently made from uncertainty as 
to our course. No one knew it, and we got 
astray every moment on water and on land for 
want of a guide and pilots. ^Ve kept on, as it 
were feeling our way for eight days, for it was 
only on the ninth, about three o'clo'ck p. m., that 
we arrived, by accident, believing ourselves stiil 
far off, at tlie portage of the Ouisconsin, which is 
forty-five leagues from tlie Foxes, counthig ail 
the twists and turns of this abominable river. 



SITUATION AND DESCRIPTION OF FORT BEAUHARNOIS. 



53 



This portage is lialf a league in length, and half 
of that is a kind of marsh full of mud, 

" The Ouisi'onsin is quite a handsome river, 
but far below what we had been told, apparently, 
as those who gave the description of it in Canada 
saw it only in the high waters of spring. It is a 
shallow river on a bed of quicksand, which forms 
bars almi;st everywhere, and these often change 
place. Its shores are either steep, Ijare mountains 
or low points wi th sandy base. Its course is from 
northeast to southwest. From the portage to its 
mouth in the Mississippi, I estimated thirty-eight 
leagues. The portage is at 43 deg. 2-1 min. north 
latitude. 

" The Mississippi from the mouth of the Ouis- 
conshi ascending, goes northwest. This beauti- 
ful river extends between two chains of high, 
bare and very sterile mountains, constantly a 
league, three-quarters of a league, or where it is 
narrowest, half a league apart. Its centre is oc- 
cupied by a chain of well wooded islands, so that 
regarding from the heights above, you would 
thmk you saw an endless valley watered on the 
right and left by two large rivers ; sometimes, too, 
you could discern no river. These islands are 
overflowed every year, and would be adapted to 
raising rice. Fifty-eight leagues from the mouth 
of the Ouisconsin, accordmg to my calculation, 
ascending the Mississippi, is Lake Pepin, which 
is nothmg else but the river itself, destitute of 
islands at that point, where it may be half a 
league wide. This river, in what I traversed of 
it, is shallow, and has shoals in several places, be- 
cause its bed is moving sands, like that of the 
Ouisconsm. 

"On the 17th of September, 1727, at noon, we 
reached this lake, which had been chosen as the 
bourne of our voyage. We planted ourselves on 
the shore about the middle of the north side, on 
a low point, where the soil is excellent. The 
wood is very dense there, but is already thumed 
in consequence of the rigor and length of the 
winter, which has been severe for the climate, 
for we are here on the parallel of 43 deg. 41 min. 
It is true that the difference of the winter is 
great compared to that of Quebec and Montreal, 
for all that some poor judges say. 

"From the day after our landing we put our 
axes to the wood: on the fourth day following 
the fort v:as entirely finished. It is a square plat 



of one hundred feet, surrounded by pickets twelve 
feet long, with two good bastions. For so small 
a space there are large buildings quite distinct and 
not huddled togetlier, each thirty, thirty-eight 
and twenty-five feet long by sixteen feet wide. 

" All would go well there if the spot were not 
inundated, but this year [1728], on the 15th of 
the month of April, we were obliged to camp out, 
and tlie water ascended to the height of two feet 
and eight inches in the houses, and it is idle to 
say that it was the quantity of snow that fell 
tills year. The snow in the vicinity had melted 
long before, and there was only a foot and a half 
from the 8th of February to the IStli of March; 
you could not use snow-shoes. 

" I have great reason to think that this spot is 
inundated more or less every year; I have always 
thought so, but they were not obliged to believe 
me, as old people who said that they had lived in 
this region fifteen or twenty years declared that 
it was never overflowed. AVe could not enter 
our much-devastated houses until the 30th of 
April, and the disorder is even now scarcely re- 
paired. 

" Before the end of October [1727] all the houses 
were finished and furnished, and each one found 
himself tranquilly lodged at home. They then 
thought only of going out to explore the hills and 
rivers and to see those herds of all lands of deer 
of which they tell such stories in Canada. They 
must have retired, or diminished greatly, since 
the time the old voyageurs left the comitry; they 
are no longer in such great numbers, and are 
killed with difliculty. 

"After beatmg the field, for some time, all re- 
assembled at the fort, and thought of enjoying a 
little the fruit of their labors. On the 4th of No- 
vember we did not forget it was the General's 
birthday. Mass was said for him [Beauharnois, 
Governor-General of Canada] in the morning, 
and they were well disposed to celebrate the day 
in tlie evening, but the tardmess of the pyro- 
technists and the inconstancy of the weather 
caused them to postpone the celebration to the 
14th of the same month, when they set off some 
very fine rockets and made the air rmg with an 
hundred shouts of Vive k Roy! and Vive Charles 
de Beauharnois! It was on this occasion that the 
wine of the Sioux was broached; it was par eoo- 



54 



EXPLOIiERS AKB PIOXEERS OF HflNXESOTA. 



celknce, although there are no ynnes here finer 
than in Canada. 

•' What contributed much to the amusement, 
was the terror of some cabins of Indians, who 
were at the time around the fort. AVhen these 
poor people saw the fireworks in the air, and the 
stars fall from heaven, the women and children 
began to take flight, and the most courageous of 
the men to cry mercy, and implore ns very earn- 
estly to stop the surprising pla\' of that wonder- 
ful medicine. 

" As soon as we arrived among them, they as- 
sembled, in a few days, around the French fort to 
the number of ninety-five cal)ins. which might 
make in all one hundred and fifty men; for there 
axe at most two men in their portable cabins of 
dressed skins, and in many there is only oue_ 
This is all we have seen except a band of about 
sixty men, who came on the 26th of the month of 
February, who were of those nations called Sioux 
of the Prairies. 

" At the end of November, the Indians set out 
for theii- winter quarters. They do not, indeed, 
go far, and we saw some of them all through the 
winter; but from the second of the month of 
April last, when some cabins repassed here to go 
in search of them, [lie] sought them in vain, du- 
ring a week, for more than sixty leagues of the 
Mississippi. He [La PerriereV] arrived yesterday 
without any tidings of them. 

" Although I said above, that the Sioux were 
alarmed at the rockets, which they took for new 
phenomena, it must not be supposed from that 
they were less intelligent than other Indians we 
know. They seem to me more so ; at least they 
are much gayer and open, apparently, and far 
more dextrous thieves, great dancers, and great 
medicine men. The men are almost all large and 
well made, Init the women are very ugly and dis- 
gusting, which does not, however, check debauch- 
ery among them, and is perhaps an effect of it." 

In the summer of 172.S the Jesuit De Gonor 
left the fort on Lake Pepin, and, by way of Mack- 
inaw, returned to Canada. The Foxes had now 
become very troublesome, and De Lignery and 
Beaujeu marched against their stronghold, to find 
they had retreated to the Mississippi Biver. 

On the 12th of October. Boucherville, his bro- 
ther Montbnui, a young ^adet of enterprising 
spirit, the Jesuit Guiguas, and other Frenchmen, 



eleven in all. left Fort Pepui to go to Canada, by 
way of the Illinois River. They were captured 
by the Mascoutens and Kickapoos. ami detained 
at the river " Au Ba-iif,"" which st;;cam was prob- 
ably the one mentioned by Le Sueur as twenty- 
two leagues above the Illinois River, although the 
sjmie name was g'ven liy Ilenneiuu to the Chip- 
pewa River, just below Lake Pepin. They were 
held as prisoners, with the view of delivering 
them to the Foxes. The iiight Viefore the deliv- 
ery the .Sieur ^lontbrun and liis l)rother and an- 
other Frenchman escaped. !Montbnm, leaving 
his sick brother in the Illinois country, journeyed 
to Canada and informed the authorities. 

Boucherville and Guignas reinaiueil prisoners 
for several months, and the former did not reach 
Detroit until .June. 1729, The account of expen- 
ditures made during his captivity is interesting as 
showing the value of merchandize at that time. 
It reads as follows: 

" ;Memi>randuni of the goods that Monsieur de 
Boucherville was ol)liged to furnish in the ser- 
vice of the King, from the time of his detention 
among the Kickapoos, on the 12th of October, 
172s. until his return to Detroit, in the year 1729, 
in the month of June. On arriving at the Kick- 
apoo village, he made a present to tlie young men 
to secure their opposition to some evil minded' 
old warriors — 
Two barrels of powder, each fifty pounds 

at Montreal price, valued at the sum of 1.50 Uv. 
One hundred pounds of lead and balls 

making the simi of .50 liv. 

Fom- pounds of vermillion, at 12 francs 

the poiuid 48 fr. 

Four coats, braided, at twenty francs. . . 80 fr. 
Six dozen knives at foiu- francs the dozen 24 fr. 
Four hinidred flints, one hundred gim- 

worms, two hundred ramnids and one 

hundred and fifty files, the total at the 

maker's prices 90 liv. 

After the Kickapoos refused to deliver them to 
the Renards [Foxes] they wished some favors, and 
I was obliged to give them the following which 
would allow them to weep over and cover their 
dead: 

Two braided coats (« 20 fr. each. . .- 40fr. 

Two woolen blankets (n 1.5 fr 30 

One hundred pounds of powder @ 30 sous 75 
One hundred pounds of lead (^ 10 sous. . 25 



liOUVHEBVILLE'S PRESENTS WHILE IN CAPTIVITY. 



65 



Two pounds of vermillion @ 12 fr 24f r. 

Moreover, given to- the Eenards to cover 
their dead and prepare tliem for peace, 

fifty pounds of powder, making 7o 

One hundred pounds of lead @ 10 sous . 50 

Two pounds of vermillion (a) 12 fr 24 

During the winter a considerable party was 
sent to strike hands with the Illinois. Given at 
that time : 

Two blue blankets @ 15 fr 30 

Four men's shirts @ 6 f r 2-1 

Four pairs of long-necked bottles @ 6 f r 24 

Four dozen of knives @ 4 f r 16 

Gun-worms, files, ramrods, and flints, es- 
timated 40 

Given to engage the Kickapoos to establish 
themselves upon a neighboring isle, to protect 
fj'om the treachery of the Kenards — 

Four- blankets, @ 15f 60f 

Two pairs of bottles, 6f 24 

Two pomids of vermillion, 12f 24 

Four dozen butcher knives, 6f 24 

Two woolen blankets, @ 15f 30 

Four pairs of bottles, @ 6f 24 

Four shirts, @ 6f 24 

Four dozen of knives, @ 4f 16 

The Kenards having betrayed and killed their 
brothers, the Kickapoos, I seized the favorable 
opportunity, and to encourage the latter to avenge 
themselves, I gave — 
Twenty-five poundsof powder, @ 30sous 37f.l()s. 

Twenty-five pounds of lead, @ 10s I2f.l0s. 

Two guns at 30 livres each 60f 

One half pound of vermillion 6f 

Flints, gims, worms and knives 20f 

The Illinois coming to the Kikapoos vil- 
lage, I supported them at my expense, 
and gave them powder, balls and shirts 

valued at oOf 

In departing from tlie Kikapoos \illage, I 
gave them the rest of the goods for 
their good treatment, estimated at ... . SOf 
In a letter, written by a priest, at Xew Orleans, 
on July 12, 1730, is the followmg exaggerated ac- 
count of the capture of Father Guignas: " We 
always felt a distrust of the Fox Indians, although 
they did not longer dare to undertake anything, 
since Father Guignas has detached from their al- 
liance the tribes of the Kikapous and Maskoutins. 
You luiow, my Reverend Father, that, being in 



Canada, he had the courage to penetrate even to 
the Sioux near the sources of the Mississippi, at 
the distance of eight hundred leagues from New 
Orleans and five hundi'ed from Quebec. Obliged 
to abandon this important mission by the unfor- 
tunate result of the enterprise against the Foxes, 
he descended the river to repair to the Illinois. 
On the 15th of October in the year 1728 he was 
arrested when half way by the Kickapous and 
Maskoutins. For four months he was a captive 
among the Indians, where he had much to suffer 
and everything to fear. The time at last came 
when he was to be burned alive, when he was 
adopted by an old man whose family saved his 
life and procured his liberty. 

" Our missionaries who are among the Illinois 
were no sooner acquainted with the situation 
than they procured him all the alleviation they 
were able. Everything which he received he em- 
ployed to conciUate the Indians, and succeeded 
to the extent of engaging them to conduct him to 
the ininois to make peace with the French and 
Indians of this region. Seven or eight months 
after this peace was concluded, the Maskoutins 
and Kikapous returned again to the Illinois coim- 
try, and took back Father Guignas to spend the 
winter, from whence, in all probability, he will 
return to Canada." 

In dispatches sent to France, in October, 1729, 
by the Canadian government, the following refer- 
ence is made to Fort Beauharnois : " They agree 
that the fort built among the Scioux, on the bor- 
der of Lake Pepin, appears to be badly situated 
on account of the freshets, but the Indians assure 
that the waters rose higher in 1728 than it ever 
did before. When Sieur de Laperriere located it ■ 
at that place it was on the assurance of the In- 
dians that the waters did not rise so high." In 
reference to the absence of Indians, is the fol- 
lowing : 

" It is very true that these Indians did leave 
shortly after on a hunting excursion, as they are 
in the hal)it of doing, for their own support and 
that of their families, who have only that means 
of livelihood, as they do not cultivate the soil at 
all. M. de Beauharnois has just been informed 
that their absence was occasioned only by having 
fallen in while hunting with a number of prairie 
Scioux, by whom they were invited to occompany 
them on a war expedition against the MahaSj 



66 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



which invitation they accepted, and returned 
only in the month of July following. 

" The interests of religion, of the service, and 
of the colony, are involved in the maintenance of 
this establishment, which has been the more nec- 
essary as there is no doubt but the Foxes, when 
routed, would have found an asylum among the 
Scicux had not the French been settled there, 
and the docility and submission manifested by 
the Foxes can not be attributed to any cause ex- 
cept the attention entertained by the Scioux for 
the French, and the offers which the former 
made the latter, of which the Foxes were fully 
cognisant. 

" It is necessary to retain the Scioux in these 
favoraVile dispositions, in order to keep the Foxes 
in check and counteract the measures they might 
adopt to gain over the Scioux, who will invaria- 
bly reject their propositions so long as the French 
remain in the country, and their trading post 
shall continue there. But, despite all these ad- 
vantages and the importance of preserving that 
establishment, JI. de Beauharnois cannot take 
any steps imtil he has news of the French who 
asked his permission this summer to go up there 
with a canoe load of goods, and until assm-ed that 
those who wintered there lia\e not dismantled 
the fort, and that the Scioux continue in the same 
sentiments. Besides, it does not seem very easy, 
in the present conjuncture, to maintain that post 
unless there is a solid peace with the Foxes; on 
the other hand, the greatest portion of the tra- 
ders, who applied in 1727 for the establishment 
of that post, have wthdrawn, and will not send 
thither any more, as the rupture with the Foxes, 
through whose country it is necessary to pass in 
order to reach tlie Scioux in canoe, has led them 
to abandon the idea. But the one and the other 
case might be remedied. The Foxes will, in all 
probability, come or send next year to sue for 
peace; therefore, if it be granted to them on ad- 
vantageous conditions, there need be no appre- 
hension when going to the Sioux, and another 
company could be formed, less numerous than 
the first, through whom, or some responsilile mer- 
chants able to afford the outfit, a new treaty 
could be made, whereby these difficulties woidd 
be .soon obviated. One only trouble remains, and 
that is, to send a commanding and sul>officer, 
and some soldiers, up there, which are absolutely 



necessary for the maintenance of good order at 
that post; the missionaries would not go there 
without a commandant. This article, which re- 
gards the service, and the expense of which must 
be on his majesty's accoimt, obliges them to ap- 
ply for orders. They will, as far as lies in their 
power, induce the traders to meet that expense, 
which will possibly amount to lOoo livres or 
1500 livres a year for the commandant, and in 
proportion for the officer luider him; but, as in 
the beginning of an establishment the exi)enses 
exceed the profits, it is improbable that any com- 
pany of merchants will assume the outlay, and 
in this case they demand orders on this point, as 
well as his majesty's opinion as to the necessity 
of preserving so useful a post, and a nation which 
has already afEorded proofs of its fidelity and at- 
tachment. 

" These orders could be sent them by the way 
of lie Royale, or by the first merchantmen that 
wiU sail for Quebec. The time required to re- 
ceive intelUgence of the occurrences in the Scioux 
country, will admit of their waitmg for these 
orders before douig anything."' 

Sieur de la Jemeraye, a relative of Sieur de la 
Periiere Boucher, with a few French, during the 
troubles remained in the Sioux country. After 
peace was established with the Foxes, Legardeur 
Saint Pierre was in comman<l at Fort Beauhar- 
nois, and Father Guignas again attempted to es- 
tabUsh a Sioux mission. In a communication 
dated 12th of October, 1736, by the Canadian au- 
thorities is the followmg: "In regard to the 
Scioux, Samt Pierre, who commanded at that 
post, and Father Guignas, the missionary, have 
written to Sieur de Beauharnois on the tenth and 
eleventh of last April, that these Indians a.\y- 
peared well intentioned toward the French, and 
had no other fear than that of being abandoned 
by them. Sieur de Beauharnois annexes an ex- 
tract of these letters, and although the Scioux 
seem very friendly, the resultouly can tell whether 
this fideUty is to be absolutely depended upon, 
for the imrestrauied and mconsistent spirit which 
composes the Indian character may easily change 
it. They have not come over this summer as yet, 
but M. de la St. Pierre is to get them to do so 
next year, and to have an eye on their proceed- 
ings." 

Tlif reply to this couinnuiieation from Louis 



DE LUSIGNAN VISITS THE SIOUX COUNTBY. 



67 



XV. dated Versailles, May 10th, 1737, was in 
these words : " As respects the Seioux, according 
to what tlie commandant and missionary at that 
post have written to Sieur de Beauluirnois rela- 
tive to the disposition of these Indians, nothing 
appears to be wanting on that point. 

" But their delay in coming down to Montreal 
since the time they have promised to do so, must 
render their sentiments somewhat suspected, and 
nothing but facts can determine whether their 
fidelity can be absolutely relied on. But what 
must still further increase the uneasiness to be 
entertained in their regard is the attack on the 
convoy of M. de Verandrie, especially if this officer 
has adopted the course he had informed tlie 
Marquis de Beauharnois he should take to have 
revenge therefor." 

The particulars of the attack alluded to will be 
found in the next chapter. Soon after this the 
Foxes again became troublesome, and the post on 
Lake Pepui was for a time abandoned by the 
French. A dispatch in 1741 uses this language : 
" The Marquis de ISeauharuois' opinion respect- 
ing the war agamst the Foxes, has been the more 
readily approved liy the Baron de Longeuil, 
Messieurs De la Chassaigne, La Corne, de Lig- 
nery, LaNoue, and Duplessis - Fabert, whom he 
had assembled at his house, as it appears from 
all the letters that the C(-)unt has wril n for sev- 
eral years, that he has nothing so much at heart as 
the destruction of that Indian nation, which can 
not be prevailed on by the presents and the good 
treatment of the French, to live in peace, not- 
withstandmg all its promises. 

" Besides, it is notorious that the Foxes have a 
secret understandmg with the Iroquois, to secure 
a retreat among the latter, in case they be obliged 
to abandon their villages. They have one already 
secured among the Sioux of the prairies, with 
whom they are allied; so that, shoidd they be 



advised beforehand of the design of the French 
to wage war against them, it would be easy for 
them to retire to the one or the other before their 
passage could be intersected or themselves at- 
tacked in their villages.'' 

In the summer of 17-13, a deputation of the 
Sioux came down to Quebec, to ask that trade 
might be resumed. Three years after this, four 
Sioux chiefs came to Quebec, and asked that a 
commandant might be sent to Fort Beauharnois ; 
which was not granted. 

During the winter of 1745-6, De Lusignan vis- 
ited the Sioux country, ordered by the govern- 
ment to hunt up the "cuureurs des bois," and 
witlulraw them from the country. They started 
to retiu'n with him, but learning that they would 
be arrested at Mackinaw, for violation of law, 
they ran away. While at the villages of the Sioux 
of the lakes and plains, the chiefs brought to 
this officer nineteen of their young men, bound 
with cords, who had killed three Frenchmen, at 
the Illinois. AVliile he remained with them, they 
made peace with the Ojibways of La Pointe, 
with whom they had been at war for some time. 
On his return, four chiefs accompanied him to 
Montreal, to solicit pardon for their young braves. 

The lessees of the trading-post lost many of 
their peltries that winter in consequence of a Are. 

Reminiscences of St. Pierre's residence at Lake 
Pepin were long presei-ved. Carver, in 1766, "ob- 
served the ruins of a French factory, where, it 
is said, Captain St. Pierre resided, and carried on 
a great trade with the Nadouessies before the re- 
duction of Canada." 

Pike, in 1805, wrote in his journal: " Just be- 
low Pt. Le Sable, the French, who had driven the 
Uenards [Foxes] from Wisconsin, and chased 
them up the Mississippi, built a stockade on this 
lake, as a barrier against the savages. It became 
a noted factory for the Sioux." 



")8 



EXPLORERS AXn I'loyEERS OF iHXXESOTA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VERENDRYE, THE EXPLORER OF NORTHEItN MINNESOTA, ANT) DISCOVERER OF THE ROCKY 

JIOUNTAINS. 



Coiivcrsution of Vcrendrye wilh FatlitT Do Gonor— Parcntapc and Eurly Life.— 
Olil Indian Map Prcsprved. — Vtrendryc's Son and Nej.lu-H- Ex|dorc Pigeon 
KiviT and Keacli Rain>' l^kc. — Father Messayera Companion.— Furt St. Pierre 
Established.— Lake of the Wootis Keachcd and Fort St, Charles Built.— De la 
Jeinorayo's Map.— Fort on the Assinnhoine River.— Verendrye's Son, Father 
Ouneau and Associates Killed by Sioux, on Ma.ss,-icre Isle, in l><ke of the Woods 
—Port La Reine.— Verpndrj'c's Eldest Son, with Others, Reaches the Missouri 
River.— Discovers the Rocky Mountains.— Returns to Lake of the Woods.— 
Exploration of Saskatchewan River.— Sieur de la Verendrye Jr. — Verendryo 
the Father, made Captain of the Order of St. Louis.- His Death.— The Swedish 
Traveler, Kaliu, Notices Verendrye, — Bougainville Describes Verendrye's Ex- 
plorations. — Lcgitrdeur de St. Pierre at Fort La Reine. — Fort Jonquiere Estab- 
lished. —De Ja Corne Succeeds St. Pierre. — St. Pierre Meets Washington at 
French Creek, in Pennsylvania,— Killed in Battle, near Lake George. 



Karly in the year 1728. two travelers met at 
the secluded post of ilackinaw, one was named 
De Gonor, a Jesuit Father, who with Guignas, 
had gone with the expedition, that the September 
before had built Fort Beauharnois on tlie shores 
of Lake Pepui, the other was Pierre Gualtier V a- 
reniies. the Sieur de la Verendrye the commander 
of the post on Lake Nepigon of the north shore 
of Lake Superior, and a relative of the Sieur de 
la Perriere, thie commander at Lake PepLn. 

Verendrye was the sou of Eene Gualtier Va- 
rennes who for twenty-two years was the chief 
magistrate at Three Rivers, whose wife was Ma- 
lie Boucher, the daughter of his predecessor 
whom he had married when she was twelve years 
of age. He became a cadet in 1097, and in 1704 
accompanied an expedition to New England. 
The next year he was in Newfoundland and the 
year following lie went to France, joined a regi- 
ment of Brittany and was in the conflict at Mal- 
plaquet when the French troops were defeated 
by the Duke of Marlborough. When he returned 
to Canada he was obliged to accept the position 
of ensign notwithstanduig the gallant manner in 
which he had behaved. In time he became iden- 
tilied with the Lake Superior region. While at 
Lake Nepigon the Inilians assured him that there 
was a communication largely by water to the 
Pacific Ocean. One, named Ocliagachs, drew a 
rude map of the country, wliicli is still preserved 
among the French archives. Pigeon River is 



marked thereon Mantohavagane, and the River 
St. Louis is marked R. fond du L. Superior, and 
the Indians appear to have passed from its head- 
waters to Rainy Lake. Upon the western ex- 
tremity is marked the River of the West. 

De Gonor conversed much upon the route to 
the Pacific with Verendrye, and promised to use 
his influence •nith the Canadian authorities to 
advance the project of exploration. 

Charles De Beauharnois, the Governor of Can- 
ada, gave Verendrye a respectful hearing, and 
carefully examined the map of the region west of 
the great lakes, which had been drawn by Ocha/- 
gachs (Otchaga). the Indian guide. Orders were 
soon given to tit out an expedition of fifty men. 
It left Montreal in 1731, under the conduct of his 
sons and nephew De la Jemeraye, he not joining 
the party till 1733, iu consequence of the deieu- 
tions of business. 

In the autumn of 1731, the party reached Rainy 
Lake, by the Nantouagan, or Groselliers river, 
now called Pigeon. Father ^lessayer, who had 
been stationed on Lake Superior, at the Grosel- 
liers river, was taken as a spiritual guide. At 
tlie foot of Rainy Lake a post was erected and 
called Fort St. Pierre, and the next year, having 
crossed Minittie, or Lake of the Woods, they es- 
tablished Fort St. Charles on its southwestern 
bank. Five leagues from Lake AVinnipeg they 
established a post on the Assrnaboine. An un- 
published map of these discoveries by De la Jem- 
eraye still exists at Paris. The river Winnipeg, 
calleil by them ilaurepas. in honor of the minis- 
ter of France in 173-t, was protected by a fort of 
the same name. 

About this time their advance was stopped by 
the oxliaustion of supijlies, liut ou the 12th of 
April, 1735, an arrangement was made for a sec- 
ond equipment, and a fourth son jouied the expe- 
dition. 

In June, 1736, while twenty-one of the expedi- 



DISCO r En Y OF the bocky mountains. 



59 



tion were camped upon an isle in the Lake of the 
\Voods, they were surprised by a band of Sioux 
hostile to the French allies, the Cristinanx, and 
all killed. The island, upon this account, is 
called Massacre Island. A few days after, a 
piirty of live Canadian voyageurs discovered their 
dead bodies and scalped heads. Father Ouneau, 
t'.ie missionary, was found upon one knee, an ar- 
row in his head, his breast bare, his left, hand 
touching the ground, and the riglit hand raised. 

Among the slaughtered was also a son of Ver- 
endrye, who had a tomahawk in his back, and his 
body adorned with garters and lii'acelets of porcu- 
pine. The father was at the foot of the Lake of 
the Woods when he received the news of his son's 
murder, and about the same time heard of the 
death of his enterprising nephew, Dufrost de la 
-Jemeraye, the son of his sister Marie Keine de 
Varennes, and brother of Madame Youville, the 
foundress of the Ilospitaliers at jNIontreal. 

It was under the guidance of the latter that 
the party had, in 1731, mastered the difficulties 
of the Kantaouagon, or GroseUiers river. 

On the 3d of October, 1738, they built an ad- 
vanced post. Fort La Reine, on the river Assini- 
boels, now Assinaboine, which they called St 
Charles, and beyond was a branch called St. 
Pierre. These two rivers received the baptismal 
name of Verendrye, which was Pierre, and Gov- 
ernor Beauharnois, which was Charles. The post 
became the centre of trade and point of departure 
for explorations, either north or south. 

It was by ascending the Assinaboine, and by 
the present trail from its tributary. Mouse river, 
they reached the coinitry of the Mantanes, and in 
1741, came to the upper Missouri, passed the Yel- 
low Stone, and at length arrived at tlie Rocky 
Mountains. The party was led Ijy the eldest son 
and his lirother, the chevalier. They left the. 
Lake of the Woods on the 29th of April, 1742, 
came in sight of the Rocky Mountains on the 1st 
of .January, 1743, and on the 12th ascended them. 
On the route they fell in with the Beaux Hom- 
mes, Pioya, Petits Renards, and Arc tribes, and 
stopped among the Snake tribe, but could go no 
farther in a southerly direction, owing to a war 
between the Arcs and Snakes. 

On the 19th of May, 1744, the\- had returned to 
tlie upper Missouri, and. in the country of the 
Petite Cerise tribe, they planted on an eminence 



a leaden plate of the arms of France, and raised 
a monument of stones, which they called Beau- 
harnois. They returned to the Lake of the Woods 
on the 2d of July. 

Korth of the Assiniboine they proceeded to 
Lake Dauphin, Swan's Lake, explored the riv- 
er "Des Biches," and ascended even to the 
fork of the Saskatchewan, which they called Pos- 
koiac. Two forts were subsequently established, 
one near Lake Dauphin and the other on the 
river " des Biches," called Fort Bourbon. The 
northern route, by the Saskatchewan, was thought 
to have some advantage over tlie Missouri, be- 
cause there was no danger of meeting with the 
Spaniards. 

Governor Beauharnois having been prejudiced 
against Verendrye by envious persons, De Noy- 
elles was appointed to take command of the 
posts. During these difficulties, we find Sieur de 
la Verendrye, .Jr., engaged in other duties. In 
August, 1747, he arrives from Mackinaw at Mon- 
treal, and m the autumn of that year he accom- 
panies St. Pierre to Mackinaw, and brings back 
the convoy to Montreal. In February, 1748, with 
five Canadians, five Cristenaux, two Ottawas, and 
one Sauteur, he attacked the Mohawks near 
Schenectady, and returned to :Montreal with two 
scalps, one that of a cliief. On June 20tli, 1748, 
it is recorded that ChevaUer de la Verendrye de- 
pai-ted from jSIontreal for tlie head of Lake Supe- 
rior. Margry states that he perished at sea in 
November, 1764, by the wreck of the " Auguste." 

Fortunately, Galissioniere the successor of 
Beauharnois, although deformed and Insignifi- 
cant in appearance, was fair minded, a lover of 
science, especially botany, and anxious to push 
discoveries toward the Pacific. Verendrye the 
father was restored to favor, and made Captain 
of the Order of St. Louis, and ordered to resume 
explorations, but he died on December 6th, 1749, 
while planning a tour up the Saskatchewan. 

The Swedish Professor, Kalm, met him in Can- 
ada, not long before his decease, and had inter- 
estmg conversations with him about the furrows 
on tlie plains of the Missouri, which he errone- 
ously conjectured indicated the former abode of 
an agricultural people. These ruts are familiar 
to modern travelers, and may be only buffalo 
trails. 

Father Coquard, wno had been associated with 



60 



EXPLOliEES AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



Verendrye, says that tliey tirst met the ilantanes, 
and next the Biochets. After these were tlie 
Uros Ventres, the Oows, the Flat Heads, the 
Hhick Feet, and Dog Feet, who were established 
on the Missouri, even uj) to the falls, and that 
ahoiit thirty leagues beyond they found a narrow- 
pass in the mountains. 

Houj^ainville gives a more full account: he says: 
■' He who most advanced this discovery was 
the Sieur de la Veranderie. He went from Fort 
la Reiiie to the Missouri. He met on the banks 
i)f this river the Mandans, or White Beards, who 
bad seven villages with pine stockades, strength- 
ened by a ditch. Next to these were the Kinon- 
gewiniris. or the Brochets, in three villages, and 
toward the upper part of the river were three 
villages of the Maliantas. All along the mouth 
of the "Wabeik, or Shell Eiver, were situated 
twenty-three villages of the Panis. To the south- 
west of this river, on the banks of the Ouanaradc- 
ba, or La Graisse, are the Hectanes or Snake 
tribe. They extend to the base of a chain of 
mountains which rnns north northeast. South 
of tiiis is the river Karoskiou, or ("erise Pelee, 
which is supposed to flow to California. 

" He found in the inuiiense region watered by 
the Missouri, and in the vicinity of forty leagues, 
the Maliantas, the Owiliniock, or Beaux Hom- 
mes, four villages; opposite the Brochets the Black 
Feet, three villages of a hundred lodges each; op. 
posite the Mandansare the Ospekakaerenousques, 
or l-'Ial Heals, four \illages; opposite tlia Panis 
are the Arcs of Cristinaux, and Utasibaoutchatas 
of Assiniboel. three villages; following these the 
Makescli, or Little Foxes, two villages; the Pi- 
wassa, or great talkers, three villages; the Ka- 
kokoscheiia, or Gens de la Pie, five villages; the 
Kiskipisounouini,, or the Garter tribe, seven vil- 
lages." 

Galassoniere was succeeded by Jonquiere in 
the governorship of Canada, who proved to be a 
grasping, jieevish, and very miserly person. For 
the sons of Verendrye he had no sympathy, and 
forming a clique to profit by their father "s toils. 



he determined to send two expeditions t')"vard 
the Pacific Ocean, one by the Missouri and the 
other by the Saskatchewan. 

Father ("oquard, one of the companions of Ve- 
rendrye, was consulted as to tlie probability of 
linding a pass in the Rocky Mountains, through 
which they might, in canoes, reach the great 
lake of salt water, perhaps Pugefs Sound. 

The enterprise was at length conlided to two 
experienced oflice'rs, Lamarque de JIarin and 
Jacques Legardeur de Saint Pierre. The former 
was assigned the way, by the Missouri, and to 
the latter was given the more northern route; 
but Saint Pierre in some way excited the hostil- 
ity of the Cristinaux, who attempted to kill him, 
and burned Fort la Reine. His lieutenant, Bou- 
cher de Niverville, who had been sent to establish 
a post toward the source of the Saskatchewan, 
failed on account of sickness. Some of his men, 
however, pushed on to the Rocky Momitains, 
and in 1753 established Fort Jonquiere. Henry 
says St. Pierre established Fort Bourbon. 

In 17o3, Saint Pierre was succeeded in the 
command of the posts of the West, by de la 
Corne, and sent to French Creek, in Pennsylva- 
nia. He had been but a few days there when he 
received a visit from Washington, just entering 
upon manhood, bearing a letter from Governor 
Dinwiddie of Virginia, complaining of the en 
croaclunents of the French. 

Soon the clash of arms between France and 
England began, and Saint Pierre, at the head of 
the Indian allies, fell near Lake George, in Sep- 
tember, 1 Too, in a battle with the English. After 
the seven years' war was concluded, by the treaty 
of Paris, the French relinquished all their posts 
in the Northwest, and the work begun by Veren- 
drye, was, in 1805, completed by Lewis and 
Clarke; and the Northern Pacific Railway is fast 
approaching the passes of the Rocky Mountains, 
through the valley of the Yellow Stone, and from 
thence to the great land-locked bay of the ocean, 
Pugefs Somid. 



EFFECT OF THE ENGLISH AND FBENCH WAR. 



61 



CHAPTEK X. 



EFFECT OF THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH TVAR. 



English Influence Increasing.— Le Due Robbed at Lake Superior.— St. Pierre at 
Mackinaw.— Kscape ol Indian Prisoners.— La Ronde and Verendrye.— Influence 
of Sieur Mann. — St. Pierre Recalled from Winnipeg Region. — Interview with 
Washington. — Langlade Urges Attack Upon Troops of Braddock.— Saint Pierre 
Killed in Battle. — Marin's Boldness. — Rogers, a Partisan Ranger, Commands at 
Mackinaw.— At Ticonderoga.— French Deliver up the Posts in Canada. — Capt. 
Balfour Takes Possession of Mackinaw and Green Bay. — Lieut. Gorrell in Com. 
mand at Green Bay.— Sioux Visit Green Bay. — Pennensha a French Trader 
Among the Sioux.— Treaty of Paris. 



Englisli influence produced increasing dissatis- 
faction among the Indians that were beyond 
Mackinaw. Not only were the voyageurs robbed 
and maltreated at Sault St. Marie and other points 
on Lake Superior, but even the commandant at 
Mackinaw was exposed to insolence, a*id there 
was no security anywhere. 

On the twenty-third of August, 1747, Philip Le 
Due arrived at Mackinaw from Lake Superior, 
stating that he had been robbed of his goods at 
Kamanistigoya, and that the Ojibways of the 
lake were favorably disposed toward tlie English. 
The Dahkotahs were also becoming unruly in the 
absence of French officers. 

In a few weeks after Le Due's robbery, St. 
Pierre left Montreal to become commandant at 
Mackinaw, and Vercheres was appointed for the 
post at Green Bay. In the language of a docu- 
ment of the day, St. Pierre was " a very good 
officer, much esteemed among all the nations of 
those parts ; none more loved and feared." On 
his aiTival, the savages were so cross, that he ad- 
vised that no Frenchman should come to trade. 

By promptness and boldness, he secured the 
Indians who had murdered some Frenchmen, 
and obtained the respect of the tribes. While 
the three murderers were being conveyed in a 
canoe down the St. Lavsrence to Quebec, in charge 
of a sergeant and seven soldiers, the savages, with 
characteristic cunning, though manacled, suc- 
ceeded in killing or drowiiing the guard. Cutting 
their irons with an axe, they sought the woods, 
and escaped to their own country. " Thus," 
writes Galassoniere, in 1748, to Count Maurepas, 



was lost in a great measiure the fruit of Sieur St. 
Pierre's good management, and of all the fatigue 
I endured to get the nations who smTendered 
these rascals to listen to reason." 

On the twenty-first of June of the next year. 
La Ronde started to La Pointe, and Verendrye 
for West Sea, or Fon du Lac, Minnesota. 

Under the mfluence of Sieur Marin, who was 
in command at Green Bay in 1753, peaceful re- 
lations were in a measure restored between the 
French and Indians. 

As the war between England and France deep- 
ened, the officers of the distant French posts 
were called in and stationed nearer the enemy. 
Legardeur St. Pierre, was brought from the Lake 
Winnipeg region, and, in December, 1753, was in 
command of a rude post near Erie, Pennsylvania. 
Langlade, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, arrived early 
in July, 1755, at Fort Duquesne. With Beauyeu 
and De Lignery, who had been engaged in fight- 
ing the Fox Indians, he left that fort, at nine 
o'clock of the morning of the 9th of July, and, a 
little after noon, came near the English, who had 
halted on the south shore of the Monongahela, 
and were at dinner, with their arms stacked. By 
the urgent entreaty of Langlade, the western 
half-breed, Beauyeu, the officer in command or- 
dered an attack, and Braddock was overwliehned, 
and Washington was obliged to say, " We have 
been beaten, shamefully beaten, by a handful of 
Frenchmen." 

Under Baron Dieskau, St. Pierre commanded 
the Indians, in September, 1755, during the cam- 
paign near Lake George, where he fell gallantly 
fighting the English, as did his commander. 
The Rev. Claude Coquard, alluding to the French 
defeat, in a letter to his brother, remarks: 

" We lost, on that occasion, a brave officer, M. 
de St. Pierre, and had his advice, as well as that 
of several other Canadian officers, been followed, 
Jonckson [Johnson] was irretrievably destroyed. 



02 



EXPLOREliti AMJ PIONEERS OF MIKXESOTA. 



and we should have been spared the trouble we 
have had this year." 

Other oflicers who had been stationed on the 
borders of Mhinesota also distinguished them- 
selves during the French war. The Marquis 
Montcalm, in camp at Ticonderoga, on the twen- 
ty-seventh of July, 1757, writes to Vaudreuil, 
(iovenior of Canada: 

" Lieutenant Marin, of the Colonial troops, who 
has exhiliitcd a rare audacity, did not consider 
himself bound to halt, although his detachment 
of about four hundred men was reduced to about 
two hundred, the balance having been sent back 
on account of inability to follow. He carried off 
a patrol of ten men, aud swept away an ordinary 
guard of fifty like a wafer; went up to the en- 
emy's camp, under Fort Lydias (Edward), where 
he was exposed to a severe fire, and retreated like 
a warrior. He was miwilling to amuse himself 
making prisoners; he brought in only one, and 
thirty-t«'o scalps, and must have killed many men 
of the enemy, in tlie midst of whose raidjs it was 
neither wise nor prudent to go in sesu'ch of scalps. 
The Indians generally all behaved well. » * * 
The Outaouais, who arrived with me, and whuui 
I designed to go on a scouting party towards the 
lake, had conceived a project of administermg a 
corrective to the English barges. * * * On 
the (lay before xesterday. your brother formed a 
detachment to accompany them. 1 arrived at his 
camp on the eveningof the same day. Lieuten- 
ant de Corbiere, of the Colonial troops, was re- 
turning, in consequence of a misunderstanding, 
and as I knew the zeal and intelligence of that 
officer, I made him set out witli a new instruc- 
tion to join Messrs de Langlade and Hertel de 
Chantly. They remained in auiliusli all day and 
niglit yesterday; at break of day the Euglisli ap- 
peared on Lake St. Sacrament, to the number of 
twenty-two barges, luider the commanl of Sieur 
Parker. The whoops of our Indians impressed 
them with such terror that they made but feeble 
resistance, and only two barges escaped." 

After De Corbiere's victory on Lake Cham- 
plain, a large Frencli army was collected at Ti- 
conderoga, with which there were many Indians 
from the tribes of the Northwest, and the loways 
appeared for the first time in the east. 

It is an interesting fact tliat the English offi- 
cers who were in freciueut engagements witli St. 



Pierre, Lusignan, Marin, Langlade, and others, 
became the pioneers of tlie IJrifish, a few years 
afterwards, in the occupation of the outposts of 
the lakes, and in the exploration of Mimiesota. 

Rogers, tlie celebrated captain of rangers, sub- 
sequently commander of Mackinaw, and Jona- 
than Carver, the first British explorer of Minne- 
sota, were both on duty near Lake Champlaiu. the 
latter narrowly escaping at the battle of Fort 
George. 

On Christmas eve, ]7o7, Eogers approached 
Fort Ticonderoga, to fire the outhouses, but was 
prevented by discharge of the camions of the 
Fren h. 

He contented himself witli killing fifteen beeves, 
on the horns of one of wliicli he left this laconic 
and amusing note, addressed to the commander 
of the post: 

'• I am obliged to you. Sir, for the repose you 
have allowed me to take; I thank ymifor tlie fresh 
meal you Jiave sent me, I request you to present 
my compliments to the ^larquis du Montcalm." 

On the thiiteenth of March, 1758, Durantaye, 
formerly at Mackinaw, had a skirmish with Ilog- 
ers. Both had been trained on tlie frontier, and 
tliey met " as Greek met Greek." The conflict 
was fierce, and tlie French victorious. Tlie Li- 
dian allies, finding a scalp of a chief underneath 
an officer's jacket, we>'e furious, and took one 
hundred and fourteen scalps in return. 'When 
the French returned, they supposed that Captain 
Rogers was among the killed. 

At Quebec, when Montcalm and AVolfe fell, 
there were Ojibways present assisting the French 

The Indians, returning from the expeditious 
against the English, were attacked with small- 
pox, and many died at Mackinaw. 

On tlie eightli of September, 1760, the French 
delivered up all their posts in Canada. A few 
days after the capitulation at Montreal, ^Major 
Rogers was sent with English troops, to garrison 
the posts of the distant Northwest. 

On the eighth of September. 1761, a year after 
the suiTender, Captani Balfour, of the eightieth 
regiment of tlie British army, left Detroit, with 
a detachment to take possession of tlie French 
forts at Mackinaw and Green Bay. Twenty-five 
soldiers were left at Mackinaw, in command of 
Lieutenant Leslie, and tlie rest sailed to Grten 
Bay, under Lieutenant Gorrell of the Royal 



PENNENSHA WRITES A LETTER FOR THE SIOUX. 



63 



Americans, where they arrived on the twelfth of 
October. The fort had been abandoned for sev- 
eral years, and was in a dilapidated condition. 
In charge of it there was left a lieutenant, a cor- 
poral, and fifteen soldiers. Two EngUsli traders 
arrived at the same time, McKay from Albany, 
and Goddard from Montreal. 

Gorrell in his journal alludes to the Minnesota 
Sioux. He writes — 

" On March 1, 1763, twelve warriors of the Sous 
came here. It is certainly the greatest nation of 
Indians ever yet found. Not above two thousand 
of them were ever armed with firearms ; the rest 
depending entirely on bows and arrows, wliich 
they use with more skill than any other Indian 
nation in America. They can shoot the wildest 
and largest beasts in the woods at seventy or one 
hundred yards distant. They are remarkable for 
their dancing, and tlie other nations take the 
fashions from them. ***** Tliis nation 
is always at war with the Chippewas, those who 
destroyed Mishamakinak. Tliey told me with 
warmth that if ever the Chippewas or any other 
Indians wished to obstruct the passage of the 
traders coming up, to send them word, and they 
would come and cut them oft' from the face of 
the earth ; as all Indians were their slaves or dogs. 
I told them I was glad to see them, and hoped to 
have a lasting peace with them. Tliey tlien gave 
me a letter wrote in French, and two belts of 
wampum from their lung, in which he expressed 
great joy on hearing of there being English at 
his post. The letter was written by a French 
trader whom I had allowed to go among them 
last fall, witli a promise of his behaving well ; 
which he did, better than any Canadian I ever 
knew. ***** With regard to traders, I 
would not allow any to go amongst them, as I 



then understood they lay out of the government 
of Canada, hut made no doulit they would have 
traders from the ^lississippi in the spring. They 
went away extremely well pleased. June 14th, 
1763, the traders came dowii from the Sack coim- 
try, and confirmed the news of Landsmg and his 
son being killed by the French. There came with 
the traders some Puans, and four young men with 
one chief of the Avoy [loway] nation, to demand 
traders. ***** 

" On the nineteenth, a deputation of Winneba- 
goes, Sacs, Foxes and Menominees arrived with 
a Frenchman named Pennensha. This Pennen- 
sha is the same man who wrote the letter the 
Sous brouglit with them in French, and at the 
same time held council with that great nation in 
favour of the English, by which he much promo- 
ted the interest of the latter, as appeared by the 
behaviour of the Sous. He brought with him a 
pipe from tlie Sous, desiring that as the road is 
now clear, they would by no means allow the 
Chippewas to obstruct it, or 'give the English any 
disturbance, or prevent the traders from coming 
up to them. If they did so they would send all 
their warriors and cut them off." 

In July, 1763, there arrived at Green Bay, 
Bruce, Fisher; and Eoseboom of Albany, to en- 
gage in the Indian trade. 

By the treaty of Paris of 1763, France ceded to 
Great Britain all of the country east of tlie ilis- 
sissippi, and to Spain the whole of Louisiana, so 
that the latter power for a time held the whole 
region between the Mississippi River and the Pa- 
cific Ocean, and that portion of the city of Jilin- 
neapolis known as the East Division was then 
governed by the British, while the West Division 
was subject to the Spanish code. 



64 



EXPLOBEPS AXD PIOXEERS OF ^fIy^'ESO^ A. 



CHAPTER XI. 

JONATHAN CARVER, THE FIllST BKITISU TRAVELER AT FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY. 



Carver's Early Life.— In the Battle near Lake George.— Arrives at Mackinaw.— 
01(1 Fort at Green Bay.— WinneUgo Village.— Description of Prairie du Cliicu. 
Earthworks on Banks of Lake Peiiin.— Sioux Bands Described. — Cave and 
Burial Place in Suburbs of St. Paul.— The Falls of Saint Anthony.— Burial 
Rites of tLe Sioux. — Sjieech of a Sioux Chief.— Schiller's Poem ol the Death 
Soug. — Sir John Herschel's Translation.— Sir K. Buhver Lytton's Version. •-• 
Correspondence of Sir William Johnson.— Carver's Project lor Oiieuinga Route 
to the Pacific.— Supposed Origin of the Sioux.— Carver's Claim to I-inds Ex- 
atniucd.— Alleged Deed.—Testiniony of Rev. Samuel Peters.— Communication 
from Gen. Leavenworth. •••Report of U. S. Setiate Committee. 

Jonatliaii Carver was a native of Connecticut 
His grandfatlier, "Williaia Carverj was a native of 
AVigan, Lancashire, England, and a captain in 
King William's army during the campaign in 
Ireland, and for meritorious services received an 
appointment as an oilicer of the colony of Con- 
necticut. 

His father was a justice of the peace ■in the 
new world, and in 1732, the subject of this sketch 
was born. At the early age of fifteen he was 
called to mourn the death of his father. He then 
commenced the study of medicine, but his roving 
disposition could not l)ear the confines of a doc- 
tor's office, and feeling, perhaps, that his genius 
woidd be cramped by pestle and mortar, at the 
ago of eighteen he purchased an ensign's commis- 
sion m one of the regiments raised during the 
French war. He was of medium stature, and of 
strong mind and quick perceptions. 

In llie year 1757, he was captain mider Colonel 
Williiuns in the battle near Lake George, where 
Samt Pierre was killed, and narrowly escaped 
with his life. 

After the peace of 1763, between France and 
England was declared, Carver conceived the pro- 
ject of exploring the Northwest. Leaving Boston 
in the month of June, 1766, he arrived at Macki- 
naw, then the most distant British iiost, in the 
month of August. Having obtained a credit on 
some French and English traders from Major 
Rogers, the ofllcer in command, he started with 
them on the third day of Seiiteiiiher. Pursuing 
the iMoal route to Cireen Bay, they arrived tliere 
on the eighteenth. 



Tlie Frencli fort at that time was standing, 
though much decayed. It was, some years pre- 
vious to his arrival, garrisoned for a short time 
by an officer and thirty English soldiers, but they 
having been captured by the Menominees, it ■was 
abandoned. 

In company with the trailers, he left Green 
Bay on tlie twentietli. and ascending Fox river, 
arrived on the tweiity-fifth at an island at the 
east end of Lake Winnebago, containing about 
fifty acres. 

Here he found a 'Winnebago village of fifty 
houses. He asserts tliat a woman was in author- 
ity. In the month of October the party was at 
the portage of the "Wisconsin, and descending 
that stream, they arrived, on tlie ninth at a town 
of the Sauks. While here he visited some lead 
mines about fifteen miles distant. An abundance 
of lead was also seen in the village, that had been 
brought from the mines. 

On the tenth they arrived at the first village of 
the " Ottigaumies" [Foxes] about five miles be- 
fore the AVisconsin joins the ^lississippi, he per- 
ceived the remnants of another village, and 
learned that it had lieen deserted about thirty 
years before, and tluit the inhabitants soon after 
their removal, built a town on the Mississipjii. 
near the mouth of the " Ouisconsin," at a i>lace 
called by the French La Prairie les Chiens, which 
signified the Dog Plains. It was a large town, 
and contained about three hundred families. 
The houses were built after the Indian manner, 
and pleasantly situated on a dry rich soil. 

He saw here ni;iny houses of a good size and 
shape. This town was the great mart where all 
the aiijacent tribes, and where those who inliabit 
the most remote branches of the Mississippi, an- 
nually assemble about the latter end of May, 
bringing with them their furs to dispose of to the 
traders. But it is not always that they conclude 
their sale here. This was determined by a gen 



SUPPOSED FORTIFICATIONS NEAR LAKE PEPIN. 



65 



eral council of the chiefs, who consulted whether 
it would be more conducive to their interest to 
seU their goods at this place, or to carry them 
on to Louisiana or Macliinaw. 

At a small stream called Yellow River, oppo- 
site Prairie du Chien, the traders who had thus 
far accompanied Carver took up their residence 
for the winter. 

From this point he proceeded in a canoe, with 
a Canadian voyageur and a Mohawk Indian as 
companions. Just before reaching Lake Pepin, 
while his attendants were one day preparing din- 
ner, he walked out and was struck with the pecu- 
liar appearance of the surface of the country, and 
thought it was the site of some vast artificial 
earth-work. It is a fact worthy of remembrance, 
that lie was the first to call the atteution of the 
civilized world to the existence of ancient monu- 
ments m the Mississippi valley. We give his own 
description : 

" On the first of November I reached Lake 
Pepin, a few miles below which I landed, and, 
whilst the servants were preparing my dinner, I 
ascended the bank to view the country. I had 
not proceeded far before I came to a fine, level, 
open plain, on which I perceived, at a little dis- 
tance, a partial elevation that had the appearance 
of entrenchment. On a nearer inspection I had 
greater reason to suppose that it had really been 
intended for this many centuries ago. Notwith- 
standing it was now covered with grass, I could 
plainly see that it had once been a breastwork of 
about four feet in height, extending the best part 
of a mile, and sutfieiently capacious to cover five 
thousand men. Its form was somewhat circular 
and its flanks reached to the river. 

" Tliough much defaced by time, every angle 
was distinguishable, and appeared as regular and 
fashioned with as much miUtary skill as if planned 
by Vauban himself. The ditch was not visible, 
but I thought, on examining more curiously, that 
I could perceive there certainly had been one. 
From its situation, also, I am convinced that it 
must have been designed for that purpose. It 
fronted the country, and the rear was covered by 
the river, nor was there any rising ground for a 
considerable way that commanded it; a few 
straggling lakes were alone to be seen near it. 
In many places small tracks were worn across it 
by the feet of the elks or deer, and from the depth 



of the bed of earth by which it was covered, I was 
able to draw certain conclusions of its great anti- 
quity. I examined all the angles, and every part 
with great attention, and liave often blamed my- 
self since, for not encamping on the spot, and 
drawing an exact plan of it. To show that this 
description is not the offspring of a heated imag- 
ination, or the chimerical tale of a mistaken trav- 
eler, I find, on inquiry suice my return, that 
Mons. St. Pierre, and several traders have at dif- 
ferent times, taken notice of similar appearances, 
upon which they liave formed the same conjec- 
tures, but without examining them so minutely 
as I did. How a work of this kind could exist in 
a country that has hitherto (according to the gen- 
erally received opinion) been the seat of war to 
untutored Indians alone, whose whole stock of 
military knowledge has only, till withm two cen- 
turies, amomited to drawing the bow, and whose 
only breastwork even at present is the thicket, I 
know not. I have given as exact an account as 
possible of this singular appearance, and leave to 
future explorers of those distant regions, to dis- 
cover whether it is a production of nature or art. 
Perhaps the hints I liave here given migtit lead 
to a more perfect mvestigation of It, and give us 
very different ideas of the ancient state of realms 
that we at present believe to have been, from the 
earliest period, only tlie habitations of savages." 

Lake Pepin excited his admiration, as it has 
that of every traveler since his day, and here he 
remarks : " I observed the ruins of a French fac- 
tory, where it is said Captain St. Pierre resided, 
and carried on a very great trade with the Nau- 
dowessies, before the reduction of Canada." 

Carver's first acquaintance with the Dahkotahs 
commenced near the river St. Croix. It would 
seem that the erection of trading posts on Lake 
Pepin had enticed them from their old residence 
on Rum river and MUle Lacs. 

He says : " Near the river St. Croix reside 
bands of the Naudowessie Indians, called the 
River Bands. This nation is composed at pres- 
ent of eleven bands. They were originally 
twelve, but the Assinipoils, some years ago, re- 
volting and separating themselves from the oth- 
ers, there remain at this time eleven. Those I 
met here are termed the River Bands, because 
they chiefly dwell near the banks of this river; 
the other eight are generally distinguished by the . 



66 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



title of >"adowessies of the Plains, and inhabit a 
country more to the westward. The names of 
the former are Nehogatawonahs, the Mawtaw- 
bauntowahs, and Sliashweentowahs. 

Arriving at what is now a suburb of the cap- 
ital of Minnesota, he continues: "About thir- 
teen miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, at 
which I arrived the tenth day after I left Lake 
Pepin, is a rcmarl<able cave, of an amazinj.; dei)tli. 
The Indians term it Wakon-teebe [Wakan-tipil. 
The entrance into it is about ten feet wide, the 
height of it five feet. The arcli witliin is fifteen 
feet high and about thirty feet broad: tlie bottom 
consists of fine, clear sand. Aliout thirty feet 
from the entrance begins a lake, the water of 
wliicli is transparent, and extends to an unsearch- 
able distance, for the darkness of the cave pre- 
ents all attempts to accpiire a knowledge of it.] 
I threw a small pebble towards the nterior part 
of it with my utmost strength. I could hear that 
it fell into the water, and, notwithstanding it was 
of a small size, it caused an astonishing and ter- 
rible noise, that reverberated through all those 
gloomy regions. I f(iund in this cave many In- 
dian hieroglyphics, which appeared very ancient, 
for time had nearly covered them with moss, so 
that it was with difficulty I could trace them. 
They were cut in a rude manner upon the inside 
of the wall, which was composed of a stone so ex- 
tremely soft that it might be easily penetrated 
with a knife; a stone everywhere to be found 
near the Mississippi. 

" At a little distance from this dreary cavern, 
is the burying-place of several bands of the Nau- 
dowessie Indians. Tho\igh these people have no 
fixed residence, being in tents, and seldom but a 
few months in one spot, yet they always bring 
the bones of the dead to this place. 

" Ten miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, 
the river St. Pierre, called by the natives Wada 
paw Meuesotor, falls into the Mississippi from the 
west. It is not mentioned by Father Hennepin, 
though a large, fair river. This omission, I con- 
sider, must have proceeded from a small island 
[Pike's] that is situated exactly in its enti-ance." 

Wlien he reached the Mnnesota river, the ice 

became so troublesome that he left his ciinoe in 

the neighborhood of what is now St. Anthony, 

and walked to St. Anthony, in company with a 

' young Winnebago chief, who had never seen the 



curling watere. The chief, on reaching the emi- 
nence some distance below Cheever's, began to 
invoke his gods, and offer oblatious to the spirit 
in the waters. 

" In the middle of the Falls stands a smjill 
island, aljout forty }\(t broad and somcwlial lon- 
ger, on wliich grow a few cragged hemlock and 
spruce trees, and about half way between this 
island and the eastern shore is a rock, lying ai 
the very edge of the Falls, in an oblique position 
that appeared to he about five or six feet broad, 
and thirty or forty long. At a little distance be- 
low the Falls stands a small island of about an 
acre and a lialt, on which grow a great number of 
oak trees." 

From this description, it would appear that the 
little island, now some distance below the Falls, 
was once in the very midst, and shows that a con- 
stant recession has been going on, and that in 
ages long past they were not far from the Minne- 
sota river. 

No description is more glowing than Carver's 
of the country adjacent: 

" The country around them is extremely beau- 
tiful. It is not an uninterrupted plain, where the 
eye finds no reUef , but composed of many gentle 
ascents, which in the summer are covered with 
the finest verdure, and interspersed witli little 
groves that give a pleasing variety to the pros- 
pect. On the whole, when the Falls are inclu- 
ded, which may be seen at a distance of four 
miles, a more pleasing and picturesque ^iew, I 
believe, caimot be foimd throughout the uni- 
verse." 

" He arrived at the Falls on the seventeenth of 
November, 176(5, and appears to have asceniled as 
far as Elk river. 

On the twenty-fifth of November, he had re- 
turned to the place opposite the Minnesota, where 
he had left his canoe, -and this stream as yet not 
being obstructed with ice, he commenced its as- 
cent, with the colors of Great Britain flying at 
the stem of his canoe. There is no doubt that 
he entered this river, but how far he exjilorcd it 
camiot be ascertauied. He speaks of the Kapids 
near Sliakopay, and asserts that he went as far as 
two hundred miles beyond Jlendota. He re- 
marks: 

" On the seventh of December, I arrived at the 
utmost of my travels towards the West, where I 



SIOUX BURIAL ORATION VERSIFIED BY SCHILLER. 



67 



met a large party of the Jfaudowessie Indians, 
among whom I resided some months." 

After speaking of the upper bands of the Dah- 
kotahs and their alUes, he adds that he " left the 
habitations of the hospitable Indians the latter 
end of AprU, 1767, but did not part from them 
for several days, as I was accompanied on my 
journey by near three himdred of them to the 
mouth of the river St. Pierre. At this season 
these bands annually go to the great cave (Day- 
ton's Bluff) before mentioned. 

"Wlien he arrived at the great cave, and the In- 
dians had deposited the remains of their deceased 
friends in the burial-place that stands adjacent 
to it, they held their great council to which he 
was admitted. 

"\Mien the Xaudowessies brought their dead for 
iaterment to the great cave (St. Paul), I attempted 
to get an insight into the remaming burial rites, 
but whether it was on account of the stench 
which arose from so many dead bodies, or whether 
they chose to keep this part of their custom secret 
from me, I could not discover. I foimd, however, 
that they considered my curiosity as ill-timed, 
and therefore I withdrew. * * 

One formality among the Ifaudowessies in 
mourning for the dead is very different from any 
mode I observed in the other nations through 
which I passed. The men, to show how great 
their sorrow is, pierce the fiesh of their arms 
above the elbows with arrows, and the womt n 
cut and gash their legs with broken flints till the 
blood flows very plentifully. * * 

After the breath is departed, the body is 
dressed in the same attire it usually wore, his 
face is pamted, and he Is seated in an erect pos- 
tiu-e on a mat or skin, placed in the middle of the 
hut, with his weapons by his side. Ills relatives 
seated around, each in turn harangues the de- 
ceased; and if he has been a great warrior, re- 
counts liis heroic actions, nearly to the following 
purport, which in the Indian language is extreme- 
ly poetical aud pleasing 

" You still sit among us, brother, yoiu' person 
retains its usual resemlilance, and continues sim- 
ilar to oitts, without any visible deficiency, ex- 
cept it has lost the power of action! But whither 
is that breath flown, which a few hours ago sent 
up smoke to the Great Spirit? Why are those 
lips silent, that lately delivered to us expressions 



and pleasing language? Why are those feet mo- 
tionless, that a few hours ago were fleeter than 
the deer on yonder mountains? Why useless 
hang those arms, that could climb the tallest tree 
or draw the toughest bow? Alas, every part of 
that frame which we lately beheld with admira- 
t ion and wonder has now become as inanimate as 
it was three hundred years ago! We will not, 
however, bemoan thee as if thou wast forever 
lost to us, or that thy name would be buried in 
oblivion; thy soul yet lives in the great comitry 
of spirits, with those of thy nation that have gone 
before thee; and though we are left behhid to 
perpetuate thy fame, we will one day join thee. 

" Actuated by the respect we bore thee whilst 
living, we now come to tender thee the last act of 
kindness in our power; that thy body might not 
lie neglected on the plain, and become a prey to 
the beasts of the field or fowls of the air, and we 
will take care to lay it with those of thy predeces- 
sors that have gone before thee; hoping at the 
same time that thy spuit wdll feed with their 
spirits, and be ready to receive ours when we 
shall also arrive at the great coimtry of souls." 

For this speech Carver is pruicipally indebted 
to his imagination, but it is well conceived, and 
suggested one of Schiller's poems, which Gcethe 
considered one of his best, and wished '■ he had 
made a dozen such." 

Sir E. Lytton Bulwerthe distinguished novelist, 
and Sir John Herschel the eminent astronomer, 
have each given a translation of Schiller's '■ Song 
of the Nadowessee Chief." 

SIR E. L. BULWER'S translation. 

See on his mat — as if of yore, 

All life-like sits he here ! 
With that same aspect which he wore 

^Vhen light to him was dear 

But where the right hand's strength ? and where 
The breath that loved to breathe 

To the Great Spirit, aloft in air. 
The peace pipe's lusty wreath ? 

And where the hawk-like eye, alas ! 

That w^ont the deer piu'sue. 
Along the waves of rippling grass. 

Or flelds that shone with dew ? 



68 



EXPLOBEBS AND FIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



Are tliese the limber, bouncluig feet 
That swept tlie winter's snows ? 

What stateliest stag so fast and lleet ? 
Their speed outstripped the roe's ! 

These arms, that then the steady bow 

Could siii)iilc froni ifs pride, 
How stark and helpless hang they now 
Adown the stiffened side ! 

Yet weal to liim— at peace he stays 

Wherever fall the snows ; 
^Vliere o'er the meadows springs the maize 

Tliat mortal never sows. 

Where birds are blithe on every brake — 
Where orests teem with deer— 

Where glide the fish through every lake — 
One chase from ) ear to year ! 

With spirits now he feasts above ; 

All left us to revere 
The deeds we honor with our love. 

The dust we bury here. 

Here bring the last gift ; loud and shrill 
Wail death dirge for the brave ; 

What pleased him most in life, may still 
Give pleasure in the grave. 

We 1 ly the axe beneath liis head 

He swung when strength was strong— 

The bear on which his lianqucts fed, 
The way from earth is long. 

And here, new sharpened, place the knife 

That severed from the clay. 
From which the axe had spoiled the life, 

The conquered scalp away. 

The paints that deck the dead, l)cstow ; 

Yes, place them in his hand, 
Tliat red the kingly shade may glow 

Amid the spirit land. 

SIK JOHN HKUSCHEL'S TRANSLATION. 

See, where upon the mat he sits 

I^rect, before his door, 
With just the same majestic air 

That once in life he wore. 



But where is lied his sti'engtli of limb. 

The whirlwind of Ids breath, 
To the Great Spirit, when he sent 

The peace jjipe's mounting wreath? 

AVliere are those falcon eyes, which late 

Along the plain could trace, 

Along th(^ grass's dewy waves 

The reindeer's printed pace? 

Tliose legs, which once with matchless speed, 

Flew through the drifted snow. 
Surpassed the stag's unwearied course, 

Outran the mountain roe? 

Those arms, once used with might and main, 

The stubborn l)ow to twang? 
See, see, their ner\'es are slack at last, 

AU motionless they hang. 

'Tis well with him, for he is gone 

AMiere snow no more is found, 
■\Miere thi> gay thorn's perpetual bloom 

Decks all the field around. 

AVliere wild birds sing from every spray, 

AVhere deer come sweeping by, 
AVhere fish from every lake afford 

A plentiful supply. 

AVith spirits now he feasts above, 

And leaves us here alone. 
To ce!el)rate his valiant deeds. 

And round his grave to moan. 

Sound the death song, bring forth the gifts, 
. The last gifts of the dead,— 
Let all which yet may yield him joy 
AVithhi his grave be laid. 

The hatchet place beneath his bra I 

Still red with hostile blood; 
And add, because tlie way is long. 

The bear's fat limbs for food. 

The scalping-knife beside him lay, 

AVlth paints of gorgeous dye. 
That in the land of souls his form 

May shine triumphantly. 

It appears from other sources that Carver's 
visit to the Dahkotahs was of some effect in bruig- 
ing about fiieiidly intercourse between them and 
the commander of the English force at Mackinaw. 



CARVEB'S PROJECT FOB A ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC. 



The earliest mention of the Dahkotahs, in any 
public British documents that we know of, is in 
the correspondence between Sir "William Johnson, 
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Colony 
of New York, and General Gage, in command of 
11 le forces. 

On the eleventh of September, less than six 
months after Carver's speech at Dayton's Bluff, 
and the departure of a number of chiefs to the 
English fort at Mackinaw, Johnson writes to 
General Gage: "Though I wrote to you some 
days ago, yet I would not mind saying something 
again on the score of the vast expenses incurred, 
and, as I understand, still incurring at Michili- 
mackinac, chiefly on pretense of making a peace 
between the Sioux and Chippeweighs, with which 
I think we have very little to do, in good policy 
or otherwise." 

Sir William Johnson, in a letter to Lord Hills- 
borough, one of his Majesty's ministers, dated 
August seventeenth, 1768, again refers to the 
subject : 

"]SIuch greater part of those who go a trading 
are men of such circumstances and disposition as 
to venture their persons everywhere for extrava- 
gant gains, yet the consequences to the public 
aie not to be slighted, as we may be led into a 
general quarrel through their means. The In- 
dians in the part adjacent to Michillmackinac 
have been treated with at a very great expense 
for some time previous. 

"Major Kodgers brings a considerable charge 
against the former for mediating a peace between 
some tribes of the Sioux and some of the Chippe- 
weighs, which, had it been attended with success, 
would only have been interesting to a very few 
French, and others that had goods in that part 
of the Indian country, but the contrary has hap- 
pened, and they are now more violent, and war 
against one another." 

Though a wilderness of over one thousand 
miles intervened between the Falls of St. An- 
thony and the white settlements of the English, 
Carver was fully impressed with the idea that the 
State now organized under the name of Minne- 
sota, on account of its beauty and fertility, would 
attract settlers. 

Speakmg of the advantages of the counti-y, he 
says that the future population will be "able to 
convey their produce to the seaports vsdth great 



facility, the current of the river from its source 
to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico being ex- 
tremely favorable for doing this in small craft. 
Ihis might also in time be facilitated by canal.-- or 
shorter cuts, and a communication opened by water 
vnth New York by way of the Lakes." 

The subject of this sketch was also confident 
that a route would be discovered by way of the 
Minnesota river, which would open a passage 
to China and the English settlements in the East 
Indies." 

Carver having returned to England, interested 
Whitworth, a member of parUament, in the 
northern route. Had not the American Revolu- 
tion commenced, they proposed to have built a 
fort at Lake Pepin, to have proceeded up the 
Minnesota imtil they found, as they supposed 
they could, a branch of the Missouri, and from 
thence, journeying over the summit of lands un- 
til they came to a river which they called Ore- 
gon, they expected to descend to the Pacific. 

Carver, in common with other travelers, had 
his theory in relation to the origin of the Dahko- 
tahs. He supposed that they came from Asia. 
He remarks: "But this might have been at dif- 
ferent times and from various parts — from Tar- 
tary, China, Japan, for the inhabitants of these 
places resemble each other. * * * 

"It is very evident that some of the names and 
customs of the American Indians resemble those 
of the Tartars, and I make no doubt but that in 
some future era, and this not far distant, it will 
be reduced to certainty that during some of the 
wars between the Tartars and Chinese a part of 
the inhabitants of the northern provinces were 
driven from their native country, and took refuge 
in some of the isles before mentioned, and from 
thence found their way into America. * » * 

"Many words are used both by the Chinese and 
the Indians which have a resemblance to each 
other, not only in their sound, but in their signi- 
fication. The Chinese call a slave Shungo; and 
the Noudowessie Indians, whose language, from 
their little intercom'se with the Europeans, is 
least corrupted, term a dog Shimgush [Shoan- 
kah.J The former denominate one species of their 
tea Shoushong; the latter call their tobacco Shou- 
sas-sau fChanshasha.] Many other of the words 
used by the Indians contain the syllables che, 
chaw, and chu, after the dialect of the Chinese." 



70 



EXPLOBERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



The comparison of languages has become a rich 
source of liistorical Imovvledge, yet many of the 
analogies traced are fanciftil. The remarlj of 
Humbolt in " Cosmos" is worthy of remembrance. 
"As tlie structure of American idioms appears 
remarkably strange to nations speaking the mod- 
ern languages of Western Europe, and who readily 
suffer themselves to be led away by some acci- 
dental analogies of sound, theologians have gen- 
erally believed that they could trace an affinity 
with the Ileljrew, Spanish colonists with the 
Basque and the English, or French settlers with 
Gaelic, Erse, or the Bas Breton. I one day met 
on the coast of Peru, a Spanish naval officer and 
an English whaling captain, the fontjcr of whom 
declared that he had heard Basque spoken at Ta- 
hiti; the other, Gaelic or Erse at the Sandmch 
Islands." 

Carver became very poor while in England, 
and was a clerk in a lottery-office. He died in . 
1780, and left a widow, two sons, and five daught- 
ers, in Xew England, and also a child by another 
wife that he had married in (ireat Britain 

After his death a claim was urged for the land 
upon which the capital of IMinnesota now stands' 
and for many miles adjacent. As there are still 
many persons who believe that they have some 
right through certain deeds purporting to be from 
tlie lieirs of Carver, it is a matter worthy of an 
investigation. 

Carver says nothing in his book of travels in re- 
lation to a grant from the Dahkotahs, but after 
he was buried, it was asserted that there was a 
deed belonging to him m existence, conveying 
valuable lands, and that said deed was executed 
at the cave now in the eastern suburbs of Saint 
Paul. 

DEED PURPORTING TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN AT 
THE CAVE IN THE BLUFF BELOW ST. PAUL. 

" To Jonathan Carver, c chief under the most 
mighty and potent George the Third, King of the 
English and other nations, the fame of whose 
warriors has reached our ears, and has now been 
fully told us by our g(Jod brother Jonathan, afore- 
said, whom we rejoice to have come among us, 
and bring us good news from his country. 

" We, chiefs of the Naudowessies, who have 
hereunto set our seals, do by these presents, for 
ourselves and heirs forever, in return for the aid 
and other good services done by the said Jona- 



tlian to ourselves and allies, give grant and con- 
vey to him, the said Jonathan, and to his heirs 
and assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract 
or territory of land, bounded as follows, viz: from 
the Falls of St. Anthony, numing on the east 
bank of the Jlississippi, nearly southeast, as far 
as Lake Pepin, wiiere the Chippewa joins the 
Mississippi, and from thence eastward five days 
travel, accomiting twenty EngUsh miles per day; 
and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony, 
on a direct straight line. AVe do for om-selves, 
heirs, and assigns, forever give inito the said Jo- 
nathan, his heirs and assigns, with all the trees, 
rocks, ami rivers therein, reserving the sole lib- 
erty of hunting and fishing on land not jjlanted 
or improved by the said Jonathan, his heirs and 
assigns, to which we have affixed our respective 
seals. 

" At the Great Cave, May 1st. 1767. 

"Signed, HAWXOPAWJATIX. 

OTOIITGNGOOMLISHEAW. " 

The original deed was never exhibited by the 
assignees of the heirs. By his English wife Car- 
ver had one child, a daughter Martha, who was 
cared for by Sir Richard and Lady Pearson. In 
time she eloped and married a sailor. A mercan- 
tile firm in London, thinking that money could 
be made, induced the newly married couple, the 
day after the wedding, to convey the grant to 
them, w'ith the miderstandiug that they were to 
have a tenth of the profits. 

The merchants despatched an agent by the 
name of Clarke to go to the I)ahkotahs. and ob- 
tain a new deed; but on his way he was murdered 
in the state of New York. 

In the year 1794, the heirs of Carver's Ameri- 
can wife, in consideration of fifty thousand pounds 
sterling, conveyed their interest in the Carver 
grant to Edward Houghton of Vermont. In the 
year 1806, Samuel Peters, who had been a toiy 
and an Episcopal minister dui'ing the Revolu- 
tionary war, alleges, in a petition to Congress, 
that he had also purchased of the heirs of Carver 
their rights to tlie grant. 

Before the Senate committee, the sanic year, 
he testified as follows: 

"In the year 1774, I arrived there (London), 
and met Captain Carver. In 1775, Carver had a 
hearing before the king, prayhig his majesty's 
approval of a deed of land dated May first, 1767, 



UNITED STATES REJECT CABVERS CLAIM. 



71 



and sold and granted to him by the Naudowissies. 
The result was his majesty approved of the exer- 
tions and bravery of Captain Carver among the 
Indian nations, near the Falls of St. ^Vnthony, in 
the Mississippi, gave to said Carver 1371L 13.s. 8(?. 
sterling, and ordered a frigate to be prepared, 
and a transport ship to carry one hundred and 
fifty men, under command of Captain Carver, with 
four others as a committee, to sail the next June 
to New Orleans, and then to ascend the Missis- 
sippi, to take possession of said territory conveyed 
to Captain Carver ; but the battle of Bunker Hill 
prevented." 

In 1821, General Leavenworth, having made 
inquiries of the Dahkotahs, m relation to the 
alleged claim, addressed the following to the 
commissioner of the land office : 

" Sir: — Agreeably to your request, I have the 
honour to inform you what I have understood 
from the Indians of the Sioux Nation, as well Jis 
some facts within my own knowledge, as to what 
Is commonly termed Carver's Grant. The grant 
purports to be made by the chiefs of the Sioux 
of the Flams, and one of the chiefs uses the sign 
of a serpent, and the other of a turtle, purport- 
ing that their names are derived from those ani- 
mals. 

"The land lies on the east side of the Mississ- 
ippi. The Indians do not recognize or acknowl 
edge the grant to be valid, and they among others 
assign the followuig reasons: 

"1. The Sioux of the Plains never owned a 
foot of land on the east side of the Mississippi. 
The Sioux Nation is divided into two grand di- 
visions, viz: The Sioux of the Lake; or perhaps 
more literally Sioux of the River, and Sioux of 
the Plain. The former subsists by hunting and 
fishing, and usually move from place to place by 
water, in canoes, during the summer season, and 
travel on the ice in the winter, when not on 
their huntmg excursions. The latter subsist en- 
tirely by huntmg, and have no canoes, nor do 
they know but little about the use of them. They 
reside in the large prairies west of the Mississippi, 
and follow the buffalo, ui)on which they entirely 
subsist; these are called Sioux of the Plain, and 
never owned land east of the Mississippi. 

" 2. The Indians say they have no knowledge 
of any such chiefs as those who have signed the 
grant to Carver, either amongst the Sioux of the 



River or the Sioux of the Plain. They say that 
if Captam Carver did ever obtain a deed or 
grant, it was signed by some foolish yomig men 
who were not chiefs and who were not author- 
ized to make a grant. Among the Sioux of the 
River there are no such names. 

" 3. They say the Indians never received any- 
thing for the land, and they have no intention to 
part with it witliout a consideration. From my 
knowledge of the Indians, I am induced to think 
they would not make so considerable a grant, and 
have it to go into full effect without receiving a 
substantial consideration. 

'• 4. They have, and ever have had, the pos- 
session of the land, and intend to keep it. I 
know that they are very particular in making 
every person who wishes to cut timber on that 
tract obtain their permission to do so, and to ob- 
tain payment for it. In the month of May last, 
some Frenchmen brought a large raft of red cedar 
timber out of the Chippewa River, which timber 
was cut on the tract before mentioned. The In- 
dians at one of the villages on the Mississippi, 
where the principal chief resided, compelled the 
Frenchmen to land the raft, and would not per- 
mit them to pass until they had received pay for 
the timber, and the Frenchmen were compelled 
to leave their raft with the Indians until they 
went to Prairie du Chien, and obtained the nec- 
essary articles, and made the payment required." 

On the twenty-third of January, 1823, the Com- 
mittee of Public Lands made a report on the 
claim to the Senate, which, to every disintere.sted 
person, is entirely satisfactory. After stating 
the facts of the petition, the report continues: 

" The Rev. Samuel Peters, in his petition, fiu-- 
ther states that Lefei, the present Emperor of 
the Sioux and Naudowessies, and Red Wing, a 
sachem, the heirs and successors of the two grand 
chiefs who signed the said deed to Captam Car- 
ver, have given satisfactory and positive proof 
that they allowed their ancestors' deed to be gen- 
uine, good, and valid, and that Captain Carver's 
heirs and assigns are the owners of said territory, 
and may occupy it free of all molestation. 

The committee have examined and considered 
the claims thus exhibited by the petitioners, and 
remark that the original deed is not produced, nor 
any competent legal evidence offered of its execu- 
tion ; nor is there any proof that the persons, who 



72 



EXFLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



it is alleged made the deed, were the chiefs of 
said tribe, nor that (if chiefs) they had authority 
to grant and give away the laud belonging to their 
tribe. The paper annexed to the petition, as a 
copy of said deed, has no subscribing witnesses ; 
and it would seem impossil)le, at this remote pe- 
riod, to ascertain the important fact, that tlie per- 
sons who signed the deed comprehended and 
imderstooA the meaning and effect of their act. 

" The want of proof as to these facts, would 
interpose in the way of the claimants insuperable 
difficulties. But, in the opinion of the committee, 
the claim is not such as the United States are 
under any obligation to allow, even if the deed 
were proved in legal form. 

" The British government, before the time when 
the alleged deed bears date, had deemed it pru- 
dent and necessary for the preservation of peace 
with the Indian tribes under their sovereignty, 
protection and dominion, to prevent British sub- 
jects from purchasing lands from the Indians, 
and this rule of policy was made known and en- 
forced by the proclamation of the king of Great 
Britam, of seventh October, 1763, which contains 
an express prohibition. 

" Captain Carver, aware of the law, and know- 
uig that such a contract could not vest the legal 
title in him, applied to the British govenunent to 
ratify and confirm the Indian grant, and, though 
it was competent for that government then to 
confirm the grant, and vest the title of said laud 



in him. yet. from some cause, that government 
did not think proper to do it. 

" The territory has since become the property 
of the United States, and an Indian grant not 
good against the British goverumeut, would ap- 
pear to be not binding unon the United States 
government. 

" What benefit the British government derived 
from the ser\ices of Captain Carver, by his trav- 
els and residence among the Indians, that gov- 
ernment alone could determine, and alone could 
judge what remuneration those services desened. 

" One fact appears from the declaration of Mr. 
Peters, in his statement in writing, among the 
papers exhibited, namely, that the British gov- 
ernment did give Captain Carver the sum of one 
thousand three hundred and seventy-five pounds 
six shillings and eight pence sterling. To the 
United States, liowever. Captain Carver rendered 
no services wliich could be assumed as any equit- 
able ground for the support of the petitioners' 
claim. . 

" The committee being of opinion that the 
United States are nfit bound in law and equity to 
confirm the said alleged Indian grant, recom- 
mend the adoption of the resolution: 

" ' Bcsolvcd, That the prayer of the petitioners 
ought not to be granted." ' 

Lord Palmerston stated in 1839, that no trace 
could be foimd in the records of the British 
oflice of state papers, showing any ratification of 
the Carver grant. 



EXPLOBATIOKS JiV LIEUTENANT Z. 3£. PIKE. 



73 



CHAPTEK XII. 



EXPLORATION BY THE FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY OFFICER, LTETTTENANT Z. M. PIKE. 



"raffjiB Posts at the beginuing of Nineteenth Century.— Sandy Lake Fort.— 
Lteun Lake Fort.— Williftm Morrison, before Schoolcraft at Ita.sca Lake.— Divi- 
sion of Northwest Territory.- Organization of Indiana, Michigan and Upper 
Louisiana.— Notices of Wooc!, Frazer, Fisher, Cameron, Faribault.— Early 
Trade.-*. —Pike's Council at Mouth of Minnesota River.— Grant for Mihtary 
Posts.— encampment at Falls of St. Anthony.— Block House near Swan River. 
—Visit to Sandy and Leech Lakes.— British Flag Shot at and Lowered.— 
TbompBon, Topographer of Northwest Company.— Pike at Dickson's Trading 
Post.— Returns to Mendota.— Fails to find Carver's Cave.— Conference with 
Little Crow. —Cameron sells Liquor to Indians. 

At the beginning of the present century, the 
region now known as Minnesota, contained no 
white men, except a few engaged in the f lu- trade. 
In the treaty effected by Hon. Jolni Jay, Great 
Britain agreed to witlidraw her troops from all 
posts and places within certain boimdary lines, 
on or before the first of June, 1796, but all Brit- 
ish settlers and traders might remain for one 
year, and enjoy all their former privileges, with- 
out being obliged to be citizens of the United 
States of America. 

In the year ISOO, the trading posts of Mimiesota 
were chiefly held by the 2^orthwest Company, 
and their chief traders resided at Sandy Lake, 
Leech Lake, and Fon du Lac, on St. Louis River. 
In the year 1794, this company built a stockade 
one hundred feet square, on the southeast end of 
Sandy Lake. There were bastions pierced for 
small arms, in the southeast and in the northwest 
corner. The pickets which surroiuided the post 
were thirteen feet high. On the north side there 
was a gate ten by nine feet ; on the west side, one 
six by five feet, and on the east side a third gate 
six by five feet. Travelers entering the main 
gate, saw on the left a one story building twenty 
feet square, the residence of the superintendent, 
and on the left of tlie east gate, a building twenty- 
five by fifteen, the quarters of the voyagenis. 
Entering the western gate, on the left was a stone 
house, twenty by thirty feet, and a house twenty 
by forty feet, used as a store, and a workshop, 
and a residence for clerks. On the south shore 
of Leech Lake there was another establishment, 
I little larger. The stockade was one hundred 



and fifty feet square. The main building was 
sixty by twenty-five feet, and one and a half story 
in height, where resided the Director of the fur 
trade of the Fond du Lac department of the North- 
west Company. In the centre was a small store, 
twelve and a half feet square, and near the main 
gate was flagstaff fifty feet in height, from 
which used to float the flag of Great Britain. 

William ilorrison was, in 1802, the trader at 
Leech Lake, and in 1804 he was at Elk Lake, the 
source of the Mississippi, thirty-two years after- 
wards named by Schoolcraft, Lake Itasca. 

The entire force of the Northwest Company, 
west of Lake Superior, in 1805, consisted of three 
accountants, nineteen clerks, two interpreters, 
eighty-five canoe men, and with them were 
twenty-nine Indian or half-breed women, and 
about fifty cliildren. 

On the seventh of May, 1800, the Northwest 
Territory, which included all of the western 
country east of the Mississippi, was divided. 
The portion not designated as Ohio, was organ- 
ized as the Territory of Indiana. 

On the twentieth of December, 1803, the 
province of Louisiana, of which that portion of 
Minnesota west of the Mississippi was a part, 
was officially delivered up by the French, who 
had just obtained it from the Spaniards, accord- 
ing to treaty stipulations. 

To the transfer of Louisiana by France, after 
twenty days' possession, Spain at first objected; 
but in 1804 withdrew all opposition. 

President Jefferson now deemed it an object 
of paramount importance for the United States 
to explore the country so recently acquired, and 
make the acquaintance of the tribes residing 
therein ; and steps were taken for an expedition 
to the upper Mississiiapi. 

Early in March, 1804, Captain Stoddard, of the 
United States army, arrived at St. Louis, the 
agent of the French Eepublic, to receive from 



74 



EXPLOltEliS Al^D I'lOJSEJiUS OF MINNESOTA. 



the Spanish authorities tlie possession of the 
countiy, wliicli he immediately trausferred to tlie 
United States. 

As tlie old settlers, on the tenth of March, saw 
the ancient flag of Spain displaced by that of the 
United States, the tears coursed down their 
cheeks. 

On the twentieth of the same month, the terri- 
tory of Upper Louisiana was constituted, com- 
prising the present states of Arkansas, Missouri, 
Iowa, and a large portion of Minnesota. 

On the eleventh of January, 1805, the terri- 
tory of Michigan was organized. 

The first American officer who visited ]SIinne- 
sota, on business of a public nature, was one who 
was an ornament to his profession, and in energy 
and endurance a true representative of the citi- 
zens of the United States. We refer to the 
gallant Zefculon Montgomery Pike, a native of 
New Jersey, wl)o afterwards fell in battle at 
York, Upper Canada, and whose loss was justly 
mourned by the whole nation. 

When a young lieutenant, he was ordered l)y 
General Wilkinson to visit the region now known 
as Minnesota, and expel the British traders who 
were found violating the laws of the United 
States, and form alliances with the Indians. 
With only a few common soldiers, he was obliged 
to do the work of several men. At times he 
would precede his party for miles to reconnoitre, 
and then he would do the duty of hunter. 

During the day he would perform the part of 
surveyor, geologist, and astronomer, and at night, 
though hungry and fatigued, his lofty enthu- 
siasm kept him awake until he copied the notes, 
and ])lotted the courses of the day. 

On the 4th day of September, 180.5, Pike ar- 
rived at Prairii^ <ln Chien, from St. Louis, and 
was politely treal(Ml by three traders, all born un- 
derthe llagof the United States. One was named 
Wood, another Prazer, a native of Vermont, 
who, when a young man l)ecame a clerk of one 
]51akely, of Montreal, and thus became a fur 
trader. Tlie third was Henry Fisher, a captain 
of the Militia, and Justice of the Peace, whose 
wife was a daughter of Goutier de Verville. 
I'^isher was said to have been a nephew of Pres- 
dent Monroe, and later in life traded at the 
sources of the Minnesota. One of his daughters 
was the mother of Joseph Polette, Jr., a mem- 



ber of the early Minnesota Legislative assem- 
blies. On the eighth of the month Lieutenant 
Pike left Trairie du Chien, in two batteaux, with 
Sergeant Henry Kennerman, Corporals William 
E. Mack and Samuel Bradley, and ten privates. 

At La Crosse, Frazer, of Prairie du Chien, 
overtook him, and at Sandy point of Lake Pepin 
he found a trader, a Scotchman by the name of 
Murdoch Cameron, with his son, and a young 
man named John Rndsdell. On the twonty- 
first he breakfasted with the Kaposia band of 
Sioux, who then dwelt at the marsli below Day- 
ton's Bluff, a few miles below St. Paul. The 
same day he passed three miles from Jlendota 
the encampment of J. B. Faribaidt, a tiader and 
native of Lower Canada, then about thirty years 
of age, in which vicinity he contiiuied for more 
than fifty years. He married Pelagie the daugh- 
ter of Francis Kinnie by an Indian woman, 
and his eldest son, Alexander, born soon after 
Pike's visit, was the founder of the town of 
Faribault. 

Arriving at the confluence of the Minnesota 
and the Mississippi Rivers, Pike and his soldiers 
eneamjted on the Northeast point of the island 
which still bears his name. The next day was 
Sunday, and he visited Cameron, at his trading 
post on the Minnesota Iliver, a short distance 
above Mendota. 

On Monday, the 23d of September, at noon, 
lie held a Council with th(! Sioux, under a cover- 
ing made by suspending sails, and gave an ad- 
mirable talk, a portion of wliich was as follows : 

" Brothers, I am happy to meet you here, at 
this council fire which your father has sent me to 
kindle, and to take you by the hands, as our chil- 
dren. We having but lately aciiiiired from the 
Spjinish, the extensive territory of Louisiana, our 
general has thoiight proper to send out a number 
of his warriors to visitall his red children ; to tell 
them his will, and to hear what request they may 
have to make of their father. I am happy the 
choice fell on me to come this road, as I find 
my brothers, the Sioux, ready to listen to my 
words. 

" IJrothers, it is the wish of our government to 
establish military jiosts on the Upper Mississippi, 
at such places as might be thought expedient. I 
have, therefore, examined the country, and have 
jiitched on the mouth of the river St. Croix, this 



GliANT OF LAND FUOM THE SIOUX. 



75 



place, uiiil the i alls of St. Anthony ; I therefore 
wish you to grant to the United States, nine 
miles square, at St. Croix, and at tliis place, from 
a league below the confluence of the St. Peter's 
and lilississippi, to a league above St. Anthony, 
extending thrte leagues on each side of the river ; 
and as we are a people who are accustomed to 
have all our acts written down, in order to have 
tliem handed to our children, I have drawn up a 
form of an agreement, which we will I)oth sign, 
in the presence of the traders now present. After 
we know the terms, we will fill it up, and have it 
read and interpreted to you. 

" Brothers, those posts are intended as a bene- 
fit to you. The old chiefs now present must see 
that their situation improves by a communication 
with the whites. It is the intention of the Umted 
States to establish at those posts factories, in 
which the Indians may procure all their things 
at a cheaper and better rate than they do now, or 
than your traders can afford to sell them to you, 
r.s they aie single men, who come from far in 
small boats; but your fathers are many and 
strong, and will come with a strong arm, in large 
boats. There will also be i iiiefs here, who can 
attend to the wants of then- brothers, without 
their sending or going all the way to St. Louis, 
and will see the tiarlers that go up your rivers, 
and know that they are good me- * * * * 

"Brothers, I now present you . ;i some of 
yo;ir father's tobacco, and some other trilling 
thmgs, as a memorandum of my good will, and 
before my departure I ■will give you some liquor 
to clear your throats." 

The traders, Cameron and Frazer, sat with 
Pike. Ilis interpreter was Pierre llosseau. 
Among the Chiefs present were Le Petit Cor- 
beau (Little Crow), and Way-ago Enagee, and 
L"Orignal Leve or Rising Moose. It was with 
difficulty that the cliiefg signed the following 
agi-eement; not that they objected to the lan- 
guage, but because they thought their word 
should be taken, mthout any mark ; but Pike 
overcame their objection , by saying that he wished 
them to sign it on his account. 

"Whereas, at a conference held between the 
United States of America and the Sioux na- 
tion of Indians, Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, of the 
army of the United States, and the cliiefs and 
warriors of said trihe. have atrreed to the follow- 



ing articles, which, when ratified and approved of 
by the proper authority, shall be binding on both 
parties : 

Akt. 1. That the Sioux nation grant xmto the 
United States, for the purpose of establishment 
of military posts, nine miles square, at the mouth 
of the St. Croix, also from below the confluence 
of the Mississippi and St. Peter's, up the Missis- 
sippi to include the Falls of St. Anthony, extend- 
ing nine miles on each side of the river ; that the 
Sioux Nation grants to the United States the full 
sovereignty and power over said district forever. 
Art. 2. That in consideration of the above 
grants, the United States shall pay [filled up by 
the Senate with 2,000 dollars]. 

Art. 3. The United States promise, on their 
part, to permit the Sioux to pass and repass, hunt, 
or make other use of the said districts, as they 
have formerly done, without any other exception 
than those specified in article first. 

In testimony whereof, we, the undersigned, 
have hereunto set our hands and seals, at the 
mouth of the liver St. Peter's, on the 23d day of 
September, 1805. 

Z.M.PIKE, [L S.] 
1st Lieutenant and agent at the above conference. 

his 
LE PETIT CORBEAU, M [L. S.] 
mark 
. his 
WAY-AGO ENAGEE, M [L. S.] 
mark " 

The following entries from Pike's Journal, des- 
criptive of the region around the city of Minne- 
apolis, seventy-five years a;;o, are worthy of pres- 
ervation: 

^'Skft. 26th, Tliursday. — Embarked at the usual 
hour, and after much labor in passing through 
the rapids, arrived at the foot of the Falls about 
three or four o'clock ; imloaded my boat, and had 
the principal part of her cargo carried over the 
portage. With the other boat, however, full 
loaded, they were not able to get over the last 
shoot, and encamped aboiit six yards below. I 
pitched my tent and encamped above the shoot. 
The rapids mentioned in this day's march, might 
properly be called a continuation of the Falls of 
St. Anthony, for they are equally entitled to this 
appellation, with the Falls of the Pelawaj'e aad 



76 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERU OF MiyyE!SOTA. 



Sus(iuehanna. Killed one deer. Distance nine 
miles 

Sept. 27th, Friday. Brought over the residue 
of my loading this moniing. Two men arrived 
from Mr. Frazer, on St. Peters, for my dispaU-hes. 
This business, closing and sealing, appeared like 
a last adieu to the civilized world. Sent a large 
packet to the General, and a letter to Mrs. Pike, 
with a short note to Mr. Frazer. Two young 
Indians brought my flag across by land, who ar- 
rived yesterday, just as we ciime in sight of the 
Fall. I made them a present for their punctual- 
ity and expedition, and the danger they were ex- 
posed to from the journey. Carried our boats out 
of the river, as far as the bottom of the hill. 

Sept. 2fHh,iiatui-da>/. — Brought my barge over, 
and put her Ln the river above the Falls. "Wliile 
■we were engaged vrith her three -fourths miles 
from camp, seven Indians painted black, appeared 
on the heights. We had left our gims at the 
camp and were entirely defenceless. It occurred 
to me that they were the small party of Sioux who 
were obstinate, and would go to war, when the 
other part of the bands came in ; these they 
proved to be ; they were better armed than any I 
had ever seen ; having guns, liows, arrows, clubs, 
spears, and some of them even a case of pistols. 
I w^as at that time gi\ Ing my men a dram ; and 
giving the cup of liquor to the iirst, he di'ank it 
off ; but I was more cautious with the remainder. 
I sent my Interpreter to camp with them, to wait 
my coming ; w^ishiug to purchase one ol theu- w-ar 
clubs, it being made of elk horn, and decorated 
with inlaid work. Tliis and a set of bows and 
arrows I wished to get as a curiosity. But the 
liquor I had given him began to operate, he came 
back for me, but refusing to go till I brought my 
boat, he returned, and (I suppose being offended) 
borrowed a canoe and crossed the river. In the 
afternoon got the other boat near the top of the 
hill, when the projis gave way, and she slid all the 
way down to the bottom, but fortunately without 
injuring any person. It raining very hard, we 
left her. Killed one goose and a racoon. 

Sept. 29th, Sunda!/.-~l killed a reniarka'jly 
large racoon. Got our large boat over the port- 
age, and put her in the river, at the upper land- 
ing; this night the men gave sufficient proof of 
their fatigue. l)y all tlirowing themselves down to 
sleep, preferring rest to supper. Tliis day 1 had 



but fifteen men out of twenty-two ; the others 
were sick. This voyage could have been per- 
formed with great convenience, if we had taken 
our departure in Jime. But the proper time 
would be to leave the IlUnois as soon as the ice 
would permit, when the river would be of a good 
height. 

Sept. 30th, Monday.— hoaded my boat, moved 
over aTid encamped on the Island. The large Iwats 
loading Likewise, we went over and put on board. 
In the mean time, I took a sm-vey of the Falls, 
Portage, etc. If it be possible to pass the Falls 
in high water, of which I am doubtful, it must 
be on the East side, about thirty yards from 
shore ; as there are three layers of rocks, one be- 
low the other. The pitch off of either, is not 
more than five feet ; but of this I can say more 
on my ret\mi. 

On the tenth of October, the expedition 
readied some 'arge island below Sauk Rapids, 
where ui 1797, Porlier and Joseph Renville had 
wintered. Six days after this, he reached the 
Rapids m Morrison county, which still bears his 
name, and he writes : ' • When we arose in the 
morning, found that snow had fallen during the 
night, the ground was covered and it continued 
to snow. This, indeed, was but poor encourage- 
ment for attacking the Rapids, in which we were 
certain to wade to our necks. I was determined, 
however, if possible to make la riviere de Cor- 
beau, [Crow Wing River], the highest point was 
made by traders in their bark canoes. We em- 
l)arked, and after four hours work, became so 
benumbed with cold that our limbs were perfectly 
useless. We put to shore on the opposite side of 
the river, about two-thirds of the way up the 
rapids. Built a large fire ; and then discovered 
that our boats were nearly half full of water; 
both having sprung large leaks so as to oblige me 
to keep three hands bailing. My sergeant (Ken- 
nerman) one of the stoutest men I ever knew, 
broke a blood-vessel and vomited nearly two 
quarts of blood. One of my corporals (Bradley) 
also evacuated nearly a pint of blood, when he 
attempted to void his urine. These unhappy 
circiunstances, in addition to the inability of 
four other men whom we were obliged to leave 
on shore, con^^n(■pd me, that if I had no regard 
for my own health and constitution, I should 
ha\e some for those poor fellows, who were kill- 



PIKE'S BLOCK MOUSE NEAB SWAN BIYEB. 



77 



iug themselves to obey my orders. After we 1 lad 
breakfast and refreshed ourselves, we went down 
to our boats on the rocks, where I was obliged to 
leave them. I then informed my men that we 
would return to the camp and there leave some 
of the party and oiu- large boats. This informa- 
tion was pleasing, and the attempt to reach the 
camp soon accomplished. My reasons for this 
step have partly been already stated. The nec- 
essity of unloadmg and refitting my boats, the 
beauty and convenience of the spot for buildmg 
huts, the fine pme trees for peroques, and the 
quantity of game, were additional inducements. 
We immediately imloaded our boats and secured 
their cargoes. In the evening I went out upon a 
small, but beautiful creek, which emptied mto 
the Falls, for the purpose of selecting puie tiees 
to make canoes. Saw five deer, and killed one 
buck weighing one himdi-ed and thirty-seven 
pounds. By my leaving men at this place, and 
from the great quantities of game in its vicinity, 
I was ensured plenty of provision for my return 
voyage. In the party left behuid was one hunter, 
to be continually employed, who would keep our 
stock of salt provisions good. Distance two 
hundred and thirty-three and a half miles above 
the Falls of St. Anthony. 

Having left his large boats and some sohliers 
at this point, he proceeded to the vicinity of 
Swan River where he erected a block house, and 
on the tliirty-flrst of October he writes: "En- 
closed my little work completely with pickets. 
Hauled up my two boats and turned them over 
on each side of the gateways; by wliich means 
a defence was made to the river, and had it not 
been for various poUtical reasons, I would have 
laughed at the attack of eight hundred or a 
thousand savages, if all my party were within. 
For. except accidents, it would only have afford- 
ed amusement, the Indians having no idea of 
taking a place by storm. Found myself power- 
fully attacked with the fantastics of the brain, 
called ennui, at the mention of which I had 
hitherto scoffed ; but my books being packed up, 
I was like a person entranced, and could easily 
conceive why so many persons who have been 
confined to remote places, acquire the habit of 
drinking to excess, and many other vicious prac- 
tices, which have been adopted merely to pass 
time. 



Dm-ing the next month he hunted the buffalo 
which were then in that vicinity. On the third 
of December he received a visit from Bobert 
Dickson, afterwards noted m the history of the 
country, who was then trading about sixty miles 
below, on the Mississippi. 

On the tenth of December with some sleds he 
continued his journey northward, and on the last 
day of the year passed Pine River. On the thud 
of .January, 1806, he reached the trading post at 
Red Cedar, now Cass Lake, and was quite indig- 
nant at finding the British flag floatmg from the 
staff. The night after this his tent caught on 
fire, and he lost some valuable and necessary 
ck thing. On the evening of the eighth he reach- 
ed Sandy Lake and was hospitably received by 
Grant, the trader hi charge. He writes . 

" Jan. 9th, r/w«>da2/.— Marched the corporal 
early, m order that our men should receive 
assurance of our safety and success. He carried 
with him a small keg of spirits, a present from 
Mr. Grant. The establishment of this place was 
formed twelve years since, by the North-west 
Company, and was fonnerly imder the charge of 
a Mr. Charles Brusky. It has attained at present 
such regularity, as to permit the superintendent 
to Uve tolerably comfortable. They have horses 
they procured from Red River, of the Indians; 
raise plenty of Irish potatoes, catch pike, suckers, 
pickerel, and white fish in abundance. They 
have also beaver, deer, and moose; but the pro- 
vision they chiefly depend upon is wild oats, of 
which they purchase great quantities from the 
savages, giving at the rate of about one dollar 
and a half per bushel. But flour, pork, and salt, 
are almost interdicted to persons not principals 
in the trade. Flour sells at half a dollar ; salt a 
dollar; pork eiglity cents; sugar half a dollar ; 
and tea four doUars and fifty cents per pound. 
The sugar is obtained from the IncUans, aud is 
made from the maple tree." 

He remained at Sandy Lake ten days, and on 
the last day two men of the Northwest Company 
arrived with letters from Fon du Lac Superior, 
one of which was from Athapuscow, and had 
been since May on the route. 

On the twentieth of January began his journey 
to Leech Lake, which he reached on the first of 
February, and was hospitably received by Hugh 



EXPLOliERS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



McGillis, the head of the Northwest Company at 
this post. 

A Mr. Anderson, in the employ of Robert 
Dick-son, was residing at the west end of the lake. 
While here he hoisted the American flag in the 
fort. The English yacht still flying at tlie top of 
the flagstaff, he directed the Indians and his sol- 
diers to shoot at it. They soon broke the iron 
pin to wliich it was fastened, and it fell to the 
ground. lie was informed by a venerable old 
Ojibw'ay chief, called Sweet, that the Sioux dwelt 
there when he was a youth. On the tenth of 
February, at ten o'clock, he left Leecli I>ake with 
Corponil ISradley, the trader McGillis and two of 
his men, and at sunset arrived at Hed Cedar, now 
Cass Lake. At this place, in 1798, Tliompson, 
employed by the Northwest Company for three 
years, in topograjHucal surveys, made some ob- 
servations. He believed that a line from the 
Lake of the Woods would touch the sources of 
the ^lississippi. Pike, at this point, was very 
kindly treated by a Canadian named IJoy, and liis 
Ojibway squaw. On his return home, he reached 
Clear Kiver on the seventh of April, where he 
foimd his canoe and men, and at night \\as at 
( Jrand Uapids, Dickson's trading post. He talked 
until four o'clock the next morning with tliis 
person and another trader named Porlier. lie 
forbade while there, the traders (Jreignor [Grig- 
non] and La Jemiesse, to sell any more liquor to 
Indians, who had become very drunken and un- 
ruly. On the tenth he again readied the Falls 
of Saint Anthony. He writes in his journal as 
follows : 

Aphtt. nth, Fridn;/. — Although it snowed very 
hard \\e brought over both V)oats, and descended 
the river to the island at the entrance of the St. 
Peter's. I sent to the chiefs and informed them 
I had something to communicate to them. The 
Fils de Pincho innnediately waited on me, and 
informed me that he would i)rovide a place for 
the purpose. About sundown I was sent for and 
introduced into the council-house, where I found 
a great many chiefs of the Sussitongs, (iens de 
Feuilles, and the (iens du Lac. The Yanctongs 
had not yet come down. They were all awaiting 
for my arrival. There were about one hundred 
lodges, or six hundred people; we were saluted 
on our crossing the river with ball as usual. The 
council-house was two large lodges, capable of 



containing three hundred men. In the upper 
were forty chiefs, and as many pipes set against 
the poles, alongside of wliich I had the Santeur's 
pipes arranged. I then infcjrmed them in short 
detail, of my transactions with tin; Santeurs; but 
my interpreters were not capable of making them- 
selves tniderstood. I was therefore obliged to 
omit mentioning every particular relative to the 
rascal who fired on my sentinel, and of the scoun- 
drel who broke the Fols Avoins' canoes, and 
threatened my life; the interpreters, however, in- 
■ formed them that I wanted some of their princi- 
pal chiefs to go to St. Louis; and that those who 
thought proper might descend to the prairie, 
wliere we would give them more explicit in • < r 
mation. They all smoked out of the Santeur's 
pipe, excepting three, who were painted black, 
and were some of those who lost their relations 
last winter. I invited the Fils de Pinchow, and 
the son of tlie Killeur Eouge, to come over and 
sup with me; when Mr. Dickson and myself en- 
deavored to explain what I intended to have said 
to them, could I have made myself understood; 
that at the prairie wc would have all things ex- 
plained; that I was desirous of making a better 
report of them than Captain Lewis could do from 
their treatment of him. The former of those 
savages was the jierson who remained around my 
post all last winter, and treated m.\' men so well; 
they endeavored to excuse their people. 

"Apuil 12th, Saturday. — Embarked early. Al- 
though my interiireter liad been frecpiently u)) the 
river, he could not tell me wliere the cave (spoken 
of by Carver) could be fomid ; we carefully 
sought for it, but in vain. At the Indian village, 
a few miles below St. Peter's, we were about to 
pass a few lodges, but on receiving a very partic- 
ular invitation to come on shore, we landed, and 
were received in a lodge kindly; they presented 
us sugar. I gave the proprietor a dram, and was 
about to depart when he demanded a kettle of 
liquor; on being refused, and after I had left the 
shore, he told me he did not like the arrange- 
ments, and that he would go to war this suiiiiiicr. 
I directed the interpreter to tell liiinthalif 1 
returned to St. Peter's with the troops, 1 would 
settle that affair with him. On our arrival at tlie 
St. Croix, I found the Pettit Corbeau w ilh his 
people, and Messrs. Frazer and Wood, ^\'e had 
a conference, when the Pettit Corbeau made 



CAMERON SELLS LIQUOR TO INDIANS. 



many apologies for the misconduct of his people; 
he i-epreseiited to us the different manners in 
•which tlie young warriors liad been inducing him 
to go to war; that he had been much blamed for 
dismissing his party last fall; but that he was de- 
termined to adhere as far as lay in his power to 
our instructions; that he thouglit it most prudent 
to remain here and restrain the warriors. lie 
then presented me with a l)eaver robe and pipe, 
and his message to the general. That he was 
determined to preserve peace, and make the road 
clear; also a remembrance of his promised medal. 
I made a reply, calculated to confirm him in his 
good intentions, and assured him that he should 
not be the less remembered by his father, although 
not present. I was informed that, notwithstand- 
ing the instruction of his license, and my par- 
ticular request, Murdoch Cameron had taken 
liquor and sold it to the Indians on the river St. 
Peter's, and that his partner below had been 



equally imprudent. I pledged myself to prose- 
cute them according to law; for they have been 
the occasion of great confusion, and of much 
injury to the other traders. This day met a 
canoe of Mr. Dickson's loaded with provisions, 
under the charge of Mr. Anderson, brother of 
the Mr. Anderson at Leech Lake. He politely 
offered me any provision he had on board (for 
which Mr. Dickson had given me an order), but 
not now being in want, I did not accept of any. 
This day, for the first time, I observed the trees 
beginning to bud, and indeed the climate seemed 
to have changed very materially since we passed 
the Falls of St. Anthony." 

The strife of political parties growmg out of 
the French Eevoliition, and the declaration of 
war against Great Britain in the year 1812, post- 
poned the military occupation of the Upper 
Mississippi by the United States of America, for 
several years. 



80 



EXPLOBEBS AMJ PlOJS'EEIiS OF MlXSEtiOTA. 



cnAPTEE xni. 

THE TAI^LKY OF TICK XJFPER MISSISSU*ri DL'lilXU SEC0:N'D AVAK -WITH GRKAT 15KITAIX. 



Dickson and other tra'lors liostilf, — American slockado at Prairie tlu Chi^n — Fort 
Shelby siuTcnders to Lt. Col. William McKay— I,>yal tra«l«rs l*rovencaUc and 
Faribault— Rising Moose or Ono-eyed Sioux— Capt. Bulger evacuates Port 
McKay — ^Intellii'aiifO of Peace. 



Notwithstanding tlie professions of f riendsliip 
made to Pike, in tlie second war with Great Brit- 
ain, Dickson and others were found bearmg arms 
agahist tlie Republic. 

A year after Pike left Praiiie du Wiien, it was 
evident, that under some secret influence, the 
Indian tril les were combining agauist tlie United 
States. In the year 1809, Nicholas Jarrot declared 
that the British traders were f urnishmg the sav- 
ages with guns for hostile pui-poses. On the first 
of Ma)', 1H12, two Indians were apprehended at 
Chicago, who were on theu- way to meet Dickson 
at Green Bay. They had taken the precaution 
to hide letters in their moccasms, and bury them 
in the ground, and were allowed to proceed after 
a brief detention. Frazer, of Prairie du Cliien, 
who had been with Pike at the Council at the 
mouth of the Minnesota River, was at the port- 
age of the A\'isconsiu when the Indians deUvered 
these letters, which stated that the British flag 
would soon be flying again at Mackinaw. At 
Green Bay, the celebrated warrior. Black Hawk, 
was placed in charge of the Indians \\\\o were to 
aid the British. The American troops at ilacki- 
naw were obUged, on the seventeenth of July, 
1812, to capitulate without firing a single gun. 
One who was made prisoner, writes from Detroit 
to the Secretary of War : 

" The persons who commanded the Indians are 
Robert Dickson, Indian trader, and John Askin, 
Jr., Indian agent, and his son. The latter two 
were painted and dressed after the manner 
of the Indians. Those who commanded tliu 
Canadians are John Johnson, Crawford, Pothier, 
Annitinger, La Croix, Rolette, Franks, Living- 
ston, and Dther traders, some of whom were lately 
concerned in smuggUng British goods into the 



Indian eoimtry, and, in conjunction with others, 
have been using their utmost efforts, several 
months before the declaration of war, to excite 
the Indians to take up arms. The least resist- 
ance from the fort would have been attended 
with the destruction of all the persons who fell 
hito the hands of the British, as I have been as- 
sured by some of the British traders," 

On the first of May, 1814, Governor Clark, 
wiX\\ two luuidred men, left St. Louis, to build a 
fort at the junction of the 'Wisconsin and ilissis- 
sippi. Twenty days before he arrived at Prairie 
du Chien, Dickson had started for Mackinaw 
with a band of Dahkotalis and 'Winnebagoes. 
The place was left in command of Captain Deace 
and the Mackinaw Fencibles. The Dahkotahs 
refusing to co-operate, when the Americans made 
their appearance they fled. The Americans took 
possession of the old ilackinaw house, in which 
they foimd nine or ten trunks of papers belong- 
ing to Dickson. From one they took the follow- 
ing extract : 

" ' Arrived, from below, a few AViimebagoes 
with scalps. Gave them tobacco, six pomids 
powder and six pounds ball.' " 

A fort was immediately commenced on the 
site of the old residence of the late H. L. Dous- 
man, which was composed of two block-houses 
in the angles, and another on the bank of tlie 
river, with a subterranean communication. In 
honor of the governor of Kentucky it was named 
" Shelby." 

The fort was in charge of Lieutenant Perkuis, 
and sixty rank and file, and two gunboats, each 
of which carried a six-pounder; and several 
howitzers were cummaiided by Captains Yeiser, 
Sullivan, and Aid-de-camp Kennerly. 

The traders at Mackinaw, learning that the 
Americans had built a fort at the Prairie, and 
knowing that as long as they held possession 
i\w\ would be cut oil from the trade with the 



LOYALTY OF FARIBAVLT AND THE ONE-EYED SIOUX. 



81 



Dahkotalis, immediately raised an expedition to 
capture the garrison. 

Tlie captain was an old trader by the name of 
McKay, and imder him was a sergeant of ar- 
tillery, with a brass six-poimder, and tlu-ee or 
four volunteer companies of Canadian voyageurs, 
officered by Captains Griguon, Rolette and An- 
derson, ■with Lieutenants Brisbois and Duncan 
Graham, all dressed in red coats, with a niunber 
of Indians. 

The Americans had scarcely completed their 
rude fortification, before the British force, guid- 
ed by Joseph Kolette, Sr., descended m canoes 
to a point on the "Wisconsin, several miles from 
the Prairie, to which they marched in battle 
array. McKay sent a flag to the Fort demanding 
a surrender. Lieutenant Perkins replied that he 
would defend it to the last. 

A fierce encounter took place, in which the 
Americans were worsted. The officer was 
wounded, several men were killed and one of 
their boats captured, so that it became necessary 
to retreat to St. Louis. Port Shelby after its 
eaptiu-e, was called Fort McKay. 

Among the traders a few remained loyal, es- 
pecially Provencalle and J. B. Faribault, traders 
among the Sioux. Faribault was a prisoner 
among the British at the time Lieut. Col. Wm. 
McKay was preparing to attack For*" Shelby, and 
he refused to perform any seiTice, Faribault's 
wife, who was at Prairie du Chien, not Isnowing 
that her husband was a prisoner in the hands of 
the advancing foe, fled with others to the Sioirx 
village, where is now the city of Winona. Fari- 
bault was at length released on parole and re- 
turned to his trading post. 

Pike writes of his flag, that "being in doubt 

whether it had been stolen by the Indians, or had 

fallen overboai d and floated away, I sent for my 

friend the Orignal Leve." He also call« the 

Chief, Eising JNIoose, and gives his Sioux name 

Tahamie. He was one of those, who in 1805, 

signed the agreement, to surrender land at the 

jimction of the Muuiesota and Mississippi Eivers 

to the United States. He had but one eye, 

having lost the other when a boy, belonged to 

the Wapasha band of the Sioux, and proved 

true to the flag wliich had waved on the day he 

sat in council with Pike. 

In the fall of 1814, vrtth another of the same 
6 



nation, he ascended the Missouri under the pro- 
tection of the distinguished trader, Manual Lisa, 
as far as the An Jacques or James Eiver, and 
from thence struck across the country, enlisting 
the Sioux in favour of the United States, and at 
length arrived at Prairie du Cliien. On his arri- 
val, Dickson accosted him, and inquured from 
whence he came, and what was his business ; at 
the same time rudely snatching his bundle from 
his shoulder, and searching for letters, The 
"one-eyed warrior" told him that he was from 
St. Louis, and that he had promised the white 
chiefs there that he would go to Prairie du Ghien, 
and that he had kept his promise 

Dickson then placed him in confinement in 
Fort McKay, as the garrison was called by the 
British, and ordered him to divulge what infor- 
mation he possessed, or he wo aid put him to 
death. But the faithful fellow said he would 
impart nothing, and that he was ready for death 
if he wished to kill him. Findmg that confine- 
ment had no effect, Dickson at last'liberatedhim. 
He then left, and visited tlie bands of Sioux on 
the Upper ilississippi, with which he passed the 
winter. When he returned in the sprmg, Dick- 
son had gone to Mackinaw, and Capt. A. Bulger, 
of the Eoyal Xew Fouudland Eegiment, was in 
command of the fort. 

On the twenty-third ot May, 1815, Capt. Bul- 
ger, wrote from Fort JMcKay to Gov. Clark at St. 
Louis : " Official intelligence of peace reached 
me yesterday. I propose evacuatmg the fort, 
taking with me the gims captured in the fort. * 
* * * I have not the smallest hesitation in 
declaring my decided opinion, that the presence 
of a detachment of British and United States 
troops at the same time, would be the means of 
embroiling one party or the other in a fresh rup- 
ture with the Indians, which I presiune it is the 
wish of both governments to avoid." 

The next month the " One-Eyed Sioux," with 
three other Indians and a squaw, visited St. Louis, 
and he informed Gov. Clark, that the British 
commander left the cannons in the fort when he 
evacuated, but in a day or two came back, took 
the cannons, and fired the fort with the American 
flag flying, but that he rushed in and saved it 
fi-om being burned. From this time, the British 
flag ceased to float in the Valley of the Missis- 
sippi. 



62 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 



long's expedition, a. D. i817, in a SIX-OAUED skiff, to the falls of saint ANTHONY. 



Carver a Grandsons.— Roque, Sioux Intcrpretcr.—Waposhaw's Village and Its 
Vicinity.— A Sacred Dance.— Indian Villus" Below Da)-ton's Bluff.— Carver's 
Cave-— Fountain Cave.— Falls of St. Anthony Described,— Site or a Fort. 

Major Stephen II. Long, of the Engineer Corps 
of tlie United States Army, learning that there 
was little or no danger to be apprehended from 
the Indians, determined to ascend to the Falls of 
Saint Anthony, in a six-oared skiff presented to 
him hy Governor Clark, of Saint Louis. His 
party consisted of a Mr. Hempstead, a native of 
New London, Connecticut, whc had been living 
at Prairie du Chien, seven soldiers, and a half- 
breed interpreter, named Iloque. A bark canoe 
accompanied them, containing Messrs. Gun and 
King, grandsons of the celebrated traveler, Jona- 
than Carver. 

On the ninth ot July, 1817, the expedition left 
Prairie du Chien, and on the twelfth arrived at 
" Trempe a I'eau." lie writes : 

" When we stopped for breakfast, Mr. Ilemp- 
stead and myself ascended a high peak to take a 
view of the country. It is laio\\'n by the name 
of the Kettle Hill, having obtained this appella- 
tion from the circumstance of its having numer- 
ous piles of stone on its top, most of them 
fragments of the rocky stratifications which 
constitute the principal part of the hill, but some 
of them small piles made by the Indians. These 
at a distance have some similitude of kettle: 
arranged along upon the ridge and sides of the 
hill. Prom this, or almost any other eminence in 
its neighborhood, the beauty and grandeur of the 
prospect would bailie the skill of the most inge- 
'nious pencil to depict, and that of the most ac- 
complished pen to describe. Hills marshaled 
into a variety of agreeable shapes, some of them 
towering into lofty peaks, while others present 
broad summits embellished with contours and 
slopes in the most pleasing manner ; champaigns 
and waving valleys; forests, lawns, and parks 
alternating with each other; the humble Missis- 



sippi meandering far below, and occasionally 
losing itsel' in numberless islands, give variety 
and beauty to the picture, while rugged cliffs and 
stupendous precipices here and there present 
themselves as if to add bolilness and majesty to 
the scene. In the midst of this beautiful scenery 
is situated a village of the Sioux Indians, on an 
extensive lawn called the Aux Aisle I'rairie ; at 
which we lay by for a short time. On our amval 
the Indians hoisted two American flags, and we 
returned the comrliment by discharging our 
blunderbuss and pistols. They then fired several 
guns ahead of us by way of a salute, after which 
we landed and were received with much friend- 
ship. The name of their chief is Wauppaushaw, 
or the Leaf, commonly called by a name of the 
same import in French, La Feuille, or La Fye, 
as it is pronounced in English. He is considered 
one of the most honest and honorable of any of 
the Indians, and endeavors to inculcate into the 
minds of his people the sentiments and principles 
adopted by himself. He was not at home at the 
time I called, and I had no opportunity of seeuig 
him. The Indians, as I suppose, with the ex- 
pectation that I had something to communicate 
to them, assembled themselves at the place 
where I lauded and seated themselves upon the 
grass. I inquired if their chief was at home, 
and was answered in the negative. I then told 
them I should be very glad to see him, but as he 
w".s absent I would call on him again in a few 
days when I should return. I further told them 
that cur father, the new President, wished to ob- 
tain some more information relative to his red 
children, and that I was on a tour to acquire any 
intelligence he might stand in need of. With 
this they appeared well satisfied, and permitted 
Mr. Hempstead and myself to go through their 
village. While I was in the wigwam, one of the 
subordinate chiefs, whose name was Wazzecoota, 
or Shooter from the I'ine Tree, vobniteered to 



INITIATION OF A WARRIOR B7 A SAO RED DANGE. 



83 



accompany me np the river. I accepted of his 
Bervioes, and he was ready to attend me on the 
tour in a very short time. When we hove in 
sight the Indians were engaged in a ceremony 
called the Be^r Dance; a ceremony which they 
are in the habit of performing when any young 
man is desirous of bringing himself into partic- 
ular notice, and is considered a kind of initiation 
into the state of manhood. I went on to the 
ground where they had theii- performances, 
which were ended sooner than usual on account 
of our arrival. There was a kind of a flag made 
of fawn akin dressed with the hair on, suspended 
on a pole. Upon the flesh side of it were drawn 
certain rude figures indicative of the dream 
which it is necessary the young man should have 
dreamed, before he can be considered a proper 
candidate for this kind of initiation; with this a 
pipe was suspended by way of sacrifice. Two 
arrows were stuck up at the foot of the pole, 
and frrigments of painted feathers, etc., were 
strewed about the ground near to it. The.se per- 
tained to the religious rites attending the cere- 
mony, which consists in bewailing and self-mor- 
tiflcation, that the Good Spirit may be induced 
to pity them and succor their undertaking. 

"At the distance of two or three hundred 
yards from the flag, is an excavation which they 
call the bear's hole, prepared for the occasion. 
It is about two feet deep, and has two ditches, 
about one foot deep, leading across it at right an- 
gles. The young hero of the farce places himself 
in this hole, to be hunted by the rest of the young 
men, all of whom on this occasion are dressed in 
their best attire and painted in their neatest style. 
The hunters approach the hole in the direction of 
one of the ditches, and discharge their guns, 
which were previously loaded for the purpose 
with blank cartridges, at the one who acts the 
part of the bear; whereupon he leaps from his 
den, having a hoop in each hand, and a wooden 
lance; the hoops serving as forefeet to aid him 
in characterizing his part, and his lance to defend 
him from his assailants. Thus accoutred he 
dances round the place, exhibiting various feats 
of activity, while the other Indians pursue him 
and endeavor to trap him as he attempts to re- 
turn to his den, to eflfect which he is privileged to 
use any violence he pleases with impunity against 



his assailants, even to taking the life of any of 
them. 

" This part of the ceremony is performed three 
times, that the bear may escape from his den 
and retiirn to it again through three of the ave- 
nues communicating with it. On being hunted 
from the fourth or last avenue, the bear must 
make his escape through all his pursuers, if pos- 
sible, and flee to the woods, where he is to remain 
through the day. This, however, is seldom or 
never accomplished, as all the young men exert 
themselves to the utmost in order to trap him. 
When caught, he must retire to a lodge erected for 
his reception in the field, where he is to be se- 
cluded from all society through the day, except 
one of his particular friends whom he is allowed 
to take with him as an attendant. Here he 
smokes and performs various other rites which 
superstition has led the Indians to believe are sa- 
cred. After this ceremony is ended, the young 
Indian is considered qualified to act any part as 
an efficient member of their community. The 
Indian, who has the good fortune to catch the 
bear and overcome him when endeavoring to 
make his escape to the wood, is considered a 
candidate for preferment, and is, on the first suit- 
able occasion, appointed the leader of a small war 
party, in order that he may further have an op- 
portunity to test his prowess and perform more 
essential service in behalf of his nation. It is 
accordingly expected that he will kill some of 
their enemies and return with their scalps. I re- 
gretted very much that I had missed the oppor- 
tunity of witnessing this ceremony, which is 
never performed except when prompted by the 
particular dreams of one or other of the young 
men, who is never complimented twice in the 
same manner on account of his dreams." 

On the sixteenth he approached the vicinity of 
where is now the capital of Minnesota, and 
writes: "Set sail at half past four tliis morning 
with a favorable breeze. Pased an Indian bury- 
ing ground on our left, the first that I have seen 
surrounded by a fence. In the center a pole is 
erected, at the foot of whic'- religious rites are 
performed at the burial of an Indian, by the 
particular friends and relatives of the deceased. 
Upon the pole a flag is suspended when any per- 
son of extraordinary merit, or «ne who is very 
much beloved, is buried. In the inclosure were 



84 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOJA. 



two scaffolds erected also, about six feet high 
and six feet square. Upon one of them were two 
coflins containing dead bodies. Passed a Sioux 
village on our right conlaining fourteen cabins. 
The name of the chief is tlie Petit Corbeau, or 
Little Raven. The Indians were all absent on a 
hunting party up tlio Hiver St. Croix, whicli 
is but a little distance across tlie country from 
the village. Of this we were very glad, as this 
band are said to be the most notorious beggars 
of all the Sioux on tlie Mississippi. One of their 
cabms is furnished with loop holes, and is sit- 
uated so near tlie water that the opposite side 
of the river is within musket-shot range from 
the building. By tliis means the Petit Corbeau 
is enabled to exercise a command over the pass- 
age of the river and has in some instances com- 
pelled traders to land witli their goods, and in- 
duced them, probably tlirough fear of offending 
him, to bestow presents to a considerable amount, 
before he would suffer them to pass. The cabins 
are a kind of stockade buildings, and of a better 
appearance than any Indian dwellings I have 
before met with. 

" Two miles above the village, on the same 
side of the river, is Carver's Cave, at which we 
stopped to breakfast. However interesting it 
may have been, it does not possess that character 
in a very high degree at present. "\\'e descend- 
ed it witli lighted candles to its lower extremity. 
The entrance is very low and about eight feet 
broad, so that a man in order to enter it must be 
completely prostrate. Tlie angle of descent 
within the cave is about 25 deg. The flooring 
is an inclined plane of quicksand, formed of the 
rock in wliich the cavern is formed. The dist- 
ance from its entrance to its inner extremity is 
twenty-four paces, and the width in the broadest 
part about nine, and its greatest height about 
seven feet. In shape it resembles a bakers's oven. 
Tiie cavern was once probably much more ex- 
tensive. My mterpreter informed me that, since 
his remeniliiance, tlie entrance was not less 
than ten feet high and its lengtli far greater than 
at present. The rock in which it is formed is 
a very white sandstone, so friable that the frag- 
ments of it will almost crumble to sand when 
taken into the hand. A few yards below the 
mouth of the ciwern is a very copious spring of 
flue water issuing from the bottom of the cliff. 



" Five miles above this is the Fountain Cave, 
on the same side of the river, formed in the same 
kind of sandstone but of a more pure and line 
quality. It is far more curious and interesting 
than the former. The entrance of the cave is a 
large winding hall about one hundred and fifty 
feet in length, fifteen feet in width, and from 
eight to sixteen feet in height, finely arched 
overhead, and nearly perpendicular. Xext suc- 
ceeds a narrow passage and dilliciilt of entrancCj 
which opens into a most beautiful circular room, 
finely arched above, and about forty feet in di- 
ameter. The cavern then contiiuies a meander- 
uig course, expanding occasionally into small 
rooms of a circular form. We penetrated about 
one hundred and fifty yards, till our candles 
began to fail us, when we retmiied. To beauti- 
fy and emliellisli the scene, a fine crystal stre:ira 
Hows through the cavern, and cheers the lone- 
some dark retreat with its enlivening murmurs. 
The temperature of the water in the cave was 
40 deg., and that of the air 60 deg. Entering 
this cold retreat from an atmosphere of 89 deg., 
I thought it not prudent to remain in it long 
enough to take its several dimensions and me- 
ander its courses ; particularly as we had to w ade 
in water to our knees in many places in order to 
penetrate as far as we went. The fountam sup- 
plies an abundance of water as fine as I ever 
drank. This cavern I was informed by my 
interpreter, has been discovered but a few years. 
That the Indians formerly liraig in its neiglibor- 
hood knew nothing of it till witlun six years 
past. That it is not the same as that described 
by Carver is evident, not only from this circum- 
stance, but also from the circumstance that in- 
stead of a stagnant pool, and only one accessible 
room of a very different form, this cavern has 
a brook running through it, and at least four 
rooms in succession, one after the other. Car- 
ver's Cave is fast filling up with sand, so that 
no water is now found in it, whereas this, from 
the very nature of the place, must be enlarging 
as the fountain will carry along with its current 
all the sand that falls into it from the roof and 
sides of the cavern." 

On the night of the sixteenth, he arrived at tlie 
Falls of 8aint Anthony and encamped on the east 
sliore just below the cataract. He writes in '.lis 
journal : 



DESCBIPTION OF FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY. 



85 



"Tiie place where we encamped last night need- 
ed no embellishment to render it romantic in the 
highest degree. The banks on both sides of the 
river are about one hundred feet high, decorated 
with trees and shrubbery of various kinds. The 
post oak, hickory, walnut, linden, sugar tree, 
white birch, and the American box ; also various 
evergreens, such as the pine, cedar, juniper, 
etc., added their embellishments to the scene. 
Amongst the shrubery were the prickly ash, 
plum, and cherry tree, the gooseberry, the black 
and red raspberry, the chokeberry, grape vine, 
etc. There were also various kinds of herbage 
and (lowers, among which were the wild parsley, 
rue, spikenard, etc., red and white roses, morning 
glory and various other handsome flowers. A 
few yards below us was a beautiful cascade of 
fine spring water, pouring down from a project- 
ing precipice about one hundred feet hight. On 
our left was the Mississippi hurrying through its 
channel with great velocity, and about three 
quarters of a mile above us, in plain view, was 
the majestic cataract of the Falls of St. Anthony. 
The murmuring of the cascade, the roaring of the 
river, and the thunder of the cataract, all contrib- 
uted to render the scene the most interesting and 
magnificient of any I ever before witnessed." 

"Tlie perpendicular fall of the water at the 
cataract, was stated by Pike in his journal, as six- 
teen and a half feet, which I found to be true by 
actual measurement. To this height, however, 
four or five feet may be added for the rapid des- 
cent which immediately succeeds to the perpen- 
dicular fall within a few yards below. Immedi- 
ately at the cataract the river is divided into two 
parts by an island which extends considerably 
above and below the cataract, and is about five 
hundred yards long. The channel on the right 
side of the Island is about three times the width 
of that on the left. The quanity of water pass- 
ins through them is not, however, in the same 
proportion, as about oue-tliird part of the whole 
passes through the left channel. In the broadest 
channel, just below the cataract, is a small island 
also, about fifty yards in length and thirty in 
breadth. Both of these islands contain the same 
kind of rocky formation as the banks of the river, 
and are nearly as high. Besides these, there are 
immediately at the foot of the cataract, two 
islands of very inconsiderable size, situated in 



the right channel also. The rapids commence 
several hundred yards above the cataract and 
continue about eight miles below. The fall of 
the water, beginning at the head of the rapids, 
and extending two hundred and sixtj' rods down 
tlie river to where the portage road commences, 
below the cataract is, according to Pike, fifty- 
eight feet. If this estimate be correct the whole 
fall from the head to the foot of the rapids, is not 
probably much less than one hundred feet. But 
as I had no instrument sutBciently accurate to 
level, where the view must necessarily be pretty 
extensive, I took no pains to ascertain the extent 
of the fall. The mode I adopted to ascertain 
the height of a cataract, was to suspend a line 
and plummet from tlie table rock on the south 
side of the river, which at the same time had 
very little water passing over it as tlie river was 
unusually low. The rocky formations at this 
place were arranged in the following order, from 
the surface downward. A coarse kind of lime- 
stone in thin strata containing considerable silex; 
a kind of soft friable stone of a greenish color 
and slaty fracture, probably containing lime, 
aluminum and silex ; a very beautiful satratifica- 
tton of shell limestone, in thin plates, extremely 
regular in its formation and containing a vast 
number of shells, all apparently of the same 
kind. This formation constitutes the Table Rock 
of the cataract. The next in order is a white or 
yellowish sandstone, so easily crumbled that it 
deserves the name of a sandbank rather than that 
of a rock. It is of various depths, from ten to 
fifty or seventy-five feet, and is of the sa^ie char- 
acter with that found at the caves before des- 
cribed. The next in order is a soft friable sand- 
stone, of a greenish color, similar to that resting 
upon the shell limestone. These stratifications 
occupied the whole space from the lovv' water 
mark nearly to the top of the blulfs. On the east, 
or rather north side of the river, at the Falls, are 
high grounds, at the distance of half a mile from 
the ri\'er, considerably more elevated than the 
bluffs, and of a hilly aspect. 

Speaking of the bluff at the confluence Ox Jie 
Mississippi and Minnesota, he writes: "A military 
work of considerable magnitude might be con- 
structed on the pomt, and might be rendered 
suflSciently secure by occupying the commanding 
height in the rear in a siutable manner, as the 



86 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



latter would control not only the point, but all 
the neighboring heights, to the fuU extent of a 
tw'elve pounder's range. The work on the point 
would be necessary to control the navigation of 
the two rivers. But without the commandmg 
work in the rear, would be liable to be greatly 
annoyed from a height situated directly opposite 



on the other side of the Mississippi, which is 
here no more than about two hundred and fifty 
yards wide. This latter height, however, would 
not be eligible for a permanent past, on account 
of the niunerous ridges and ravines situated im- 
mediately in its rear." 



EABLY HISTOBY OF RED BIYEB VALLEY, 



87 



CHAPTER XV. 



THOMAS DOUGLAS, EARL OF SKLKIRK, AND THE RED BIVER VALLEY. 



Early travelers to Lake Winnipeg — Earliest Map by tlie Indian Otchaga— Bcllin's 
allusion to it — Verendrye's Map— De la Jemeraye's Map — Fort La Heine— Fort 
on Red River abandoned — Origin of name Red Lake — Earl of Selkirk— Ossini- 
boia described— Scotch immifn-ants at Pembina- Strife of trading companies- 
Earl of Selkirk \-isits America- Governor Semple Killed— Romantic life of John 
Tanner, and his son James — Letter relative to Selkirk's tour through Minne- 
sota. 

The valley of the Red Biver of the North is 
not only an important portion of Minnesota, but 
has a most interesting history. 

While there is no evidence that Groselliers, the 
iirst white man who explored Minnesota, ever 
visited Lake Winnipeg and the Eed River, yet he 
met the Assineboines at the head of Lake Supe- 
rior and at Lake Nepigon, while on his way by a 
northeasterly trail to Hudson's Bay, and learned 
something of this region from them. 

Tlie first person, of whom we have an account, 
who visited the region, was an Englishman, who 
came in 1692, by way of York River, to Winni- 
peg. 

Ochagaclis, or Otchaga, an intelligent Indian, in 
1728, assured Pierre C4ualtier de Varenne, known 
in history as the Sieur Verendrye, wliile he was 
stationed at Lake Nepigon, that there was a 
communication, largely by water, west of Lake 
Superior, to the Great Sea or Pacific Ocean. The 
rude map, drawn by this Indian, was sent to 
Prance, and is still preserved. Upon it is marked 
Kamanistigouia, the fort first established by Du 
Luth. Pigeon River is called Mantohavagane. 
Lac Sasakanaga is marked, and Rainy Lake is 
named Tecamemiouen. The river St. Louis, of 
Minnesota, is R. fond du L. Superior. The 
French geographer, BelUn, in his " Remarks 
upon the map of North America," published in 
1755, at Paris, alludes to this sketch of Ochagachs, 
aftd says it is the earliest drawing of the region 
west of Lake Superior, in the Depot de la Marine. 

After this Verendrye, in 1737, drew a map, 
which remains unpublished, which shows Red 
Lake in Northern Minnesota, and the point of 
the Big AVoods in the Red River Valley. There 



is another sketch in the archives of Prance, 
drawn by De la -Jemeraye. He was a nephew of 
Verendrye, and, under ins uncle's orders, he was 
in 1731, the first to advance from the Grand 
Portage of Lake Superior, by way of the Nalao- 
uagan or Groselliers, now Pigeon River, to Ramy 
Lake. On this appears Fort Rouge, on the south 
bank of the Assineboine at its junction with the 
Red River, and on the Assineboine, a post estab- 
lished on October 3, 1738, and called Fort La 
Reine. BelUn describes the fort on Red River, 
but asserts that it was abandoned because of its 
vicinity to Fort La Reme, on the north side of 
the Assinneboine, and only about nuie miles by 
a portage, from Swan Lake. Red Lake and Red 
River were so called by the early French explo- 
rers, on account of the reddish tint of the waters 
after a storm. 

Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, a wealthy, 
kind-hearted but %isionary Scotch nobleman, at 
the commencement of the present century formed 
the design of planting a colony of agriculturists 
west of Lake Superior. In the year 1811 he 
obtained a grant of land from the Hudson Bay 
Company called Ossiniboia, which it seems 
strange has been given up by the people of Man- 
itoba. In the autumn of 1812 a few Scotchmen 
with their families arrived at Pembina, in the 
Red River Valley, by way of Hudson Bay, where 
they passed the winter. In the winter of 1813-14 
they were again at Fort Daer or Pembina. The 
colonists of Red River were rendered very un- 
happy by the strife of rival trading companies. 
In the spring of 1815, McKenzie and Morrison, 
traders of the Northwest company, at Sandy 
Lake, told the Ojibway chief there, that they 
would give him and his band all the goods and 
rum at Leech or Sandy Lakes, if they would an- 
noy the Red River settlers. 

The Earl of Selkirk hearing of the distressed 
condition of his colony, sailed for America, and 



88 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



in the fall of 1815, arrived at New York City. 
Proceftling to Monti-eal he found a messenger 
who had traveled on foot in mid-wmter from the 
Bed Hirer by M&y of Ked Lake and Ton du Lac, 
of Lake Superior. He sent back by this man, 
kind messages to the dispirited settlers, but one 
night he was way-laid near Fou du Lac, and 
robbed of his canoe and dispatches. \n Ojib- 
way chief at Sandy Lake, aftera-ards testified 
that a trader named Grant offered him nun and 
tobacco, to send persons to uitercept a bearer of 
dispatches to Red River, and soon the messenger 
was brought in by a negro and some Indians. 

Failing to obtain military aid fmrn the 
British authorities in Canada, Selkirk made an 
engagement with four officers and eighty privates, 
of the discharged Meuron regiment, twenty of 
the De WattevLUe, and a few of the Glengary 
Fencibles, which had served in the late war with 
the United States, to accompany him to Bed 
Biver. They were to receive monthly wages for 
navigating the boats to Red River, to have lands 
assigned them, and a fiee passage if they wished 
to return. 

"\\1ien he reached Sault St. ^Nlaiie. he received 
the intelUgeuce that the colony had again been 
destroyed, and that Semple, a mild, amiable, but 
not altogether judicious man, the chief governor 
of the factories and territories of the Hudson 
Bay company, residing at Red River, had been 
kiUed. 

Schoolcraft, in 1832, says he saw at Leech 
Lake, Majegabowi, the man who had killed Gov. 
Semple, after he fell woimded from his horse. 

Before he heard of the death of Semple, the 
Earl of Selkirk had made arrangements to visit 
his colony by way of Fon du Lac, on the St. Louis 
Biver, and Red Lake of ilinnesota, but he now 
changed his mind, and proceede<l with his force 
to Fort William, the chief trading post of the 
Korthwest Company on Lake Superior ; and ap- 
prehending the principal partners, warrants of 
commitment were issued, and they were forward- 
ed to the Attorney-General of T'pper Canada. 

^\hile Selldrk was engaged at Fort AVilliam, 
a party of < rnigrants in ch<u-ge of Jliles McDon- 
nel, Governor, and Captain D'Orsomen, W'ent 
forward to reinforce the colony. At Rainy 
Lake they obtained the guidance of a man « ho 
had all the characteristics of an Indian, and yet 



had a bearing which suggested a different origin. 
By his efficiency and temperate habits, he had se- 
cured the respect of his employers, and on the Earl 
of Selkirk's arrival at Red River, his attention was 
called to him, and in his welfare he became 
deeply interested. By repeated conversations 
with him. memories of a different kind of exist- 
ence were aroused, and the light of other days 
began to l)righten. Though he had forgotten his 
father's name, he furnished sufficient data for 
Selkirk to proceed willi a search for his relatives. 
Visiting the United States in 1817, he published 
a circular in the papers of the Western States, 
which led to the identification of the man. 

It appeared from his own statement, and 
those of his friends, that his name was John 
Tamier, the son of a miTiister of the gospel, who, 
about the year 1790, lived on the Ohio river, near 
the Miami. Sliortly after his location there, a 
band of roving Indians jiassed near the house, 
and found John Tanner, then a little boy, filling 
his hat with wahints from under a tree. They 
seized him and fled. The party was led by an 
Ottawa whose wife had lost a son. To compen- 
sate for his death, the mother begged that a boy 
of the same age might be captured. 

Adopted by the band, Tanner grew up an 
Indian m his tastes and habits, ami was noted 
for bravery. Selkirk was successful in finding 
his relatives. After twenty-eight years of sepa- 
ration, Jolni Tanner in 1818, met his brother 
Edward near Detroit, and went with him to his 
home in Missouri. lie soon left his brother, and 
went back to the Indians. For a time he was 
interpreter for Henry R. Schoolcraft, but became 
lazy and ill-natured, and in 1S36, skulking behind 
some bushes, he shot and killed Schoolcraft's 
brother, and fled to the wilderness, where, in 
1847, he died. His son, James, was kindly treatr 
ed by the missionaries to the Ojibways of Minne- 
sota; but he walked in the footsteps of his father. 
In the year 1851, he attempted to impose upon 
the Presbyterian mmister in Saint Paul, and, 
when detected, called upon the Baptist minister, 
who, beUeving him a penitent, cut a hole in tlie 
ice, and received him into the church by immer- 
sion. In time, the Baptistsfound him out, when 
he became an Unitarian missionary, and, at last, 
it is said, met a death by violence. 

Lord Selkirk was in the lied River "^^illey 



EAUL OF SELKIBK VISITS SAINT LOUIS. 



8f' 



during the summer of 1817, and on the eighteenth 
of July concluded a treaty with the Crees and 
Saulteaux, for a tract of land beginning at the 
mouth of the Red River, and extending along 
the same as far as the Great Forks (now Grand 
Forks) at the mouth of Red Lake River, and 
along the Assimiiboine River as far as Musk Rat 
River, and extending to the distance of six miles 
from Fort Douglas on every side, and likewise 
from Fort Daer (Pembina) and also from the 
Great Forks, and in other parts extending to the 
distance of two miles from the banks of the said 
rivers. 

Having restored order and confidence, attend- 
ed by three or four persons he crossed the plains 
to the Miimesota River, and from thence pro- 
ceeded to St. Louis. The Indian agent at 
Prairie du Chien was not pleased with Selkirk's 
trip through- Minnesota ; and on the sixth of 
February, 181S, wrote the Governor of Illinois 
under excitement, some groundless suspicions : 

•' "What do you suppose, sir, has been the re- 
sult of the passage through my agency of this 
British nobleman? Two entire bands, and part 
of a third, all Sioux, have deserted us and joined 
Dickson, wlio has distributed to them large quan- 
tities of Indian presents, together with flags, 
medals, etc. KJiowing this, what must have been 
my feelings on hearing that his lordship had met 
with a favourable reception at St. Louis. The 
newspapers announcing his arrival, and general 
Scottish appearance, all tend to discompose me ; 
believing as I do, that he is plottuig with his 
friend Dickson our destruction — sharpening the 
savage scalping knife, and colonizing a tract of 
country, so'remote as that of the Red River, for 
the purpose, no doubt, of monopolizing tlie fur 
and peltry trade of this river, the JSIissouri and 
their waters; a trade of the first importance to 
our Western States and Territories. A courier 
who had arrived a few days since, confirms the 
belief that Dickson is endeavouring to undo what 
I have done, and secure to the British govern- 
ment the affections of the Sionx, and subject the 
Northwest Company to his lordship. * * * 



Dickson, as I have before observed, is situated 
near the head of the St. Peter's, to which place 
he transports his goods from Selkirk's Red River 
establishment, in carts made for the purpose. 
The trip is performed in live days, sometimes 
less. He is directed to build a fort on the high- 
est land between Lac du Traverse and Red River, 
which he supposes will be the established lines. 
This fort will be defended by twenty men, with 
two small pieces of artillery." 

In the year 1820, at Berne, Switzerland, a cir- 
cular was issued, signed, R. May D'Uzistorf, 
Captain, in his Britannic Majesty's sei-vice, and 
agent Plenipotentiary to Lord Selkirk. Like 
msuiy documents to induce emigration, it was so 
highly colored as to prove a delusion and a 
snare. The climate was represented as " mild 
and liealthy." " Wood either for building or 
fuel in the greatest plenty," and the country 
supplymg " in profusion, whatever can be re- 
quired for the convenience, pleasure or comfort 
of life." Remarkable statements considering 
that every green thing had been devoured the 
year before by grasshoppers. 

Under the influence of tiiese statements, a num- 
ber were induced to embark. In the spring of 
1821, about two hundred persons assembled on 
the banks of the Rhine to proceed to the region 
west of Lake Superior. Having descended the 
Rhine to the vicinity of Rotterdam, they went 
aboard the ship "Lord Wellington," and after a 
voyage across the Atlantic, and amid the ice- 
floes of Hudson's Bay, they reached York Fort. 
Here they debarked, and entering batteaux, as- 
cended Nelson River for twenty days, when they 
came to Lake AV'innipeg, and coasting along the 
west shore they reached the Red River of the 
North, to feel that they had been deluded, and 
to long for a milder clime. If they did not sing 
the Switzer's Song of Home, they appreciated its 
sentiments, and gradually these immigrants re- 
moved to the banks of the Mississippi River. 
Some settled in Minnesota, and were the first to 
raise cattle, and till the soil. 



90 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

rOET SNELLDTG DUTtlNG ITS OCCTTPANCY BY COSfPAXTES OF THE FIFTH EEGniENT U. S. DTFAUTBT. 

A. D. 1H19, TO A. D. 1827. 



Orders for military occupation of Upper Mississippi— Leavenworth and Forsyth 
at Prajrie du Chion— Birth in Camp — Troops arrive at Mendota—Cantoninent 
Kstablished— Wheat carried to Pembina— Notice of Devotion, Prescott, and 
Mjyor Taliaferro— fanip Cold Water Estahlished— Col. Snelling takes command 
— Impressive Scene— Oififcrs in 1820— Condition of the Fort in 1821— Saint 
Anthony Mill— Alexis Bailly takes cattle to Pembina— Notice of Beltrami- 
Arrival of first Steamboat — Ma,ior Long's Expedition to Northern Boundary — 
Beltrami visits the northern sources of the Mississippi— First flour mill — First 
Sunday School— Great flt>od in 1S26. African slaves at the Fort — Steamboat 
Arrivals — Duels— Notice of William Joseph Snelling — Indian fight at the Fort- 
Attack upon keel boats — (icneral Gaines* report — Removal of Fifth Regiment — 
Death of Colonel Snelling. 

The nimor that Lord Selkirk was founding a 
colony on the borders of the United States, and 
that the British trading companies within the 
boundaries of what became the territory of ^lin- 
nesota, convinced the authorities at Washington 
of the importance of a military occupation of the 
valley of the Upper ^lississippi. 

By direction of ilajor General Brown, the fol- 
lowing order, on the tenth of February, 1819, was 
issued : 

" Major General Macomb, commander of the 
Fifth Military department, will without delay, 
concentrate at Detroit the Fifth Regiment of In- 
fantry, excepting the recruits otlierwisu directed 
by the general order herewith transmitted. As 
soon as the navigation of the lakes will admit, he 
will cause the regiment to be transported to Fort 
Howard ; from thence, by the way of tlie Fox 
and Wisconsin Rivers, to Prairie du Chien, and, 
after detaching a sufDcient number of companies 
to garrison Forts Crawford and ^Vnnstrong, the 
remainder will proceed to the mouth of the River 
St. Peter's, where they will establish a post, at 
whicli the headquarters of the regiment will be 
located. The regiment, previous to its depar- 
ture, will receive the necessary suppUes of cloth- 
ing, provisions, arms, and ammunition. Imme- 
diate application will be made to Brigadier Gen- 
eral Jesup, Quartermaster General, for funds 
necessary to execute the movements required by 
this order." 

On the thiiteenth of April, this additional order 
was issued, at Detroit : 



" The season having now an-ived when the 
lakes may be navigated with safety, a detach- 
ment of the Fifth Regiment, to consist of Major 
ilarston's and Captain Fowle's companies, under 
the command of Major Muhlenburg, will proceed 
to Green Bay. Surgeon's ^Mate, R. ^I. Byrne, of 
the Fifth Regiment, will accompany the detach- 
ment. The Assistant Deputy Quartermaster 
General will furnish the necessary transport, and 
will send by the same opportunity two hundred 
barrels of provisions, which he will draw from the 
contractor at tliis post. The provisions must be 
examined ami inspected, and properly put up for 
transportation. Colonel Leavenworth will, with- 
out delay, prepare his regiment to move to the 
post on the Mississippi, agreeable to the Divi- 
sion order of tlie tenth of Febniary. The Assist- 
ant Deputy Quartermaster General will furnish 
the necessary transportation, to be ready by the 
first of jSIay next. The Colonel will make requi- 
sition for such stores, ammunition, tools and 
implements as may be required, and he be able to 
take with him on the expedition. Particular in- 
stnietions will be given to the Colonel, explaining 
the objects of his expedition." 

EVENTS OF THE YEAK 1819. 

On Wednesday, the last day of June, Col. Leav- 
enworth and troops arrived from Green Bay, at 
Prairie du Chien. Scarcely had they reached 
this point when Charlotte Seymour, the wife of 
Lt. Nathan Clark, a native of Hartford, Ct., 
gave buth to a daugliter, whose first baptismal 
name was Charlotte, after her mother, and the 
second Oiusconsin, given by the ofHcers in view 
of tlie fact that she was born at the junction of 
that stream with the Mississippi. 

In time Charlotte Ouisconsin married a young 
Lieutenant, a native of Princeton. Xew Jersey, 
and a graduate of West Point, and still resides 
with her husband, General II. P. Van Cleve, in 



COL. LEAVENWORTH ABBIVES AT MENDOTA 



91 



the city of Miui ^sapolis, living to do good as slie 
has opportunity. 

In June, luifler instnictions from the AVar 
Department, Major Tliomas Forsyth, connected 
with the office of Indian affairs, left St. Louis 
with two thousand dollars worth of goods to be 
distributed among the Sioux Indians, m accor- 
dance with the agreement of 1805, already re- 
ferred to, by the late General Pike. 

About nine o'clock of the morning of the fifth 
of July, he joined Leavenworth and his conunand 
at Prairie du Cliien. Some time was occupied by 
Leavenworth awaiting the arrival of ordnance, 
provisions and recruits, but on Sunday morning, 
the eightli of August, aljout eight o'clock, the 
expedition set out for the point now known as 
Mendota. The flotilla was quite imposing ; there 
were the C'oloners barge, fourteen batteaux with 
ninety-eight soldiers and officers, two large canal 
or ]SIackinaw boats, filled with various stores, and 
Forsyth'rj keel boat, containing goods and pres- 
ents fov the Indians. On the twenty-third of 
Angus*", Forsyth reached the mouth of the Min- 
nesota with his boat, and the next monring Col. 
Leave iworth arrived, and selecting a place at 
Mendota, near the present railroad bridge, he 
ordered the soldiers to cut down trees and make 
a clearing. On the next Saturday Col. Leaven- 
worth, Iilajor Vose, Surgeon Purcell, Lieutenant 
Clark and the wife of Captain Gooding ivited 
the Falls of Saint Anthony with Forsyth, in 
his keel boat. 

Early in September two more boats and a bat- 
teaux, with officers and one hundred and twenty 
recruits, arrived. 

During the winter of 18:20, Laidlow and others, 
in behalf of Lord Selkirk's Scotch settlers at 
Pembina, whose crops had been destroyed by 
grasshoppers, passed the Cantonment, on their 
way to Prairie du Chien, to purchase wheat. 
Upon the fifteenth of April they began their 
return with their Mackinaw boats, each loaded 
with two himdred bushels of wheat, one himdred 
of oats, and thirty of peas, and reached the mouth 
of the ^Minnesota early in JIay. Ascending this 
stream to Big Stone Lake, the boats were drawn 
on rollers a mile and a half to Lake Traverse, 
and on the third of June arrived at Pemliinaand 
cheered the desponding and needy settlers of the 
Selkirk colony. 



The first sutler of the post was a Mr. Devotion. 
He brought with him a young man named Phi- 
lander Prescott, who was born in 1801 , at Phelps- 
town, Ontario county, New York. At first they 
stopped at Mud Hen Island, in the Mississippi 
below the mouth of the St. Croix Kiver. Coming 
up late in the year 1819, at the site of the pres- 
ent town of Hastings they found a keel-boat 
loaded with supplies for the cantonment, m charge 
of Lieut. OUver, detained by the ice. 

Amid all the changes of the troops, Mr. Pres- 
cott remained nearly all his life in the vicinity of 
the post, to which he came when a mere lad, and 
was at length killed in the Sioux Massacre. 

EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1820 

In the spring of 1820, Jean Baptiste Faribault 
brought up Leavenworth's horses from Prairie 
du Cliien. 

The first Indian Agent at the post was a former 
army officer, LawTence Taliaferro, pronounced 
Toliver. As he had the confidence of the Gov- 
ernment for twenty-one successive years, he is 
deserving of notice. 

His family was of Italian origin, and among 
the early settlers of Virgmia. He was born in 
1794, in King WilUam county in that State, and 
when, in 1812, war was declared against Great 
Britain, with four brothers, he entered the army, 
and was commissioned as Lieutenant of the 
Thirty-fifth Infantry. He behaved gallantly at 
Fort Erie and Sackett's Harbor, and after peace 
was declared, he was retained as a First Lieuten- 
ant of the Third Infantry. In 1816 he was sta- 
tioned at Fort Dearborn, now the site of Chicago. 
AVTiile on a furlough, he called one day upon 
President Monroe, who told him that a fort would 
be built near the Falls of Saint Anthony, and an 
Indian Agency estalilished, to which he offered 
to appoint him. His commission was dated 
March 27th, 1819, and he proceeded in due time 
to his post. 

On the fifth day of May, 1820, Leavenworth 
left his winter quarters at Mendota, crossed the 
stream and made a summer camp near the 
present miUtary grave yard, which in consequence 
of a fine spring has been called " Camp Cold 
Water." The Indian agency, under Taliaferro, 
remained for a tune at the old cantonment. 

The commanding officer estabUshed a fine 



92 



EXPLOREBS AND PIONEEBH OF JiUJ^NESOTA. 



guiilen in the bottom lands of the iliniiesota, 
and on tlie flfteenth of June the earliest garden 
peas were eaten. The first distinguished visitors 
at the new encampment were (iovcrnor Lewis 
Cass, of Michigan, and Henry Schoolcraft, who 
arrived in July, by way of Lake Superior and 
Sandy Lake. 

The relations between Col. Leavenworth and 
Indian Agent Taliaferro were not entirely har- 
monious, growing out of a disagreement of views 
relative to the treatment of the Indians, and on 
the day of the arrival of Governor Cass, Tal- 
iaferro writes to Leavenworth : 

" As it is now imderstood that I am agent for 
Indian affairs in this country, and you are about 
to leave the upper Mississippi, in all probability 
in the course of a month or two, I beg leave to 
suggest, for the sake of a general luiderstanding 
with the Indian tribes in this country, that any 
medals, you may possess, would by being turned 
over to me, cease to be a topic of remark among 
the different Indian tribes under my direction. 
I will pass to you any voucher that may be re- 
quired, and I beg leave to observe that any pro- 
gress in influence is much impeded in conse- 
quence of this frequent intercourse with the gar- 
rison." 

In a few days, the disastrous effect of Indians 
mingling with the soldiers was exhibited. On 
the third of August, the agent wrote to Leaven- 
worth: 

" His Excellency Governor Cass during his 
visit to this post remarked to me that the Indians 
jn this quarter were spoiled, and at the same 
time said they should not be permitted to enter 
the camp. An unpleasant affair has lately taken 
place ; I mean the stabbing of the old chief 
Mahgossau l>y his comrade. This was caused, 
doubtless, by an anxiety to obtain the chief's 
whiskey. I beg, therefore, that no whiskey 
whatever be given to any Indians, unless it be 
through their proper agent. "While an overplus 
of whiskey thwarts the benificent and humane 
poUcy of the government, it entails misery upon 
the Indians, and endangers their lives." 

A few days after this note was v.ritten Josiah 
Snelling, who had been recently promoted to the 
Colonelcy of the Fifth Regiment, arrived with 
his family, relieved Leavenworth, and infused 
new life and energy. A little while before his 



arrival, the daughter of Captain Gooding was 
married to Lieutenant Green, the Adjutant of 
the regiment, the first maniage of white persons 
in ^ILunesota. Mrs. Snelling, a few days after 
her an-ival, gave birth to a daughter, the first 
white child born in Minnesota, and after a brief 
existence of thirteen months, she died and was 
the first interred in the military grave yard, and 
for years the stone which marked its resting 
place, was visible. 

The earUest manuscript in Minnesota, written 
at the Cantonment, is dated October 4, 1820, and 
is in the handwriting of Colonel Snelling. It 
reads : " In justice to Lawrence Taliaferro, Esq., 
Indian Agent at this post, we, tlie midersigned, 
officers of the Fiftli Regiment here stationed, 
have presented him this paper, as a token, not 
only of our individual respect and esteem, but as 
an entire approval of his conduct and deportment 
as a public agent in this quarter. Given at St. 
Peter, this 4th day of October, 1820. 

J. Snellixg, N. Clark, 

Col. 5th Inf. Lieutenant. 

S. BuEBANK, Jos. Hare, 

Br. Major. Lieutenant. 

David Perut, Ed. Purcell, 

Captain. Surgeon, 

D. Gooding, P. R. Green, 
Brevet Captain. Lieut, and Adjt. 

J. Plyjii'ton, ^y. G. Cajip, 

Lieutenant. Lt. and Q. M. 

E. A. McCabe, H. Wilkins, 

Lieutenant. Lieutenant." 

During the summer of 1820, a party of the 
Sisseton Sioux killed on the Missoiu:i, Isadore 
Poupon, a half-breed, and Joseph Andrews, a 
Canadian engaged in the fur trade. The Indian 
Agent, through Colin Campbell, as interpreter, 
notified the Sissetons that trade would cease 
with tliein, until the murderers were delivered. 
At a council held at Big Stone Lake, one of the 
murderers, and the aged father of another, agreed 
to surrender themselves to the commanding 
oflicer. 

On the twelfth of November, accompanied by 
their friends, they approached the encampment 
in solemn procession, and marched to the centre 
of the parade. First appeared a Sisseton bear- 
ing a British flag ; then the murderer and the de- 
voted father of another, their arms i)inioned,and 



ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 



93 



large wooden splinters thrust througb the flesh 
above the elbows indicating their contempt for 
pain and death ; in the rear followed friends and 
relatives, with them chanting the death dirge. 
Having arrived in front of the guard, fire was 
kindled, and tlie British flag burned ; then the 
murderer delivered up his medal, and both prison- 
ers were surrounded. Col. Snelling detained t'.;e 
old cliief, while the murderer was sent to St. 
Louis for trial. 

EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1S21. 

Col. Snelling built the fort in the shape of a 
lozenge, in view of the projection between the 
two rivers. The first row of barracks was of 
liewu logs, obtained from the pine forests of Rum 
River, but the other buildings were of stone. 
JNIrs. Van Cleve, the daughter of Lieutenant, 
afterwards Captain Clark, writes : 

" In 1821 the fort, although not complete, was 
fit fur occupancy. JNIy father had assigned to 
him the quarters next beyond the steps leading 
to tlie Commissary's stores, and during the year 
my little sister Juliet was bom there. At a later 
period my father and Major Garland obtained 
permission to build more commodious quarters 
outside the walls, and the result was the two 
stone houses afterwards occupied by the Indian 
Agent and interpreter, lately destroyed." 

Early in August, a young and intelligent mixed 
blood, Alexis Bailly, in after years a member of 
the legislature of ^Minnesota, left the cantonment 
with the first drove of cattle for the Selkirk Set- 
tlement, and the next winter returned with Col. 
Robert Dickson and Messrs. Laidlow and Mac- 
kenzie. 

The next montli, a party of Sissetons visited 
the Indian Agent, and told him that they had 
started with another of the murderers, to which 
reference has been made, but that on the way he 
had, through fear of being hung, killed himself. 

This fall, a mill was constructed for the use of 
the garrison, on the west side of St. Anthony 
Falls, under the supervision of LieutenantMeCabe. 
During the fall, George Gooding, Captain by 
brevet, resigned, and became Sutler at Prairie du 
Chien. He was a native of Massachusetts, and 
entered the army as ensign in 1808. In 1810 he 
became a Second Lieutenant, and the next year 
was wounded at Tippecanoe. 



In the middle of October, there embarked on 
the keel-boat " Saucy Jack," for Prairie du Chien, 
Col. Snelling, Lieut. Baxley, Major Taliaferro, 
and Mrs. Gooding, 

EVENTS OF 1822 AND 1823. 

Early in January, 1822, there came to the Fort 
from the Red River of the North, Col. Robert 
Dickson, Laidlow, a Scotch farmer, the superin- 
tendent of Lord Selkirk's experimental farm, and 
one Mackenzie, on their way to Prairie du Chien. 
Dickson returned with a drove of cattle, but 
( iwing to the hostility of the Sioux his cattle were 
scattered, and never reached Pembina. 

During the winter of 1823, Agent Taliaferro 
was in Washington. While returning in March, 
lie was at a hotel in Pittsburg, when he received 
a note signed G. C. Beltrami, who was an Italian 
exile, asking permission to accompany him to the 
Indian territory. He was tall and commanding 
in appearance, and gentlemanly in bearing, and 
Taliaferro was so forcibly impressed as to acced.; 
to the request. After reaching St. Louis tliey 
embarked on the first steamboat for the Upper 
Mississippi. 

It was named tlie Virginia, and was built in 
Pittsburg, twentj'-two feet in width, and one 
hundred and eigliteen feet in lengtli, in charge of 
a Captain Crawford. It reached the Fort on the 
tenth of May, and was saluted by the discharge 
of cannon. Among the passengers, besides the 
Agent and the Italian, were Jtlajor Biddle, Lieut. 
Russell, and others. 

The arrival of the "\''irginia is an era in the 
history of the Dahkotah nation, and will proba- 
bly be transmitted to their posterity as long as 
they exist as a people. They say their sacred 
men, the night before, dreamed of seeing some 
monster of the waters, which frightened them 
very much. 

As the boat neared the shore, men, women, 
and children beheld with silent astonishment, 
supposing that it was some enormous water-spirit, 
coughing, puffing out hot breath, and splashing 
water in every direction. When it touched the 
landing their fears prevailed, and they retreated 
some distance ; but when the blowing off of 
steam commenced they were com}iletely im- 
nerved : mothers forgetting tlieir children, wth 
streaming hair, sought hidmg-places ; chiefs, re- 



94 



EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



nouncliig their stoicism, scampered away like 
affrighted animals. 

Tlie peace agreement beteen tlie Ojibways and 
Dahkotahs, made througli the infhience of Gov- 
ernor Cass, was of brief duration, tlie latter be- 
ing the first to violate the provisions. 

On the foiutli of Jinie, Taliaferro, the Indian 
agent among the Dahkotahs, took advantage of 
the presence of a large number of Ojibways to 
renew the agreement for the cessation of hostili- 
ties. The council hall of the agent was a large 
room of logs, in which waved conspicuously the 
flag of the United States, surrounded by British 
colors and medals that had been delivered up 
from time to time by Indian chiefs. 

Among the Dalikotah chiefs present were 
Wapashaw, Little Crow, and Penueshaw ; of the 
Ojibways there were Kendouswa. iloshomene. 
and Pasheskonoepe. After mutual accusations 
and excuses concerning the infraction of the pre- 
vious treaty, the Dahkotahs lighted the calumet, 
they having been the first to infringe upon tlie 
agreement of 1820. After smoking and passing 
the pipe of peace to the Ojibways, who passed 
through the same formalities, they all shook 
hands as a pledge of renewed amity. 

The morning after the council. Flat Mouth, 
the distinguished Ojibway chief, arrived, who 
had left his lodge vowing that he would never be 
at peace with the Dahkotahs. As he stepped from 
his canoe, Penneshaw held out his hand, but was 
repulsed with scorn. The Dahkotah warrior 
immeiliately gave the alarm, and in a moment 
runners were on their way to the neighboring 
villages to raise a war party. 

On the sixth of June, the Dahkotahs had assem- 
bled, stripped for a fight, and surrounded the 
Ojibways. The latter, fearhig the worst, con- 
cealed their women and children behind the old 
barracks which had been used by the troops while 
the fort was being erected. At the solicitation of 
the agent and commander of the fort, the Dahko- 
tahs desisted trom an attack and retired. 

On the seventh, the Ojibways left for their 
homes; but, in a few hours, while they were 
making a portage at Falls of St. Anthony, they 
were again approached by the Dahkotahs, who 
would have attacked them, if a detachment of 
troops had not arrived from the fort. 

A rumor reaching Penneshaw's village that he 



had been killed at the falls, liis mother seized an 
Ojibway maiden, who had been a captive from 
infancy, and, with a tomahawk, cut her in two. 
Upon (lie return of the son in safety he was much 
gratified at what he considered the prowess of 
his parent. 

On the third of -Ttily, 1S2.3. Major Long, of the 
engineers, arrived at the fort in command of an 
expedition to explore the Minnesota Eiver, and 
the region along the northern lioundary line of 
the United States. Beltrami, at the request of 
Col. Snelling. was permitted to be of the party, 
and ilajor Taliaferro kindly gave him a horse 
and equipments. 

The relations of the Italian to Major Long were 
not pleasant, and at Pembina Beltrami left the 
expedition, and with a " bois brule ", and two 
Ojibways proceeded and discovered the northern 
sources of the Mississippi, and suggested where 
the western sources would be found ; wliich was 
verified by Schoolcraft nine years later. About 
the second week in September Beltrami returned 
to the fort by way of the Mississipjii, escorted by 
forty or fifty Ojibways, and on the 2oth departed 
for Kew Orleans, where he published his discov- 
eries in the French language. 

The mill which was constructed in 1821, for 
sawing lumber, at the Falls of St. Anthony, stood 
upon the site of the Holmes and Sidle ilill, in 
MinneapoUs. and in 1S23 was fitted up for grind- 
ing flour. The following extracts ft'om corres- 
pondence addressed to Lieut. Clark, Commissary 
at Fort Snelling, will be read with interest. 

Under the date of August 5th, 1823, General 
Gibson writes : " From a letter addressed by 
Col. Snelling to the Quartermaster General, 
dated the 2d of April, I leani that a large quan- 
tity of wheat would be raised this summer. The 
assistant Commissary of Subsistence at St. Louis 
has been instructed to forward sickles and a pair 
of millstones to St. Peters. If any flour is manu- 
factured from the wheat raised, be pleased to let 
me know as early as practicable, that I may deduct 
the quantity manufactured at the post from the 
quantity advertised to be contracted for." 

In another letter, General Gibson writes : 
'• Below you will find the amount charged on the 
books against the garrison at Ft. St. Anthony, 
feu- certain articles, and forwarded for the use of 
the troops at that post, which yoii will deduct 



FIEST FLOUR MILL IN MINNESOTA. 



9,5 



from the payments to be made for flour raised 
and turned over to you for issue : 

One pair buhr millstones $250 1 1 

337 pounds plaster of Paris 20 22 

Two dozen sickles IS 00 

Total $288 33 

Upon tbe lOtli of January, 1824, the General 
writes: " The mode suggested by Col. Snelling, 
of fixing the price to be paid to the troops for the 
flour furnished l)y them is deemed equitable and 
just. You wUl accordingly pay for the flour 
$3.33 per barrel." 

Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve. now the oldest 
person living who was connected with the cau- 
toimient in 1819, in a paper read before the De- 
partment of American History of the Mimiesota 
Historical Society in January, 1880, wrote : 

" In 1823, Mrs. Snelling and my mother estab- 
lished the first Sunday School in the Northwest. 
It was held in the basement of the commanding 
officer's quarters, and was productive of much 
good. Many of the soldiers, with their families, 
attended. Joe. Brown, since so well know in 
this countrj', then a drummer boy, was one of 
the pupils. A Bible class, for the officers and 
their wives, was formed, and all became so inter- 
ested in the history of the patriarchs, that it fur- 
nished topics of conversation for the week. One 
day after the Sunday School lesson on the death of 
Moses, a member of the class meeting my mother 
on the parade, after exchanging the usual greet- 
ings, said, in saddened tones, ' But don't you feel 
sorry that Moses is dead ? " 

Early in the spring of 1824, tlie Tully boys 
were rescued from the Sioux and brought to the 
fort. They were children of one of the settlers 
of Lord Selkirk's colony, and with their parents 
and others, were on their way from Red River 
Valley to settle near Fort SneUing. 

The party was attacked by Indians, and the 
parents of these children murdered, and the boys 
captured. Through the influence of Col. Snell- 
ing the children were ransomed and brought 
to the fort. Col. Snelling took John and 
my father Andrew, the younger of the two. 
Everyone became interested in the orphans, and 
we loved Andrew as if he had been our o^\^l lit- 
tle brother. John died some two years after his 
arrival at the fort, and ]Mrs. Snelling asked me 



when I last saw her if a tomb stone had been 
placed at his grave, she as requested, during a 
visit to the old home some years ago. She said 
she received a promise that it should be done, 
and seemed quite disappointed when I told her it 
had not been attended to." 

Andrew Tully, after being educated at an 
Orphan Asylum in New York City, became a 
carriage maker, and died a few years ago in that 
vicinity. 

EVENTS OF THE YEAK A. D. 1824. 

In the year 1824 the Fort was visited by Gen. 
Scott, on a tour of inspection, and at his sug- 
gestion, its name was changed from Fort St. 
Anthony to Fort Snelling. The following is an 
extract from his report to the War Department : 

" This work, of which the AVar Department is 
in possession of a plan, reflects the highest credit 
on Col. Snelling, his otticers and men. The de- 
fenses, and for the most part, the public store- 
houses, shops and quarters being constructed of 
stone, the whole is Ukely to endure as long as the 
post shall remam a frontier one. The cost of 
erection to the government has been the amount 
paid for tools and iron, and the per diem paid 
to sokliers employed as mechanics. I wish to 
suggest to the General in Chief, and through him 
to the War Department, the propriety of calling 
this work Fort Snelling, as a just compliment 
to the meritorious officer under whom it has 
been erected. The present name, (Fort St. jVn- 
thony), is foreign to all our associations, and is, 
besides, geographically incorrect, as the work 
stands at the junction of the Mississippi and 
St. Peter's [Minnesota] Rivers, eight miles be- 
low the great falls of the Jilississippi, called 
after St. Anthony." 

In 1824, Major Taliaferro proceeded to Wash- 
ington with a delegation of Chippeways and Dah- 
kotahs, headed by Little Crow, the grand father 
of the chief of the same name, who was engaged 
in tlie late horrible massacre of defenceless 
women and children. The object of the visit, was 
to secure a convocation of all the tribes of the 
Upper Mississippi, at Prairie du Chein, to define 
theirboundary Unes and establish friendly rela- 
tions. When they reached Prairie du Chein, 
Wahnatah, a Yankton chief, and also Wapashaw, 
by the whisperuigs of mean traders, became dis- 



96 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF ^HNNESOTA. 



afEected, and wished to turn back. Little Crow, 
perceiving tliis, stopped all hesitancy by the foL 
lowing speech: '-^ly friends, you can do as you 
please. I am no coward, nor can my ears be 
pulled about by evil counsels. We are here and 
should go on, and do sotne good for our nation. 
I have taken our Father here (Taliaferro) by tlie 
coat tail, and will follow him until I take by the 
hand, our great American Father." 

While on board of a steamer on the Ohio 
Kiver, Marcpee or tlie Cloud, in (•onse(iuence of a 
bad dream, jumped from the stern of the boat, 
and was shpposed to be drowTied, but he swam 
ashore and made his way to St. Charles, ilo.. 
there to be murdered by some Sacs. The re- 
mainder safely arrived in Washington and ac- 
complished the object of the visit. The Dahko- 
tahs returned by way of Xew York, and while 
there were anxious to jiay a visit to certain par- 
ties Willi ^Vm. Dickson, a half-breed son of Col 
Robert Dickson, the trader, wlio in the war of 
1812-15 led the Indians of the Xorthwest iigainst 
the United States. 

After this visit Little Crow carried a new 
double-barreled gun, and said that a medicine 
man by the name of I'eters gave it to him for 
signing a certain paper, and that he also prom- 
ised he would send a keel-boat full of goods to 
them. The medicine man referred to was tlie 
Eev. Samuel Peters, an Episcopal clerg>7uan, 
who had made himself olmoxious during the 
Revolution by his tory sentiments, and was sub- 
sequently nominated as Bishop of Vermont. 

Peters asserted that in 1806 he had pm-chased 
of the heirs of Jonathan Carver the right to a 
tract of land on the upper Mississippi, embracing 
St. Paul, alleged to have been given to Carver by 
the Dahkotahs, in 1767. 

The next year there arrived, in one of tlie keel- 
boats from Prairie du Chien, at Fort Snelling a 
box marked C<il. Robert Dickson. On opening, it 
was found to contain a few presents from Peters 
to Dickson's Indian Vvife, a long letter, and a 
copy of Carvers alleged grant, written on parch- 
ment. 

EVENTS OF THE YEARS 1825 AND 1826. 

On the 301h of October, 1825, seven Indian 
women in canoes, Avere drawn into the rapids 
above the- Falls of St. Anthony. ^Vll \\ ere saved 



but a lame girl, who was dashed over the cata- 
ract, and a month later her body was found at 
Pike's Island in front of the fort. 

Forty years ago, the means of communication 
between Fort Snelling and the civilized world 
yere very limited. The mail in winter was usu- 
ally carried by soldiers to Prairie du Chien. On 
the 26th of January, 1X26, there was great joy in 
the fort;, caused by the return from furlough of 
Lieutenants Baxley and Russell, who brought 
with them the first mail received for live months. 
About this period there was also another excite- 
ment, cause by the seizure of liquors in the trad" 
ing house of Ale.xis IJailey, at Xew Hope, now 
Jlendota. 

During the mouths of Febinjary and ilarch, in 
this year, snow fell to the depth (,f two or three 
feet, and there was great suffering among the 
Indians. On one occasion, thirty lodges of Sisse- 
ton and other Sioux were overtaken by a snow 
storm on a large prairie. Tlfe storm continued 
for three days, and juovisions gruw scarce, for 
the party were seventy in number. At last, the 
stronger men, with the few pairs of snow-shoes 
in their possession, .started for a trading post one 
hundred miles distant. They reached their des- 
tination half alive, and the traders sympathizing 
sent foiu' Canadians with supplies for those left 
behind. After great toil they reached the scene 
of distress, and found many dead, and, what was 
more horrible, the living feeding on the corpses 
of their relatives. A mother had eaten her dead 
child and a portion of her own father's arms. 
The shock to her neiTous system was so great 
that she lost her reason. Her name was Pash- 
uno-ta, and she was both young and good look- 
ing. One day in Septu'ralter, while at Fort Snell- 
ing, she asked Captain Jouett if he knew which 
was the best portion of a man to eat, at the same 
time taking him by the collar of his coat. lie 
replied with great astonishment. --Xo !" and she 
then said, "The arms." She then asked for a 
piece of his servant to eat, as she was nice and 
fat. A few days after this she dashed herself 
from the bluffs near Fort Snelling, into the river. 
Her body was found just above the mouth of the 
Minnesota, and decently interred by the agent. 

The spring of 1826 was very backward. On 
the 20th of March snow fell to the depth of one 
or one and a half feet on a level, and drifted in 



NEORO SLAVES AT FOBT SNELLING. 



97 



heaps from six to fifteen feet in height. On the 
- 5tli of April, early in the day, there was a violent 
storm, and the ice was still thick in tlie river. 
During tlie storm flashes of lightnmg were seen 
and thunder heard. On the 10th, the thermome- 
ter was four degrees above zero. On the 14th 
there was rain, and on the next day the St. Peter 
river broke up, hut the ice on the Mississippi I'e- 
mained firm. On the 21st, at noon, the ice began 
to move, and carried away ilr. Faribault's houses 
on the east side of the river. For several days 
the river was twenty feet above low water mark, 
and all the houses on low lands were swept off. 
On the second of May, the steamboat T,awrence, 
Captain Eeeder, arrived. 

Major Taliaferro had inherited several slaves, 
which he used to hire to officers of the garrison. 
On the 31st of March, his negro boy, William, 
was employed by Col. Snelling, the latter agree- 
ing to clothe him. About this time, William at- 
tempted to shoot a hawk, but Instead shot a small 
boy, named Henry CuUum, and nearly killed him. 
In May, Captain Plympton, of the Fifth Infantry, 
wished to purchase his negro woman, Eliza, but 
lie refused, as it was his intention, ultimately, to 
free his slaves. Another of his negro girls, Har- 
riet, was married at the fort, the Major perform- 
ing the ceremony, to the now historic Dred Scott, 
who was then a slave of Surgeon Emerson. The 
only person that ever purchased a slave, to retain 
in slavery, was Alexis Bailly, who lionght a man 
of Major Garland. The Sioux, at first, had no 
prejudices against negroes. They called them 
" Black Frenchmen," and placing their hands on 
their wooUy heads would laugh heartily. 

The following is a list of the steamboats that 
had arrived at Fort Snelling, up to ilay 26, 1826 : 

1 Virginia, May 10, 1823 ; 2 Neville ; 3 Put- 
nam, April 2, 1825 ; 3 Mandan ; 5 Indiana ; 6 Law- 
rence, May 2," 1826 ; 7 Sciota ; 8 Eclipse ; 9 Jo- 
sephine ; 10 Fulton; 11 Red Rover; 12 Black 
Rover; 13 Warrior; 14 Enterprise; lo Volant. 

Life within the walls of a fort is sometimes the 
exact contrast of a paradise. In the year 1826 a 
Pandora box was opened, among the officers, and 
dissensions began to prevail. One young officer, 
a graduate of West Point, whose father had been 
a professor in Princeton College, fought a duel 
with, and slightly wounded, A^■illiam Joseph, the 
talented son of Colonel Snelling, who was then 
7 



twenty-two years of age, and had been three years 
at West Point. At a Court Martial convened to 
try the officer for violating the Articles of War, 
the accused objected to the testimony of Lieut. 
William Alexander, a Temiesseean, not a gradu- 
ate of the Military Academy, on the ground that 
he was an infidel. Alexander, hurt by this allu- 
sion, challenged the objector, and another duel 
was fought, resultmg only in slight uijuries to 
the clothing of the combatants. Inspector Gen- 
eral E. P. Gaines, after this, visited the fort, and 
in his report of the inspection he wrote : " A 
defect in the discinline of this regiment has ap- 
neared in the character of certain personal con- 
troversies, between the Colonel and several of his 
young officers, the particulars of which I forbear 
to enter into, assured as I am that they will be 
developed in the proceedings of a general court 
martial ordered for the trial of Lieutenant Hun- 
ter and other officers at Jefferson Barracks. 

" From a conversation with the Colonel I can 
have no doubt that he has erred in the course 
pursued by him in reference to some of the con- 
troversies, inasmuch as he has intimated to his 
officers his willingness to sanction in certain cases, 
and even to participate in personal conflicts, con- 
trary to the twenty-fifth. Article of War." 

The Colonel's son, William Joseph, after this 
passed several years among traders and Indians, 
and became distinguished as a poet and brilliant 
author. 

His "Tales of the Northwest," published in 
Boston in 1820, by Hilliard, Gray, Little & Wil- 
kins, is a work of great literary ability, and Catlin 
thought the book was the most faithful picture of 
Indian hf e he had read. Some of his poems were 
also of a high order. One of his pieces, deficient 
in dignity, was a caustic satire upon modern 
American poets, and was published under the 
title of " Truth, g, Gift for Scribblers." 

Natlianiel P. Willis, wlio had winced luider 
the last, wrote the following lampoon : 
" Oh, smelling Joseph ! Thou art like a cur. 

I'm told thou once did live by hunting fur : 

Of bigger dogs thou smellest, and, in sooth. 

Of one extreme, perhaps, can tell the truth. 

'Tis a wise shift, and shows thou know'st thy 
Ijowers, 

To leave the ' North West tales,' and take to 
smelling ours." 



96 



EXPLO£iERS ASD I'102iEKTiS OF MlSyH^Ol^L 



In ISJi a second edition of ■■ Trtuh " appearevl < 
vith additions and ememlatious. In ihi* ap- 
peared the following pasquinade upon Willis : 
"I live by hunting fui. thou sayst. si> let it be. 

But tell me, Xatty 1 Had I hunteil thee. 

Had not my time been thiowu away, young sir. 

And eke my powder ? Puppies have no ftir. 

Our tails ? Thou ownest thee to a taU, 
I've scanned thee o"er and o'er 
But. though I guessed the species right. 
I was not sure before. 

Our savages, authentic tr^veierj say. 
To natural fools, religious homage pay, 
Zadst thou been bom in wig^vam's smoke, and 

died in. 
2fat ; thine apotheosis had been certain." 

Snelling died at Chelsea. Mass.. December ax- 
teenth. l!i*>. a victim to the appetite which en- 
enslaved Robert Bums- 

In the year 1S26. a small party of Ojibway<? 
(Chippe\*-ays came to see the Indian Agent, 
and three of them ventured to visit the Colum- 
bia Fur Company's trading house, two miles 
from the Fort. While there, they became 
aware of their danger, and desired two of the 
white men attached to the establishment to 
aecempany them back, thinking that their pres- 
ence might be some protection. They were in 
error. As they passed a little copse, three Dah- 
kotahs sprang from behind a log with the speed of 
light, fired their pieces into the face of the fore- 
most, and then fled. The guns must have been 
doable loaded, for the man's head was literally 
blown from his shoulders, and hfe white coot- 
panions were spattered with brains and blood. 
The survivors gained the Fort without further 
molestation. Their comrade was buried on the 
spot where he feU. A staff was set up on his 
grave, which became a landmark, and received 
the name of The Murder Pole. The murderers 
boasted of their achievement aud with impunity. 
They and their tribe thought that they had struck 
a fair blow on their ancient enemies, in a becom- 
ing manner. It was only said, "hat Tooponkah 
Zeze of the village of the Batttere <rux Fiems. 
and two others, had each acquired a right to 
wear skunk skins on their heels and wur-eagles" 
feathers on their heads. 



ISVKXTS or A. D. 1827. 

On the twenty-eighth of May, IS^, the Ojib- 
way fhief at Sandy Lake, Kee-wee-zais-hish 
e.il'.ed by the English, Flat Mouth with se>-¥n 
w.irriors aud s«.>me womeji and children, in all 
amoimtiug to twenty-four, arrived about sunrise 
at Fort Snelling. Walking to the gates of the 
garrL5<>u. they aske^l the pn.>tection of Colonel 
SneUing and Taiiafenv>, the Inilian agent. They 
wtre told, that as long as they remaineil under 
the luiteil States flag, they were secure, and 
were ordered to encamp within musket shot of 
the high stone walls of the fort. 

During the afternoon, a Dahkotah. Toopiuikah 
Zeze. from a viUage near the first rapids of the 
Minnesota, visited the Ojib'^y camp. They 
were cordially receivevl, and a feast of meat and 
com and sugar, was soon made ready. The 
wooden plates emptied of their contents, they 
' engaged iu conversation, sjnd whiffed the peace 
pipe. 

i That night, some officers and their f rientls were 
spending a pleasant evening at the head-quarters 
of Captain Clark, which was in one of the stone 
houses which used to stand outside of the walls 
of the fort. As Captain Cruger was walking on 
the porch, a ballet whizzed by. and rapid firing 
was heard. 

As the Dahkotahs. or Sioux, left the Qjibway 
camp, notwithsianding their friendly talk, they 
tuFned and discharged their guns with deadly aim 
upon their entertainers, and ran off with a shout 
of satisfaction. The report was heard by the 
, sentinel of the fort, and he cried, repeatedly. 
" Corporal of the guard '." and soon at the gates, 
were the Ojibways. vrith their women and the 
wounded, telling their tale of woe in wild and in- 
coherent language. Two had been killed and six 
woonded. Among others, was a little girl about 
seven years old. who was pierced through Kuh 
thighs with .-. buUet. Surgeon McMahon made 
every effort to save her life, but wittout avail. 

Flat Mouth, the chief, reminded Colonel Snel- 
ling that he had been attacked while tmder the 
protection of the United States flag, and early the 
next morning. Captain Clark, with oae hundred 

soldier-. ' " \rds Land's End. a tra- 

ding-pos: La Fur Company, on the 

2tIiimesota. a mile above the former residemee cf 



TRAGIC SCENE UNDER THE WALL.S OF THE FORT. 



S9 



Franklin Steele, where the Dahkotahs were sup- 
posed to be. The soldiers had just left the large 
gale of the fort, when a i)arty of Dahkotahs, in 
battle array, appeared on one of the jnairie 
hills. After some parleying they turned their 
backs, and being pursued, thirty-two were cap- 
tured near the tradnii;-post. 

Colonel Snelling onlered the prisoners to be 
brouf^ht before the Ojihways, and two bemg 
pointed out as participants in the slaughter of the 
preceding uight, they were delivered tt) the 
aggrieved party to deal with in accordance with 
their customs. They were led out to the plain 
in front of the gate of the fort, and when placed 
nearly without tlie range of the Ojibway guns, 
they were told to run for their lives. AVith the 
rajHdity of deer they boundeil away, but the Ojib- 
way Ijullet lli'W faster, and after a few steps, they 
fell gasping on the ground, and were soon lifeless. 
Then the savage nature tlisplayed itself in all its 
hideousness. Women and children danced for 
joy, and placing their fingers in tlie bullet holes, 
from wliich -the blood oozed, tliey licked them 
with delight. The men tore the scalps from the 
dead, and seemed to luxuriate in the privilege of 
plunging their knives through the corjjses. After 
the execution, the Ojibways returned to the fort, 
and were met by the Colonel. He had prevented 
all over whom his authority extended from wit- 
nessing the scene, and had done his best to con- 
fine the excitement to the Indians. The same 
day a deputation of Dalikotah warriors received 
audience, regretting the violence that had been 
done by their young men, and agreeing to deliver 
up the ringleaders. 

At the time appointed, a son of Flat Mouth, 
with those of the Ojibwa party that were not 
wounded, escorted by United States troops, 
marched forth to meet the Dahkirtah deputation, 
on the prairie just beyond the old residence of 
the Indian agent. With much solemnity two 
more of the guilty were handed over to the 
assaulted. One was fearless, and with firmness 
stripped himself of his clothing and ornaments, 
and distributed them. The other could not face 
death with composure. He was noted tor a hid- 
eous hare-lip, and had a bad reinitation among 
his fellows. In the spirit of a coward he prayed 
for life, to the mortification of his tribe. The 
same oppoiiunity was presented to them as to the 



first, of running for their lives. At the first fire 
the coward fell a corpse; but his brave compan- 
ion, though wounded, ran on, and had nearly 
reached tlie goal of safety, when a seciHid bullet 
killed him. The body of the coward now became 
a common object of loathing for both Dahkotahs 
and Ojibways. 

Colonel Snelling told the Ojibways that the 
bodies must be removed, and then they took the 
scalped Dahkotahs, and dragging them by the 
heels, threw them off the blufE into the river, a 
hundred and fifty feet beneath. The dreadful 
scene was now over ; and a detachment of troops 
was sent with the old chief Flat Mouth, to escort 
him out of the reach of Dahkotah vengeance. 

An eyewitness wrote : " After this catastrophe, 
all the Dahkotahs quitted the vicinity of Fort Snel- 
liug, and did not return to it for .some months. 
It was said that they formed a conspiracy to de- 
mand a council, and kill the Indian Agent and 
the commanding officer. If this was a fact, they 
had no opportimity, or wanted the spirit, to exe- 
cute their purpose. 

" The Flat Mouth's band Ungered in the fort 
till their wounded comrade died. He was sensi- 
ble of hLs condition, and bore his pains with great 
fortitude. When he felt his end approach, he 
desired that his horse might be gaily caparisoned, 
and brought to the hospital window, so that he 
might touch the animal. He then took from his 
medicine bag a large cake of maple sugar, and held 
it forth. It may seem strange, but it is true, that 
the beast ate it from his hand. His features 
were radiant with deUght as he fell back on the 
pillow exhausted. His horse had eaten the sugar, 
he said, and he was sure of a favorable reception 
and comfortable quarters in the other world. 
Half an hour after, he breathed his last. We 
tried to discover the debiUs of his superstition, 
but could not succeed. It is a subject on which 
Indians imwiUiugly discourse." 

In the fall of 1826, all the troops at Prairie du 
Chien had been removed to Fort Snelling, the 
commander taking with liim two Witmebagoes 
that had been confined in. Fort Crawford. After 
the soldiers left the Prairie, the Indians in the 
Nicinity were quite insolent. 

In June, 1827, two keel-boats passed Prairie du 
Chien on the way to Fort SneUing with provis- 
ions. When they reached Wapashaw village, on 



100 



EXPLOBEES AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA.. 



the site of the present town of Winona, the crew 
were ordered to come ashore by the Dalikotahs. 
Complying, they found themselves surrounded by 
Indians with hostile intentions. The boatmen 
had no fire-arms, but assuming a bold mien and a 
defiant voice, the captain of the keel-boats ordered 
the savages to leave the decks ; which was suc- 
cessful, The boats pushed on, and at Red Whig 
and Kaposia the Indians showed that they were 
not friendly, though they did not molest the 
boats. Before they started on their return from 
Fort Snelling, the men on board, amounting to 
thirty-two, were all provided with muskets and a 
barrel of ball cartridges. 

When the descending keel-boats passed Wapa- 
shaw, the Dahkotas were engaged m the war 
dance, and menaced them, but made no attack. 
Below this point one of the boats moved in ad- 
vance of the other, and when near the mouth of 
the Bad Axe, the half-breeds on board descried 
hostile Indians on the banks. As the channel 
neared the shore, the sixteen men on the first 
boat were greeted with the war whoop and a vol- 
ley of rifle balls from tlie excited Winnebagoes, 
killing two of the crew. Rushing into their ca- 
noes, the Indians made the attempt to board the 
boat, and two were successful. One of these 
stationed himself at the bow of the boat, and 
fired with killing effect on the men below deck. 
An old soldier of the last war with Great Britain, 
called Saucy Jack, at last despatched him, and 
began to rally the fainting spirits on board. Du- 
ring the fight the boat had stuck on a sand-bar. 
With four companions, amid a shower of balls 
from the savages, he plunged into the water and 
pushed off the boat, and tlius moved out of reacli 
of the galling shots of the Winnebagoes. As 
they floated down the river during the night, 
they heard a wail in a canoe behind them, the 
voice of a fatlier mouniiug the death of the son 
who had scaled the deck, and was now a corpse 
in possession of the white men. The rear boat 
passed the Bad Axe river late in the night, and 
escaped an attack. 

The first keel-boat arrived at Prairie du Chein, 
■with t«-o of their crew dead, four wounded, and 
the Indian that had been killed on the boat. The 
two dead men had been residents of the Prairie, 
and now the panic was increased. On the morn- 
ing of the twenty-eighth of June the second 



keel -boat appeared, and among her passengers 
was Joseph Snelling, the talented son of the 
colonel, who wrote a story of deep interest, based 
on the facts narrated. 

At a meeting of the citizens it was resolved to 
repair old Fort Crawford, and Thomas McXair 
was aiipiiinted captain. Dirt was thrown around 
the bottem logs of the foitiflcation to prevent its 
being fired, and young Snelling was put in com- 
mand of one of the block-houses. On the next 
day a voyageur named Lover, and the well-known 
trader Duncan Graham, started through the in- 
terior, west of the Mississippi, with intelligence 
of the murders, to Fort Snelling. Intelligence 
of this attack was received at the fort, on the 
evening of the ninth of July, and Col. Snelling 
started in keel boats with four companies to Fort 
Crawford, and on the seventeenth four more 
companies left under Major Fowle. After an 
absence of six weeks, the soldiers, without firing 
a gun at the enemy, returned. 

A few weeks after the attack upon the keel 
boats General Gaines inspected the Fort, and, 
subsequently in a communication to the War 
Department wrote as follows ; 

" The main points of defence against an enemy 
appear to have been in some respects sacrificed, 
in the effort to secure the comfort and conven- 
ience of troops in peace. These are important 
considerations, but on an exposed frontier the 
primary object ought to be security against the 
attack of an enemy. 

" The buildings are too laige, too numerous, 
and extending over a space entirely too great, 
enclosing a large parade, five times greater than 
is at all desireable in that climate. The build- 
ings for the most part seem well constructed, of 
good stone and other materials, and they contain 
every desirable convenience, comfort and securi- 
ty as barracks and store houses. 

" The work may be rendered very strong and 
adapted to a garrison of two himdred men by re- 
moving one-lialf the buildings, and with the ma- 
terials of which they are constructed, building a 
tower sufficiently high to command the hill be- 
tween the Mississippi and St. Peter's [Minnesota], 
and by a block hou.se on the extreme point, or 
brow of the cliff, near the commandanfs quarters, 
to secure most effectually the banks of the river, 
and the boats at the landing. 



BEATH OF COL. JOSIAH SNELLING. 



101 



"^Much cret'.it i; due to Colonel Snelliiig, his 
officers and men, for their immense labors and 
excellent workmanship exhiliited in the construc- 
tion of these barracks and store houses, but this 
has been effected too much at the expense of the 
discipline of the regiment." 

From reports made from 1823 to 1826, the health 
of the troops was good. In the year ending Sep- 
tember thirty, 1823, there were but two deaths ; 
HI 1824 only six, and in 1825 but seven. 

In 182 J tliere were three desertions, in 1824 
twenty-two, and in 1825 twenty-nine. Most of 
the deserters were fresh recruits and natives of 
America, Ten of the deserters were foreigners, 
and five of these were born in Ireland. In 182(3 
there were eight companies numbering two hun- 



dred and fourteen soldiers quartered in the Fort- 
During the fall of 1827 the Fifth Regiment was 
relieved by a part of the First, and the next year 
Colonel Snelling proceeded to Washington on bus- 
iness, where he died with inflammation of the 
brain. JNIajor General Macomb announcing his 
death in an order, wrote : 

" Colonel Snelling joined the army in early 
youth. In the battle of Tippecanoe, he was 
distinguished for gallantry and good conduct. 
Subsequently and during the whole late war with 
Great Britain, from the battle of Brownstown to 
the termination of the contest, he was actively 
employed in ttie field, with credit to himself, and 
honor to his country." 



102 



EXFLOIiERS AXl) PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER XYII. 



OCCTTEREXCES IlSr THE TICrNlTT OF FORT SNELLrNG, CONTINTJED. 



Arrival of J. N. NicoUei— Marriage of James Wells— Nicollet's letter from Falls- 
of St. Anthouy— Perils of Martin MfU-od— Chippeivay trcacherj-— Sioux Re 
vcnge — Rum River and Stillwater batllrs— tlrog shops lu-iir the Fort. 

Oil the second of July 1836, the steamboat 
Sauit Peter landed siippUes, and among its 
passengers was the distinguished French as- 
tronomer, Jeau X. Xicollet (Xicokiy). ^Major 
Taliaferro on the twelfth of July, wrote; 
" Mr. Nicollet, on a visit to the post for scientilic 
research, and at present in my family, has shown 
me the late work of Henry R. Schoolcraft on the 
discovery of the source of the Mississippi ; which 
claim is ridiculous in the extreme." On the 
twenty-seventh, Nicollet ascended the Mississippi 
on a tour of observation. 

James Wells, a trader, who afterwards was a 
member of the legislature, at the house of Oliver 
Cratte, near the fort, was married on the twelfth 
of September, by Agent Taliaferro, to Jane, a 
daughter of Duncan (Jraham. Wells was killed 
in 1862, by the Sioux, at the time of the massacre 
in the IMinnesota Valley. 

Nicollet in September returned from his trip 
to Leech Lake, and on the twenty-seventh wrote 
the following to Major TaUaferro the Indian 
Agent at the fort, which is supposed to be the 
earliest letter extant written from the site of the 
city of Minneapolis. As the principal hotel and 
one of the finest avenues of that city bears his 
name it is worthy of preservation. He spelled 
his name sometimes Nicoley. and the pronuncia- 
tion in English, would be Nicolay, the same as 
if written Nicollet in French. The letter shows 
that he had not mastered the English language": 
" St. Anthony's Falls, 27th September, 183(i. 

Dear Frieni) :— I anived last evening about 
dark; all well, nothing lost, nothing broken, 
happy and a veiy successful journey. But I 
done exhausted, and nothing can relieve me, but 
the pleasure of meeting you again under your 
hospitable roof, and to see all the friends of th" 
garrisou who have been so kind to me. 



" This letter is more particularly to give you 
a very extraordinary tide. Flat ilouth, the chief 
of Leech Lake and suite, ten in number are with 
me. The day before yesterday I met them again 
at Swan river where they detained me one day. 
I had to bear a new harangue and gave answer. 
All termhiated by tlieu" own resolution that they 
ought to give you the hand, as well as to the 
Guinas of the Fort (Colonel Da.enport.) I 
thought it my duty to acquaint you with it be- 
forehand. Peace or war are at stake of the visit 
they p;iy you. Please give them a good welcome 
until I liave reported to you and Colonel Daven- 
port all that has taken place dui'iug my stay 
among the Pillagers. But be assured I have not 
trespassed and that I have behaved as would 
have done a good citizen of tlie U. S. As to 
Schoolcraft's statement alluding to you, you will 
have full and complete satisfaction from Flat 
Mouth himself. In haste, your friend, J. N. 
Nicoley.'" 

events of a. d. 1837. 

On the seventeenth of March, 1837, there ar- 
rived ilartin !McLcod, who became a prominent 
citizen of Minnesota, and the legislature has 
given his name to a county. 

He left the Red River country on snow shoes, 
with two companions, one a Polander and the 
other an Irishman named Ilays, and Pierre Bot~ 
tiueau as interpreter. Being lost in a violent 
snow storm the Pole and Irishman perished. He 
and his guide, Bottineau, lived for a time on the 
llesh of one of their dogs. After being twenty- 
six days without seeing any one, the sm'vivors 
reached the trading post of Joseph R. Brown, at 
Lake Tra\erse, and from thence they came to 
the fort. 

events of a. d. 1838. 

In the month of April, eleven Sioux were slain 
in a dastanlly manner, by a party of Ojibways, 



INDIAN BATTLES AT RUM PdVER AND STILLWATER. 



103 



under the noted and elder Hole-in-the-Day. The 
Chippeways feigned the warmest friendship, and 
at dark lay down in the teuts by the side of the 
Sioux, and in the night sUeutly arose and killed 
them. The oceirrrence took place at the Chippe- 
way River, about thirty miles from Lac qui Parle, 
and the next day tlie Eev. G. H. Pond, the Indian 
missionary, accompanied by a Sioux, \.ent out 
and buried the mutilated and scalpless bodies. 

Ou the second of August old IIole-in-the-Day, 
and some Ojil)ways, came to the fort. They 
stopped first at the cabin of Peter Quinn, whose 
wife was a half-breed Chippeway, about a mile 
from the fort. 

The missiouary, Samuel W. Pond, told tlie 
agent that tlie Sioux, of Lake Callioun were 
aroused, and on their way to attack the Chippe- 
ways. The agent quieted them for a time, but 
two of the relatives of those slain at Lac qui Parle 
m April, hid tliemselves nearQuimi's house, and 
as Hole-iu-the-Day and his associates were pass- 
ing, they fired and killed one Chippeway and 
wounded another. Obequette, a Cliippeway from 
Bed Lake, succeded, however, in shooting a 
Sioux while he was in the act of scalping his 
comrade. The Chippeways were brought within 
the fort as soon as possible, and at nine o'clock 
a Sioux was confined in the guard-house as a 
hostage. 

Notwithstanding the murdered Chippeway had 
been buried m the graveyard of the fort for safety, 
an attempt was made on the part of some of the 
Sioux, to dig it up. On the evening of the sbctli. 
Major Plympton sent the Chippeways across the 
river to the east side, and ordered them to go 
home as soon as possible. 

EVENTS OF A. r>. 1839. 

On the twentieth day of June the elder IIole- 
in-the-Day arrived from tlie Upper Mississippi 
with several hundred Chippeways. Upon their 
return homeward tlie ^Mississippi and Mille Lacs 
band encamped the first night at the F.alls of Sauit 
Anthony, and some of the Sioux visited them and 
smoked the pipe of peace. 

On the second of July, aljout simrise, a son-in- 
law of the chief of the Sioux band, at Lake Cal- 
houn, named Meekaw or Badger, was killed and 
scalped by two Chippeways of the Pillager band, 
relatives of him who lost liis lifp near Patrick 



QiuHn's the year before. The excitement was 
intense among the Sioux, and immediately war 
parties started in pursuit. IIole-in-the-Day's 
band was not sought, but the Mille Lacs and 
Saint Croix Chippeways. The Lake Callioun 
Sioux, with those from the villages on the 
^Minnesota, assembled at the i'alls of Saint 
Anthony, and on the morning of the fourth 
of July, came up with the Mille Lacs 
Chippeways on Rum Kiver, before sunrise. Not 
long after the war whoop was raised and the 
Sioux attacked, killing and woimding ninety. 

The Kaposia band of Sioux piu'sued the Saint 
Croix Chippeways, and on the third of July found 
them in tlie Penitentiary ravine at Stillwater, 
under the influence of whisky. Aitkin, the old 
trader, was with them. The sight of the 
Sioux tended to make them sober, but in the fight 
twenty-one were killed and twenty-nine were 
wounded. 

Whisky, during the year 1839, was freely in- 
troduced, m the face of tlie law prohibiting it. 
The first boat of the season, the Ariel, came to 
the fort on the fourteenth of April, and brought 
twenty barrels of whisky for Joseph R. Brown, 
and on the twenty-first of May, the Glaucus 
brought six barrels of liquor for David Faribault. 
On the thirtieth of June, some soldiers went to 
Joseph R. Brov^i's groggery on the opposite side 
of the Mississippi, and that night forty - seven 
were in the guard-house for drunkenness. The 
demoralization then existing, led to a letter by 
Smgeon Emerson on duty at the fort, to the Sur- 
geon General of the United States army, in which 
he writes : 

" Tlie whisky is brought here by citizens who 
are pourmg m upon us and settling themselves 
on the opposite shore of the Mississippi river, 
in defiance of our worthy commanding officer. 
Major J. Plympton, whose authority they set 
at nauglit. At this moment there is a 
citizen named Brown, once a soldier in 
the Fifth Infantry, who was discharged at 
this post, while Colonel Siielling commanded, 
and wiio has been since employed by the Ameri- 
can Fur Company, actually buUdmg on the land 
marked out by the land officers as the reserve, 
and mthm gunshot distance of the fort, a very 
expensive whisky shop." 



104 



EXPLORBBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



IKDIAN TKIBES IX MINNESOTA AT THE TIME OF ITS OUQANIZATION. 



Sioux or Dahkot;ih pcoplo— Meaning' of words Sioux and Daliki't;ili— IvJirly villages 
— Residcuce of Sioux in Z84&-Tiie Winnelmgoes— The Ojibways or Chippeways. 

The three Indian nations who dwelt in tliis 
region after the organization of ilinnesota, were 
the Sioux or Dalil-cotalis; the Ojibways or Chip- 
peways ; and the Ho-tchun-graws or Winneba- 
gees. 

SIOUX on DAHKOTAHS. 

Tliey are an entirely different gronp from tlie 
Algonquin and Iroquois, who were found by the 
early settlers of the Atlantic States, on the banks 
of the Connecticut, Mohawk, and Susquehanna 
Rivers. 

A\'hen the Dahkotahs were first noticed by the 
European adventurers, large numbers were occu- 
pying the Mille Lacs region of country, and appro- 
priately called by the voyageur, "People of the 
Lake," "Gens du Lac." And tradition asserts that 
here was the ancient centre of this tribe. Though 
we have traces of their warring and hunting on the 
shores of Lake Superior, there is no satisfactory 
evidence of their residence, east of the Mille Lacs 
region, as they have no name for Lake Superior. 

The word Dahkotah, by which they love to be 
designated, signifies allied or joined together in 
friendly compact, and is equivalent to " E pluri- 
bus unum," the motto on the seal of the United 
States. 

In the liistory of the mission at La Pointe, 
Wisconsin, published nearly two centuries ago, a 
a writer; referring to the Dahkotahs, remarks : 

"For sixty leagues from the extremity of the 
Upper Lake, toward sunset ; and, as it were in 
the centre of the western nations, they have all 
unilcd their force by a general league.'' 

The Dahkotahs in the earliest documents, and 
even until the present day, are called Sioux, Scioux, 
or Soos. The name originated with the early voy- 
ageurs. For centuries the Ojibways of Lake 
Superior waged war against the Dahkotahs; and, 



whenever they spoke of them, ciiUed them Xado- 
waysioux, which signifies enemies. 

The French traders, to avoid exciting the atten- 
tion of Indians, while conversing in their pres- 
ence, were accustomed to designate them by 
names, which would not be recognized. 

The Dahkotahs were nicknamed Sioux, a word 
composed of the two last syllables of the O jib way 
word for foes 

Under the influence of the French traders, the 
eastern Sioux began to wander from the Mille 
Lacs region. A trading post at 0-ton-we-kpa- 
dan, or Rice Creek, above the Falls of Saint 
Anthony, induced some to erect their summer 
dwellings and plant corn there, which took the 
place of wild rice. Those who dwelt here were 
called Wa-kpa-a-ton-we-dan Those v/ho dwell on 
the creek. Another division was known as the 
lila-tan-ton-wan. 

Less than a hundred years ago, it is said that 
the eastern Sioux, pressed by the Chippeways, 
and influenced by traders, moved seven miles 
above Fort SnelUng on the Minnesota River. 

JIED-DAY-WAII-KAWX-TWAWXS. 

In IS-tO there were seven villages of Med-day- 
wah-kawn-twawn Sioux. (1) Below Lake Pepin, 
where the city of Winona is, was the village of 
Wapashaw. This band was called Kee-yu-ksa, 
because with them blood. relations intermariied. 
Bounding or Whipping Wind was the chief. (2) 
At the head of Lake Pepin, under a lofty bluff, 
was the Red \Ving village, called Ghay-mui-chan 
Hill, wood and water. Shooter was the name 
of the chief. (3) Opposite, and a little below the 
Pig's Eye Marsh, was the Kaposia band. The 
word, Kapoja means light, given Vieeause these 
people are quick travelers. His Scarlet People, 
better known as Little Crow, was the chief, and 
isnotoi'ious as the leader in the massacre of 1862. 

On the Minnesota River, on the south side 



NOTICE OF THE HOTCHUNGIiA IFS, OR WINNEBAGOES. 



105 



a few miles above Fort Snelling, was Black Dog 
village. The inhabitants were called, Ma-ga-yu- 
tay-shnee. People who do not a geese, be- 
cause they touud it profitable to sell game at Fort 
Snelling. Grey Iron was the chief, also known 
as Pa-ma-ya-yaw, My head aches. 

At Oak Grove, on the north side of the river, 
eight miles above the fort, was (5) Hay-ya-ta-o- 
ton-wan, or Inland Village, so called because 
they formerly lived at Lake Calkoun. Contigu- 
ous was (6) 0-ya-tay-shee-ka, or Bad People, 
Known as Good Roads Band and (7) the largest 
village was Tin-ta-ton-wan, Prairie Village ; 
Shokpay, or Six, was tlie chief, and is now the 
&ite of the to^\'n of Shakopee. 
West of this division of the Sioux were— 

WAR-PAY-KU-TAY. 

The War-pay-ku-tay, or leaf shooters, who 
occupied the country south of the ^linnesota 
around the sources of the Cannon and Blue Earth 
Kivers. 

WAH-PAY-TWAWNS. 

North and west of the last were the War-pay- 
tw'awns, or People of the Leaf, and their princi- 
pal village was Lac qui Parle. They numbered 
about fifteen hundred. 

SB-SEE-TWAWNS. 

To the west and southwest of these bands of 
Sioux were the Se-see-twawns (Sissetoans), or 
Swamp Dwellers. This band claimed the land 
west of the Blue Earth to the James River, and 
the guardianship of the Sacred Red Pipestone 
Quarry. Their principal village was at Traverse, 
and the number of the band was estimated at 
thirty-eight hundred. 

HO-TCHXIN-GRAWS, OR WINNEBAGOES. 

The Ho-tchun-graws, or Wiunebagoes, belong 
to the Dahkotah family of aljorigines. Cham- 
plain, although he never visited them, mentions 
them. Nicollet, who had been in his employ, 
visited Green Bay about the year 1635, and an 
early Relation mentifins that he saw the Ouiiii- 
pegous, a people called so, because they came 
from a distant sea, which some French erron- 
eously called Puants. Another writer speak- 



ing of these people says: "This people are 
called ' Les Puants ' not because of any bad odor 
peculiar to them, but because they claim to have 
come from the shores of a far distant lake, 
towards the north, whose waters are salt. They 
call themselves the people ' de Teau puants,' of 
the putrid or bad water." 

By the treaty of 1«37 they were removed to 
Iowa, and by another treaty in October, 1846, 
they came to Minnesota in the spring of 1848, 
to the country between the Long Prairie, 
and Crow Wing Rivers. The agency was located 
on Long Prairie River, forty miles from the 
Mississippi, and in 1849 the tribe numbered 
about twenty-five hundred souls. 

In February 1855, another treaty was made 
with them, and that spring they removed to lands 
on the Blue Earth River. Owing to the panic 
caused by the outbreak of the Sioux in 1862, Con 
gress, by a special act, without consulting them, 
in 1863, removed them from their fields in Min- 
nesota to the Missouri River, and in the words 
of a missionary, "they were, like the Sioux, 
diunped in the desert, one hundred miles above 
Fort Randall" 

OJIBWAY OR CHIPPEWAY NATION. 

The Ojibways or Leapers, when the French 
came to Lake Superior, had their chief settlement 
at Sault St. Marie, and were called by the French 
Saulteurs, and by the Sioux, Hah-ha-tonwan, 
Dwellers at the Falls or Leaping Waters. 

When Du Luth erected his trading post at the 
western extremity of Lake Superior, they had not 
obtained any foothold in Minnesota, and were 
constantly at war with their hereditary enemes, 
the Nadouaysioux. By the middle of the 
eighteenth century, they had pushed in and occu- 
pied Sandy, Leech, Mille Lacs and other points 
between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, which 
had been dwelling places of the Sioux. In 1S20 
the principal villages of Ojibways in Minnesota 
were at Fond du Lac, Leech Lake and Sandy 
Lake. In 1837 they ceded most of their lands. 
Since then, other treaties have been made, until 
in the year 1881, they are confined to a few res- 
ervations, in northern Minnesota and vicinity. 



lOti 



EXrLOUERS AKD PIOKEEBS OF MINXESOTA. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



EAKLY BIISSIONS AMONG THE OJIBWAYS AND DARKOTAHS OF JtlNlfESOTA. 



jMuit Minions not jwrmantnt— Presbjrterian Minion at Mackinaw— Visit of Rev 
A. Coc an<! J D. Stevens to Fort Suelliug— Notice of Ayrpi. Hall, and Boutwell 
—Formation of the won! Itasca— The Brothers Pond— Arrival of Dr. William- 
son-Pre8b>*teri;mChiircl> at Fort Sneliing- Mission at Lake Harriet— Mourn. 
ing for the Dead— Church at Lac-qui parte— Father lUvoux— Mission at Uke 
PokeRunia — Attack by the Sioux — Chippewoy att.ick at Pig's Eye— Death of 
Rev. Sherman Hall — Methodist Missions Rev. S. W. Pond prepares a Sioux 
Grammar and Dictionary Swiss Presbyterian Ui&sion. 



Bancroft the distinguished historian, catching 
the enthusiasm of the narratives of the early 
Jesuits, depicts, in language which glows, tiieir 
missions to the Xortlnvest; yet it is erroneous 
to suppose that the Jesuits exercised any perma- 
nent influence on the Aborigines. 

Shea, a devoted memlter of the Koman Catho- 
lic Clnirch. in his History of American CatlioUc 
Missions writes : " In 1680 Father Engalrau was 
apparently alone at Green Bay, and Pierson at 
Mackinaw. Of the other missions neither Le- 
Clerq nor Ilenuepin, the Recollect writers of the 
West at this time, make any mention, or in any 
way allude to their existence." lie also says 
that "Father .Menard had projected a Sioux 
mission ; Marqiiette, Allouez, Druilletes, all en- 
tertained hopes of lealizing it, and had some 
intercourse with that nation, but none of them 
ever succeeded in establishing a mission." 

Father Hemiejiin wrote: " Can it be possible, 
that, that pretended prodigious amount of savage 
converts could escape the sight of a multitude 
of French Canadians who travel every year? 
* * * * How comes it to pass that these 
churches so devout and so mimerous, should be 
invisible, when I passed through so many 
countries and nations V " 

After the American Fur Company was formed, 
the island of Mackinaw became the residence of 
the princijial agent for the Northwest, Robert 
Stuart a Scotchman, and devoted Presbyterian. 
In the month of June, 1820, the Rev. Dr. 
Morse, father of the distinguished inventor of 
the telegraph, visited and pi-eached at Mackinaw, 
and in consequence of statements published by j 



him, upon his return, a Presbyterian ^Missionary 
Society in the state of Xew York sent a graduate 
of Union College, the Rev. W. M. Ferry, father 
of the present United States Senator from Michi- 
gan, to explore the field. In 1823 he had estab- 
lished a large boarding school composed of 
children of various tribes, and here some were 
educated who became wives of men of intelli- 
gence and influence at the capital of Minnesota. 
After a few years, it was determined by the 
Mission Board to modify its plans, and in the 
place of a great central station, to send mission- 
aries among the several tribes to teach and to 
preach. 

In pursuance of this ])olicy, the Rev. Alvan 
Coe, and J. D. Stevens, then a licentiate who 
had been engaged in the Mackinaw- ilission, 
made a tour of exploration, and arrived on 
September 1, 1829, at Fort Snelling. In the 
journal of Major Lawrence Taliafeno, wliich 
is in possession of the Jliiniesota Historical 
Society, is the following entry : " The Rev. 
Mr. Coe and Steveus reported to he on their way 
to this post, members of the Presbyterian church 
looking out for suitable places to make mission- 
ary establishment for the Sioux and Chippeways, 
found scliools, and instruct in the arts and agri- 
cultTU'e.'' 

The agent, although not at that time a commu- 
nicant of the Church, welcomed these visitors, 
and afforded them every facility in visiting the " 
Indians. Oii Sunday, the Gth of Septemlier, the 
Rev. Mr. Coe preached twice in the fort, and the 
next night hcUl a prayer meeting at the quartere 
of the commimiling oilicer. On the next Sunday 
he preached again, and on the 14th, with Mr. 
Stevens and a hired guide, returned to Mackinaw 
by way of the St. Croix river. Duruig this visit 
the agent offered for a Presbyterian mission the 
mill which then stood on the site of Minneapolis, 
and had been erected by the government, as well as 



FORMATION OF THE WORD ITA8KA. 



107 



the farm at Lake Callioiin, which was begun to 
teach the Sioiix agriculture. 

CHIPPEWAT MISSIONS. 

In 1830, r. Ayer, one of the teachers at ilack- 
iiiaw, made an exploration as far as La Pointe, 
and returned. 

Upon the 30th day of August, 1831, a Macki- 
naw boat about forty feet long arrived at La 
Pointe, bringing from INIackinaw the principal 
trader, Mr. Warren, Rev. Sherman Hall and wife, 
and !Mr. Frederick Ayer, a catechist and teacher. 

Mrs. Hall attracted great attention, as she was 
the first white woman who had visited that 
region. Sherman Hall was born on April 30, 
1801, at "Wethersfield, Vermont, and in 1828 
graduated at Dartmouth College, and completed 
his theological studies at Andover, Massachu- 
setts, a few weeks before he journeyed to the 
Indian country. 

His classmate at Dartmouth and Andover, the 
Eev W. T. Boutwell still living near Stillwater, 
became his yoke-fellow-, but remained for a time 
at Mackinaw, which they reached about the mid- 
dle of July. In June, 1832, Henry E. School- 
craft, the head of an explorhig expedition. Invited 
ilr. Boutwell to accompany him to the sources of 
the Mississippi. 

Wlien the expedition reached Lac la Biche or 
Elk Lake, on 5\\\y 13, 1832, ilr. Schoolcraft, who 
was not a Latin scholar, asked the Latin word for 
<riith, and was told "Veritas." He then wanted 
.iK ^vord wliich signified head, and was told 
"caput." To the astonishment of many, School- 
craft struck off tlie fh-st sylable, of the word 
ver-i-tas and tlie last sylable of ca-put, and thus 
coined the word Itasca, which he gave to the 
lake, and which some modem writers, with all 
gravity, tell us was the name of a maiden who 
once dwelt on its banks. ITpon Mr. BoutweU's 
return from tins expedition he was at first asso- 
ciated with Mr. Hall in the mission at La Pointe. 

In 1833 the mission band which had centered 
at La Pointe diffused their influence. In Octo- 
ber Rev. Mr. Boutwell went to Leech Lake, Mr. 
Ayer opened a school at Yellow Lake, Wiscon- 
sin, and ilr. E. F. Ely, now in California, became 
a teacher at Aitkin's trading post at Sandy Lake. 

SIOUX MISSIONAIUES. 

Mr. Boutwell, of Leech Lake Station, on lli>> 



sixtli of May, 1834, happened to be on a visit to 
Fort SnelUng. While there a steamboat arrived, 
and among the passengers were two young men, 
brothers, natives of Waslungtoii, Connecticut, 
Samuel W. and Gideon H. Pond, who had come, 
constrained by the love of Christ, and without con- 
ferring with flesh and blood, to try to improve 
the Sioux. 

Samuel, the older brother, the year before, had 
talked with a liquor seller in Galena, Illinois, who 
had come from the Red River country, and the 
desire was awakened to help the Sioux ; and he 
wrote to his brother to go with him. 

The Rev. Samuel AV. Pond still lives at Shako- 
pee, in the old mission house, the first building of 
sawed lumber erected in the vaUey of the Minne- 
sota, above Fort Suelling. 

MISSIONS AMONG THE SIOUX A. D. 1835. 

About this period, a native of South Carolina, 
a graduate of .Jeilerson CoUege, Pennsylvania, 
the Rev. T. S. Williamson, M. D., who previous 
to his ordination had been a respectaljle physi- 
cian in Ohio, was appointed by the American 
Board of Foreign Missions to \dsit the Dahkotahs 
with the view of ascertaining what could be done 
to introduce Christian instruction. Having made 
inquiries at Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling, 
he reported tlie field was favorable. 

The Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, 
through their joint Missionary Society, appointed 
the following persons to labor in Minnesota : 
Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, M. D., missionary 
and physician ; Rev. J. D. Stevens, missionary ; 
^Vlexander Huggins, farmer ; and their wives ; 
Miss Sarah Poage, and Lucy Stevens, teacliers; 
who were prevented during the year 1834, by the 
state of navigation, from entering upon their 
W'Ork. 

During the winter of 1834-3.5, a pious oflicer 
of the army exercised a good influence on his 
fellow oflicers and soldiers under his command. 
In the absence of a chaplain of ordained minis- 
ter, he, like General Ilavelock, of the British 
army in India, was accustomed not only to drill 
the soldiers, but to meet them in bis own quar- 
ters, and reason with them " of righteousness, 
temperance, and judgment to come." 

In the month of May, 1835, Dr. AVilliamson 
and mission band arrived at Fort Snelling, and 



108 



EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



were hospitably received by tlie ollicers of tlie 
garrison, tlie Indian Agent, and Mr. Sibley, Agent 
of the Company at Mendota, who had been in 
the country a few mnnlbs. 

On tlie twenty-seventh of this month the T?ev. 
Dr. AN'illiamson united in marriage at the Fort 
Lieutenant Edward A. Ogden to Eliza Edna, the 
daughter of Captain G. A. Looniis, the tirst 
marriage service in which a clergyman officiated 
in the present State of Minnesota. 

On the eleventh of June a meeting was held 
at the Fort to organize a Presbj'terian Church, 
sixteen persons who had been communicants, 
and six who made a i)rofcssion of faith, one of 
whom was Lieutenant Ogden, were enrolled as 
members. 

Four elders were elected, among whom were 
Capt. Gustavus Loomis and Samuel W. Pond. 
The next day a lecture preparatory to administer- 
ing the communion, was delivered, and on Sun- 
day, the 14th, the first organized church in the 
Valley of the Upper Mississippi assembled for 
the first time in one of the Comi>any rooms of the 
Fort. Theservicesin the morning were conducted 
by Dr. AVilliamson. The afternoon service com- 
menced at 2 o'clock. The sermon of Mr. Stevens 
was upon a most appropriate text, 1st Peter, ii:2o ; 
"For ye were as slveep going astray, but are now 
returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your 
souls." Afterthediscourse, the sacrament of the 
Lord's supper was administered. 

At a meeting of the Session on the thirty-first 
of July, Rev. J. D. Stevens, missionary, was in- 
vited to preach to the church, " so long as the 
duties of his mission will permit, and also to pre- 
side at all the meetings of the Session." Captain 
Gustavus Loomis was elected Stated Clerk of the 
Session, and they resolved to observe the monthly 
concert of prayer on the first Monday of each 
month, for the conversion of the world. 

Two points were selected by the missionaries 
as proper spheres of labor. Mr. Stevens and 
family proceeded to Lake Harriet, and Dr. \\'i\- 
liamson and family, in June, proceeded to Lac 
qui Parle. 

As there had never been a chaplain at Fort 
Snelhng, the Rev. J. D. Stevens, the missionary 
at Lake Harriet, preaclied on Sundays to tlie 
Presbyterian chiirch, there, recently organized. 



Writing on Jainiary twenty-seventh, 1836, he 
says, in relation to his field of labor: 

" Yesterday a portion of this band of Indians, 
who had been some time absent from this village, 
returneil. One of the niiinber (a woman) was 
informed that a brollier nl' liers had died during 
her absence. lie was not at this village, but 
with another band, and the information had just 
reached here. In the evening they set up a most 
piteous crying, or rather wailing, which con- 
tinued, with some little cessations, during the 
night. The sister of the deceased brotlierwould 
repeat, times Vi'ithout number, words which may 
be thus translated into English : ' Come, my 
brother, I shall see you no more for ever.' The 
night was extremely cold, the thermometer 
standing from ten to twenty below zero. About 
sunrise, next morning, preparation was made for 
lierfonniiig the ceremony of cutting their llesh, 
in (uder to give relief to their grief of mind. 
The snow was removed from the frozen ground 
over about as large a space as would lie recjuired 
to place a small Indian lodge or wigwam. In the 
centre a very small fire was kindled up, not to 
give warmth, apparently, but to cause a smoke. 
The sister of the deceased, who was the chief 
mourner, came out of her lodge followed by 
three other women, \\ho repaired to the place 
jirepared. They were all b.irefooted, and nearly 
naked. Here they set up a most bitter lamentii- 
tion and crying, mingling their waitings with the 
words before mentioned. The principal mourner 
commenced gashing or cutting her ankles and 
legs up to the knees with a sharp stone, until her 
legs were covered with gore and tlowuig blood ; 
then in like manner her arms, shoulders, and 
breast. The others cut themselves in the same 
way, but not so severely. On this poor infatuated 
A\-oman I presume there were more than a hun- 
dred long deep gashes in the flesh. I saw the 
operation, and the blood instantly followed the 
instrument, and flowed down upon the fiesh. She 
ajijieared frantic with grief. Through the pain 
of her wounds, the loss of blood, exhaustion of 
strength by fasting, loud and long-continued and 
bitter groans, or the extreme cold upon her al- 
most naked and lacerated body, she soon sunk 
ujion the frozen ground, shaking as with a violent 
fit of the ague, and writhing in apparent agony. 
'Surely,' I exclaimed, as I beheld the bloody 



A ROMAN CATHOLIC .UIS.-^IONARY. 



109 



scene, 'the tender mercies of the heathen are 
cruelty!' 

'■ The Uttle church at the fort hegms to mani- 
fest sometliing of a missionary spirit Their con- 
tributions are considerable for so small a number. 
I hope they wiW not only be willmg to contribute 
liberally of their substance, but will give them- 
selves, at least some of them, to the missionary 
work. 

" The surgeon of the military post, Dr. Jarvis, 
has been very assiiluous in his attentions to )is in 
our sickness, and has very generously made a do- 
nation to our board of twenty-five dollars, being 
the amount of his medical services in our family. 

"On the nineteenth instant we commenced a 
school with six full Indian children, at least so m 
all their habits, dress, etc.; not one could speak a 
word of any language but Sioux. The school has 
since increased to the number of twenty-tive. I 
am now collecting and arranging words for a dic- 
tionary. Mr. Pond is assiduously employed in 
preparing a small spelling-book, which we may 
forward next mail for printing. 

On the fifteenth of September, 1836, a Presby- 
terian church was organized at Lac-qui-Parle, a 
branch of that in and near Fort Snelling, and 
Joseph Renville, a mixed blood of great influ- 
ence, became a communicant. He had been 
trained in Canada by a Roman Catholic priest, 
liut claimed the right of private judgment. Mr. 
Renville's wife was the lirst pure Dahkotiih of 
whom we have any record that ever joined the 
Church of Christ. This church has never become 
extinct, although its menibei's have been neces- 
sarily nomadic. After the treaty of Traverse des 
Sioux, it was removed to Ilazlewood. Driven 
from thence by the outln'eak of ISiii;, it has be- 
came the parent of other churches, in the valley 
of the upper Missouri, over one of which John 
Renville, a descendant of the elder at Lac-qui- 
Parle, is the T)astor. 

EOMAN CATHOLIC HIPSION ATTE3IPTED. 

Father Ravoux, recently from France, a sin- 
cere and earnest priest of the Church of Rome, 
came to Mendota in the autumn of 1841, and 
after a brief sojourn with the Rev. L. Galtier, 
who iiad erected Saint Paul's chapel, which has 
given the name of Saint Paul to the capital of 
Mimiesota, he ascended the Minnesota River 
and visited Lac-qui-Parle. 



Bishop Loras, of Dubuque, wrote the next year 
of his visit as follows : " Our yomig missionary, 
M. Ravoux, passed the winter on the banks of 
Lac-qui-Parle, vslthout any other support than 
Providence, without any other means of conver- 
sion than a burning zeal, he has wrought in the 
space of six months, a happy revolution among 
the Sioux. From the time of his arrival he has 
been occupied night and day in tlie study of tlieir 
language. ***** "When he instructs 
the savages, he speaks to them with so much fire 
whilst showing them a large copper crucifix which 
he carries on his breast, that he makes the strong- 
est impression upon them." 

The impression, however was evanescent, and 
he soon retired from the field, and no more efforts 
were made in this direction by the Churcli of 
Rome. This young Mr. Ravoux is now the highly 
respected vicar of the Roman Catholic diocese of 
JMinnesota, and justly esteemed for his simpUcity 
and unobtrusiveness. 

CHIPPEWAY MISSIONS AT POKEGTTMA. 

Pokegnma is one of the " ISIille Lacs," or thou- 
sand beautiful lakes for which Minnesota is re- 
markable. It is about four or five miles In extent , 
and a mile or more in width. 

This lake is situated on Snake River, about 
twenty miles above the junction of that stream 
vrith the St. Croix. 

In the year 1836, missionaries came to reside 
among the Ojibways and Pokeguma, to promote 
their temporal and spiritual welfare. Their mis- 
sion house was biult on the east side of the lake ; 
but the Indian village was on an island not far 
from the shore. 

In a letter written in 1837, we find the fol- 
lowing: "The young women and girls now 
make, mend, wash, and iron after our man- 
ner. The men have learned to build log houses, 
drive team, plough, hoe, and handle an American 
axe with some skill ui cutting large trees, the 
size of which, two years ago, W(jnld have afforded 
them a sufficient reason why they should not med- 
dle with them." 

In May, 1841, Jeremiah Russell, who was In- 
dian farmer, sent two Chippeways, accompanied 
by Elam Greeley, of Stillwater, to the Falls of 
Saint Croix for supplies. On Saturday, the 
fifteenth of the month they arrived there, and 



no 



£!X-J'LUliEliS A XI) PIOKEEIiS OF MIXXESOTA. 



the next day a steamboat came up with the 
goods. The captain said a war party of Sioux, 
headed by Little Crow, was advancinj;, and the 
two Chippeways prepared to go back and were 
their friends. 

They had hardly left the Falls, on their re- 
turn, before they saw a party of Dalikotahs. The 
sentinel of the enemy liad not noticed the ai> 
proach of tlie young men. lu the twinkling of 
an eye, these two young Ojibways raised their 
guns, fired, and killed two of Little t'row"s sons. 
The discharge of the guns revealed to a sentinel, 
that an enemy was near, and as the Ojibways 
were retreating, he fired, and mortally wounded 
one of the two. 

According to custom, the corpses of the chiefs 
sons were dressed, and then set up with their 
faces towards the coimtry of their ancient ene- 
mies. Tlie woiuided Ojibway was horribly 
mangled by the infuriated party, and his limbs 
strewn about in every direction. His scalped 
head was placed in a kettle, and suspended in 
front of the two Dahkotah corpses. 

Little Crow, disheartened by the loss of his two 
boys, returned with liis party to Kaposia. But 
other parties were in the field. 

It was not till Friday, the twenty-first of May, 
that the death of one of the young Ojiliways 
sent by Mr. Russell, to the Falls oi Saint Croix. 
was knowni at Pokeguma. 

Mr. Russell on the next Sunday, accompanied 
by Captain AVilliam Ilolcoml) and a half-breed, 
went to the mission station to attend a religious 
service, and while crossing the lake in returning, 
the half-breed said that it was rumored that tlie 
Sioux were approaching. On jSIonday, the twen- 
ty-fourth, three young men left in a canoe to go 
to the west shore of the lake, and from tlience to 
Mille l^acs, to give intelligence to the Ojibways 
there, of the .skirmish that had already occm-red. 
They took with them two Indian girls, about 
twelve years of age, who were pupils of the mis- 
sion school, for the purpose of bringing the canoe 
back to the island. Just as the three were land- 
ing, twenty or thirty Dahkotah warriors, with a 
war whoop emerged from their concealment be- 
liiud the trees, and fired into the canoe. The 
young men instantly siirang into the water, which 



was shallow, returned the fire, and ran into the 
woods, escaping without material injury. 

The little girls, in their fright, waded into the 
lake ; but- were pursued. Tlieir i)arents upon 
the i.sland, heard the death cries of their children. 
Some of tlie Indians around the mission-house 
jumped into their canoes and gained the islaml. 
Others went into some fortified log huts. The 
attack upon the canoe, it was afterwards learned, 
was premature. The party upon that side of the 
lake were ordered not to fire, until the party 
stationed in the woods near the mission began. 

There were in all one hundred and eleven 
Dahkotah warriors, and all the fight was in the 
vicinity of tlie mission-house, and the Ojibways 
mostly engaged in it were those who had been 
under religious uistniction. The rest were upon 
the island. 

Tlie fiUhers of the nuuxlered girls, burning for 
revenge, left the island in a canoe, and drawing 
it up on the shore, hid behind it, and fired upon 
the Dalikotahs and killed one. The Dalikotahs 
advancing upon them, they were obliged to 
escape. The canoe was now launched. One lay 
on his back in the bottom; the other plunged 
into the water, and, holding the canoe with one 
hand, and swimming with the other, he towed 
his friend out of danger. The Dalikotahs, in- 
furiated at their escajie, fired volley after volley 
at the swimmer, but he escaped tlie balls by 
putting his head under water whenever he Siiw 
them take aim, and waiting till he heard the 
discharge, he would then look up and breathe. 

After a fight of two hours, the Dalikotahs re- 
treated, with a loss of two men. At the request 
of the parents, ^Ir. E. F. Ely, from whose 
notes the writer ha? obtained these facts, be- 
ing at that time a teaclier at the mission, 
went across the lake, with two of his friends, to 
gather the remains of his murdered pupils. lie 
found the corpses on the shore. The heads cut 
off and scalped, with a tomahawk buried in the 
brains of each, were set up in the sand near the 
bodies. The bodies were pierced in the breast, 
and tUe right arm of one was taken away. Re- 
moving the tomahawks, the bodies were brought 
back to the i.sland, and in the afternoon were 
buried in accordance with the simple but solemn 
riles of the Church of Christ, by members of the 



SIOUX MISSIONABIES BEFOBE THE TBEATIES. 



Ill 



The sequel to this stoiy is soon told. The In- 
dians of Pokeguma, after the fight, deserted their 
vilhige, and went to reside with their coimtrymen 
near Lake Superior. 

In July of tlie following year, 1842, a war party 
was formed at Fond du Lac, about forty in num- 
ber, and proceeded towards the Dahkotah country. 
Sneaking, as none but Indians can, they arrived 
luuioticed at the httle settlement below Saint 
Paul, commonly called "Pig's Eye," which is 
opposite to what was Kaposia, or Little Crow's 
village. Finding an Indian woman at work in 
the garden of her husband, a Canadian, by the 
name of Gamelle, they killed her ; also another 
woman, with her infant, whose head was cut off. 
The Dahkotalis, on the opposite side, were mostly 
intoxicated ; and, flying across in their canoes but 
half prepared, they were worsted in the en- 
coimter. They lost thirteen warriors, and one of 
their number, known as the Dancer, the O jib- 
ways are said to have skinned. 

Soon after this the Chippeway missions of the 
St. Croix Valley were abandoned. 

In a little while Rev. Mr. Boutwell removed to 
the vicinity of Stillwater, and the missionaries, 
Ayer and Spencer, went to Bed Lake and other 
points in ^linnesota. 

In 1853 the Rev. Sherman Hall left the Indians 
and became pastor of a Congregational church at 
Sauk Rapids, where he recently died. 

METHODIST MISSIONS. 

la 1837 the Rev. A. Bnmson commenced a 
Methodist mission at Kaposia, about four miles 
below, and opposite Saint Paul. It was afterwards 
removed across the river to Red Rock. He was 
assisted by the Rev. Thomas W. Pope, and the 
latter was succeeded by the Rev. J. Ilolton. 

The Rev. ]\Ir. Spates and others also labored 
for a brief period among the Ojibways. 

fRESBYTEKIAN inSSIONS CONTINTJBD. 

At ihe stations the Dahkotah language was dil- 
igently studied. Rev. S. W. Pond had prepared 
a dictionary of three thousand words, and also a 
small grammar. The Rev. S. R. Riggs, who 
joined the mission in 1837, in a letter dated 
February 24, 1841, wiites : " Last summer 
after returnuig from Fort SneUtng, 1 spent five 
weeks in copying again the Sioux vocabulary 
which \vc had collected and arranged at this sta- 



tion. It contained then about 5500 words, not 
includmg the various forms of the verbs. Since 
that time, the words collected by Dr. Williamson 
and myself, have, I presume, increased the num- 
ber to sis thousand. ***** In this con- 
nection, I may mention that during the winter of 
1839-40, Mrs. Riggs, with some assistance, wrote 
an English and Sioux vocabulary containing 
about three thousand words. One of Mr. Ren- 
ville's sons and three of his daughters are en- 
gaged in copying. In committing the grammati- 
cal principles of the language to ■WTiting, we have 
done something at this station, but more has been 
done by Mr. S. W. Pond." 

Steadily the numlier of Indian missionaries 
increased, and in 1851, before the lands of the 
Dahkotahs west of the Mississippi were ceded to 
the whites, they were disposed as follows by the 
Dahkotah Presbytery. 

Lac-qid-parle, Rev. S. R. Riggs, Rev. M. N. 
Adams, Missionaries, Jonas Pettijohn, Mrs. 
Fanny Pettijohn, Mrs. ilary Ann Riggs, Mrs. 
Mary A. M. Adams, Miss Sarah Rankin, .!.•?- 
sistants. 

Traverse cks Sioux, Rev. Robert Hopkins, J/(.s- 
sionary; Mrs. Agnes Hopkins, Alexander G. 
Huggins, Mrs. Lydia P. Huggins, Assistants. 

Shttl-paij, or Shokjxty, Rev. Samuel W. Pond, 
Missionary ; Mrs. Sarah P. Pond, Assistant. 

Oak Grove, Rev. Gideon H. Pond and wife. 

Kaposia, Rev. Thomas "Williamson, M. D., 
Missionary and Physician; Mrs. Margaret P. 
Williamson, Miss Jane S. Williamson, Assistants. 

Bed Wing, Rev. John F. Alton, Rev. Joseph 
W. Hancock, Missionaries; Mrs. Nancy H. Alton, 
Mrs. Hancock, Assistants. 

The Rev. Daniel Gavin, the Swiss Presbyte- 
rian Missionary, spent the winter of 1839 in Lac- 
qui-Parle and was afterwards married to a niece 
of the Rev. J. D. Stevens, of the Lake Harriet 
Mission. Mr. Stevens became the farmer and 
teacher of the Wapashaw band, and the tirtt 
white man who lived where the city of Winona 
has been built. Another missionary from Switz- 
erland, the Rev. Mr. Denton, manied a iliss 
Skiinier, formerly of the Mackinaw mission. 
During a portion of the year 1839 these Swiss 
missionaries lived wth the American mission- 
aries at camp Cold Water near Fort Snelling, 
but their chief field of labor was at Red Wing. 



UJ 



EXl'LOliEIta ASD riUNEEUa OF MINNESOTA. 



CnAPTER XX. 



TKEAD OF PIONEERS IN THE SAINT CIIOIX VALLEY AND ELSEWnSllE. 



Oriifiu of the name Saint Croix— Dii Luth, (Iret Explorer— Frendi Post on the Si. 
Croix— Pitt, un cm-iy pioneer— Early Kettlent at Saint Croix Falli— First women 
there— Marine Settlement — Joseph R. Brown's town site— Saint Croix County 
orKanized— Proprietors of Stillwater— A dead Negro woman— Pig's Eye. orintn 
of name -Kise of Saint Paul -Dr. Williamson seeures llr^t school leather for 
Saint Paul— Detcription of first sehool r>K>m— Saint Croix County re.organized 
— Rev. W. T. Boutwell, pioneer clergyman. 

The Saint Croix river, according to Le Sueur, 
named after a Frencliman who was drowned at 
its mouth, was one of tlie earliest throughfares 
from Lake Superior to tlie ^Mississippi. The first 
wliite man who directed canoes upon its waters 
was Du Lutli, who had in 1679 explored Minne- 
sota. He thus describes liis tour in a letter, first 
published by Harrisse : " In June, 1680, not be- 
ing satisfied, with having made my discovery by 
land, I took two canoes, with an Indian who was 
my inteiiJieter, and four Frenelimen, to seek 
means to make it by water. With this view I 
entered a river which empties eight leagues from 
the extremity of Lake Superior, on the south 
side, where, after having cut some trees and 
broken about a hundred beaver dams, I reached 
the upper waters of the said river, r.nd then I 
made a portage of half a league to reach a lake, 
the outlet which fell into a very fine river, 
which took l e down into the Mississippi. Tliere 
I learned from eight cabins of Xadouecioux that 
the Kev. Father Louis lleiine))iu, Uecollect, now 
at the convent of Saint (Jermain, with two other 
Frenchmen had been robbed, and carried off as 
slaves for' more than three hundred leagues by 
the I>radouecioux themselves." 

He then relates how he left two Frenchmen 
with his goods, and went with his interpreter and 
two Frenchmen in a canoe down the Mississippi, 
and after two days and two nights, found Henne- 
pin, Accault and Augelle. He told Hennepin 
that he must return with him through the country 
of the Fox tribe, and writes : "I preferred to re- 
trace my steps, manifesting to them [the Sioux] 
the just indignation I felt against them, rather 
than to remain after the violence they had done 



to the Rev. Father and the other two Frenchmen 
with him, whom I put in my canoes and brought 
them to Michiliraackinack." 

After this, the Saint Croix river became a chan 
nel for commerce, and ]5ellin writes, that lieforo 
17.5-5, the French had erected a fort forty leagues 
from its mouth and twenty from Lake Superior. 

The pine forests between the Saint Croix and 
Minnesota had been for several years a tempta- 
tion to energetic men. As early as November, 
1836, a >Ir. Pitt went with a boat and a party of 
men to the Falls of Saint Croix to cut pine tim- 
ber, with the consent of the Chippeways but the 
dissent of the United States authorities. 

In 1837 while the treaty was being made by Com- 
missioners Dodge and Smith at Fort Snelling, on 
one Sunday Franklin Steele, Dr. Fitch, Jeremiah 
Russell, and.a Mr. Maginnis left Fort Snelling 
f(U' the Falls of Saint Croix in a birch bark canoe 
paddled by eight men, and reached that point 
about noon on Monday aud comincuced a log 
cabin. Steele and Jlajfiunis remained here, 
while the others, dividing into two parties, one 
under Fitch, and the other under Russell, search- 
ed for pine land. The first stopped at Sun Rise, 
while Russel went on to the Snake Iliver. About 
the same time Rol)binet and Jesse B. Taylor 
came to the Falls in the interest of B. F. Baker 
who had a stone trading house near Fort Snelling, 
since destro) ed by fire. On the fifteenth of July, 
1838, the Palmyra, Capt. Holland, arrived at 
the Fort, with the official notice of the ratifica- 
tion of the treaties ceding the lands between the 
Saint Croix and Mississippi. 

She had on board C. A. Tuttle, L. AV. Stratton 
and others, with the machinery for the projected 
mills of the Northwest Lumlier Company at the 
Falls of Saint Croix, and reached that point on 
the seventeenth, the first steamboat to disturb the 
waters above Lake Saint Croix. The steamer 
Gypsy came to the fort on the twenty-first of 



WOuM£N I]}i THE VALLEY OF THE SAINT CROIX. 



113 



October, with goods for the Chippeways, and was 
chartered for four hundred and fifty dollars, to 
carry them up to the Falls of Saint Croix. In 
passuig througli the lake, the boat grounded near 
a projected town called Stambaughville, after S. 
C. Stambaugh, the sutler at the fort. On the 
afternoon of the 26th, the goods were landed, as 
stipulated. 

Tlie agent of the Improvement Company at the 
falls was Washington Libbey, who left in the fall 
of 1838, and was succeeded by Jeremiah Russell, 
Stiatton acting as millwright in place of Calvin 
Tuttle. On the twelfth of December, Eussell and 
Strattoii walked down the river, cut the first tree 
and built a cabin at ilariue, and sold their claim. 

The first women at the Falls of Saint Croix were 
a Mrs. Orr, Mrs. Sackett, and the daughter of a 
Mr. Yoimg. During the winter of ls:'>.S-9, Jere- 
miah Russell married a daughter of a respectable 
and gentlemanly trader, Charles II. Oakes. 

Among the first preachers were the Rev. W. T. 
Boutwell and ilr. Seymour, of the Chippeway 
Mission at Pokeguma. The Rev. A. Brunson, of 
Prairie du Chieu, who visited this region in 1838, 
wrote that at the mouth of Snake River he four.d 
Franklin Steele, with twenty-five or thirty men, 
cutting timber for a mill, and when he offered to 
preach Mr. Steele gave a cordial assent. 

On the sixteenth of August, ^Ir. Steele, Living- 
ston, and others, left the Falls of Saint Croix m a 
barge, and went around to Fort Snelling. 

The steamboat Fayette about the middle of 
May, 1839, lauded sutlers' stores at i^ort Snell- 
'ng and then proceeded with several persons of 
intelligence to the Saint Croix river, who S-4tled 
at Marine. 

The place was called after Marine in Madison 
county, Illinois, where the company, consisting 
of Judd, Hone and others, was formed to build 
a saw mill m the Saint Croix Valley. The mUl 
at Marine commenced to saw lumber, on August 
24, 1839, the first in Minnesota. 

Joseph R. Brown, who since 1838, had lived at 

Chan Wakan, on the west side of Grey Cloud 

Island, this year made a claim near the upper 

end of the city of Stillwater, which he called 

Dahkotah, and was the first to raft lumber down 

the Saint Croix, as well as the first to represent 

the citizens of the valley in the legislature of 

Wisconsin. 
8 



Until the year 1841, the jurisdiction of Craw- 
ford county, Wiscousm, extended over the delta 
of country between the Saint Croix and JMissis- 
sippi. Joseph R. Brown having been elected as 
representative of the comity, in the territorial 
legislature of Wisconsin, succeeded in obtaining 
the passage of an act on Novemljer twentieth, 
1841, organizing the county of Saint Croix, with 
Dahkotah designated as the comity seat. 

At the time prescribed for holding a court in 
the new county, it is said that the judge of the 
district arrived, and to his surprise, found a 
claim cabin occupied by a Frenchman. Speedily 
retreating, he never came again, and judicial 
proceedings for Saint Croix county ended for 
several years. Phineas Lawrence was the first 
sheriff of tliis county. 

On the tenth of October, 1843, was commenced 
a settlement which has become the town of Still- 
water. The names of the proprietors were John 
McKusick from Maine, Calvin Leach from Ver- 
mont, Elam Greeley from Maine, and Elias 
McKean from Pennsylvania. They immediately 
commenced the erection of a sawmill. 

John IT. Fonda, elected on the twenty-second 
of September, as coroner of Crawford county, 
Wisconsin, asserts that he was once notified that 
a dead body was lying in the water opposite Pig's 
Eye slough, and immediately jjroceeded to the 
spot, and on taking it out, recognized it as the 
body of a negro woman belonging to a certain 
captain of the United States army then at Fort 
Crawford. The body was cruelly cut and bruised, 
but no one appearing to recognise it, a verdict of 
" Found dead," was rendered, and the corpse was 
buried. Soon after, it came to light that the 
woman was whipped to death, and thrown into 
the river during the night. 

The year that the Dahkotahs ceded their lands 
east of the Mississippi, a Canadian Frenchman 
by the name of Parrant, the ideal of an Indian 
whisky seller, erected a shanty in what is now 
the city of Saint Paul. Ignorant and overbear- 
ing he loved money more than his own soul. 
Destitute of one eye, and the other resembling 
that of a pig, he was a good representative of 
Caliban. Some one writing from his groggery 
designated it as " Pig's Eye." The reply to the 
letter was directed in good faith to" Pig's Eye" 



114 



EXPLOREBS AND PIOHEERS OF MINNESOTA. 



Some years ago the editor of the Samt Paul 
Press described the occasion in these words: 

" Edmiuid Brisette, a clerkly Frenchman for 
those days, who lives, or did live a Uttle while 
ago, on Lake Harriet, was one day seated at a 
table in Parranfs cabin, V!\i\\ pen and paper 
about to write a letter for Parrant (for Parrant, 
like Charlemagre, could not write) to a friend' 
of the latter in Canada. The question of geog- 
raphy puzzled Brissette at the outset of the 
epistle ; where should he date a letter from a 
place without a name ? He looked up inquir- 
ingly to PaiTant, and met the dead, cold glare of 
the Pig's Eye lixed upon him, with an irresist- 
ible suggestiveuess that was inspiration to 
Brisette." 

In 1842, the late Henry Jackson, of Mahkahto, 
settled at the same spot, and erected the first 
store on the height just above the lower landing, 
Eoberts and Simpson followed, and opened 
small Indian trading shops. In 1846. the site of 
Saint I'aul was chielly occupied liy a few shanties 
owned by '' certain lewd fellows of the baser 
sort," who sold rum to the soldier and Indian. 
It was despised by all decent white men, and 
known to the Dahkotahs by an expression in 
their tongue which means, the place where they 
sell mimie-wakan [superna;;ural water]. 

The chief of the Kaposiabaud in 1846, was shot 
by his own brother in a drunken revel, but sur- 
viving the wound, and apparently alarmed at the 
deterioration under the influence of the modern 
harpies at Saint Paul, went to Mr. Bmce, Indian 
Agent, at Port Snelling, and requested a mis- 
sionary. The Indian Agent in his report to gov- 
ernment, says : 

" The chief of the Little ("row's band, who re- 
sides below this place (Fort Snelling) about nine 
miles, in the immediate neighbourhood of the 
wluskey dealers, has requested to have a school 
established at his village. He says they are de- 
termined to reform, and for the future, will try 
to do better. I wrote to Doctor WilUamson soon 
after the request was made, desiring him to take 
charge of the school. He has had charge of the 
mission school at Lac qui Parle for some years ; 
is well qualified, and is an excellent physician." 

In November, 1846, Dr. "Williamson came from 
Lac qui Parle, as requested, and became a resi- 
dent of Kaposia. "While disapproving of their 



practices, he felt a kindly interest in the wliites 
of Pig's Eye, which place was now beginning to 
be called, after a little log chapel which had been 
erected at the suggestion of Rev. L. Galtier, and 
called Sauit Paul's. Though a missionary among 
the Dahkotahs, he was the first to take steps to 
promote the education of the whites and half- 
breeds of Minnesota. In the year 1847, he wrote 
to ex-Governor Slade, President of the Xational 
Popular Education Society, in relation to the 
condition of what has subseipiently becc)me the 
capital of the state. 

In accordance with liis request, Miss II. E. 
Bishop came to his mission-house at Kaposia, 
and, after a short time, was introduced by him 
to the citizens of Saint Paul. The first school- 
house in Minnesota besides those connected with 
the Indian missions, stood near the site of the 
old Briik Presbyterian church, corner of Saint 
Peter and Third street, and is thus described by 
the teacher : 

•'The school was commenced in a little log 
hovel, covered with bark, and chinked with mud, 
previously used as a blacksmith shop. On three 
sides of the interior of this humble log cabin, 
pegs were driven into the logs, upon which boards 
were laid for seats. Another seat was made by 
placing one end of a plank between the cracks 
of the logs, and the other upon a chair. Tliis 
was for visitors. A rickety cross-legged table in 
the centre, and a hen's nest in one corner, com- 
pleted the furniture." 

Saint Croix county, in the year 1847, was de- 
tached from Crawford county, Wisconsin, and 
reorganized for judicial purposes, and Stillwater 
made the county seat. In the month of Jime 
the United States District Court held its session 
in the store-room of Mr. John McKusick ; Judge 
Charles' Dunn presiding. A large nuuilier of 
lumbermen had been attracted by the pineries 
in the up|)er portion of the valley of Saint Croix, 
and Stillwater was looked upon as the center of 
the lumbering interest. 

The Rev. Mr. Boutwell, feeling that he could 
be more useful, left the Ojibways. and took up 
his residence near Stillwater, preaching to the 
lumbermen at the Falls of Saint Croix. Marine 
Mills, Stillwater, and Cottage Grove. In a letter 
speaking of Stillwater, he says, " Here is a little 
village sprung up like a gourd, but whether it is 
to perish as soon, God only knows." 



NA3IES PROPOSED FOR MINNESOTA TERRITORY. 



115 



CHAPTER XXI. 

EVENTS PEELIMINARY TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MINNESOTA TEKKITOEY. 



ffUconsin State Boundaries — First Bill for the Organization of Minnesota Terri' 
tory, A, D, 1846 — Change of Wisconsin Boundary — Memorial of Saint Croix 
Valley citizens — Various names proposed for the New Territory — Convention at 
Stillwater— H. H. Sibley elected Delegate to Congress.— Derivation of word 
Minnesota. 



Three years elapsed from the time that the 
territory of iliiiuesota was proposed in Congress, 
to the final passage of the organic act. On the 
sixth of August, 1846, an act was passed by Con- 
gress authorizing the citizens of Wisconsin Ter- 
ritory to frame a constitution and form a state 
government. Tlie act fixed tlie Saint Louis river 
to the rapids, from thence south to the Saint 
Croix, and thence down that river to its junction 
with the Mississippi, as the western boundary. 

On the twenty -third of December, 1846, the 
delegate from Wisconsin, Morgan L. Martin, in- 
troduced a bill in Congress for the organization 
of a territory of Minnesota. This bill made its 
western boundary the Sioux and Red River of 
the North. On the third of ^March, 1847, per- 
mission was granted to Wisconsin to change her 
boundary, so that the western limit would pro- 
ceed due south from the first rapids of the Saint 
Louis river, and fifteen miles east of the most 
easterly point of Lake Saint Croix, thence to the 
Mississippi. 

A number in the constitutional convention of 
Wisconsin, were anxious that Rum river should 
be a part of her western boundary, while citizens 
of the valley of the Saint Croix were desirous 
that the Chippeway river should be the l imi t of 
Wisconsin. The citizens of Wisconsin Territory, 
in the valley of the Saint Croix, and about Fort 
Snelliug, wished to be included in the projected 
new territory, and on the twenty-eighth of March, 
1848, a memorial signed by II. H. Sibley, Henry 
M. Rice, Franklin Steele, William R. Marshall, 
and others, was presented to Congress, remon- 
strating against the proposition before the con- 
vention to make Rum river a part of the bound- 
ary line of the contemplated state of Wisconsin. 



On the twenty-ninth of May, 1848, the act to 
admit Wisconsin changed the boundary line to 
the present, and as first defined in the enabling 
act of 1846. After the bill of Mr. Martin was 
introduced into the House of Representatives in 
1846 it was referred to the Committee on Terri- 
tories, of which Mr. Douglas was chairman. On 
the twentieth of January, 1847, he reported in 
favor of the proposed territory with the name 
of Itasca. On the seventeenth of February, be- 
fore the bill passed the House, a discussion arose 
in relation to the proposed name. Mr. Win- 
throp of Massachusetts proposed Chippewa as a 
substitute, alleging that this tribe was the prin- 
cipal in the proposed territory, which was not 
correct. Mr. J. Thompson of Mississippi disliked 
all Indian names, and hoped the territory would 
be called Jackson. Mr. Houston of Delaware 
thought that there ought to be one territory 
named after the " Father of his country," and 
proposed Washington. All of the names pro- 
posed were rejected, and the name in the original 
bill inserted. On the last day of the session, 
ilarch third, the bill was called up in the Senate 
and laid on the table. 

When Wisconsin became a state the query 
arose whether tlie old territorial government did 
not continue in force w^est of the Saint Croix 
river. The first meeting on the subject of claim- 
ing teiTitoricil privileges was held In the building 
at Saint Paul, known as Jackson's store, near the 
corner of Bench and Jackson streets, on the 
bluff. Tills meeting was held in July, and a 
convention was proposed to consider their posi- 
tion. The first public meeting was held at Still- 
water on August fourth, and Messrs. Steele and 
Sibley were the only persons present from the 
west side of the Mississii.pi. This meeting is- 
sued a call foi a general convention to take steps 
to secure an early territorial organization, to 
assemble on the twenty-sixth of the month at 



116 



EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINJ^ESOTA. 



the same place. Sixty-two delegates answered 
tlie call, and among those ]ires(nt, were W. D. 
Pliillips, J. V,'. Bass, A. Lar[ientenr, J. M. Boal, 
and othere from Saint Paul. To the convention 
a letter was presented from Jlr. f'atlin, who 
claimed to be acting governor, giving his opinion 
that the Wisconsin territorial organization was 
still in force. The meeting also appointed Mr. 
Sibley to visit Washington and rei>resent their 
vaews; but the Hon. .lolm 11. Tweedy having 
resigned his ollice of delegate to Congress on 
September eighteenth, 1848, Mr. Catlin, who had 
made Stillwater a temi)or;iry residence, on the 
ninth of October issued a proclamation ordering 
a special election at Stillwater on the tliirtieth, 
to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation. 
At this election Henry II. Sibley was elected as 
delegate of the citizens of the remaming portion 
of Wisconsui Territory. His credentials were 
presented to the House of Representatives, and 
the committee to whom the matter was referred 
presented a majority and minority report ; but 
the resolution introduced by the majority passed 
and Mr. Sibley took his seat as a delegate from 
Wisconsin Territory on the lifteenth of January, 
1849. 

Mr. H. M. Kice, and other gentlemen, visited 
Washington during the winter, and, uniting with 
Mr. Sibley, used all their energies to obtain the 
organization of a new territory. 

Mr. Sibley, in an interesting commimication to 
the Minnesota Historical Society, writes : " When 
my credentials as Delegate, were presented by 
Hon. James Wilson, of Xew Hampshire, to the 



House of Representatives, there was some curi- 
osity manifested among the memljers, to see what 
kind of a person liad been elected to represent the 
distant and wild territory claiming representation 
in Congress. I was told by a New England mem- 
ber with whom I became suljsequently quite inti- 
mate, tliat there was some disappointment when 
I made my appearance, for it was expected that 
the delegate from this remote region would make 
his debut, if not in full Indian costume, at least, 
with some peculiarities of dress an<l manners, 
cliaracteristic of the rude and semi-civilized peo- 
ple who had sent him to tlie Capitol.'' 

The territory of ilinnesota was named after 
the largest tributary of the Mississijipi within its 
limits. The Sioux call the ^Missouri Minneslio- 
shay. muddy water, but the stream after which 
tiiis region is named, Minne-sota. Some say that 
Sota means clear; others, tui-bid; Schoolcraft, 
bluish green. Nicollet wrote. " The adjective 
Sotah is of dillicult translation. The Canadians 
translated it by a pretty eqiiivalent word, brouille, 
perhaps more properly rendered into English by 
.blear. I lune entered upon this explanation l)e 
cause the word really means neither clear nor 
turbid, as some authors have asserted, its true 
meaning being found in the Sioux ej.pression 
Ishtali-sotah, blear-eyed." From the fact that the 
word signilies neither blue nor white, but the 
peculiar appearance of the sky at certain times, 
by some, ^linnesota has been defined to mean the 
sky tinted water, which is certaiidy poetic, and the 
late Rev. Gideon H. Pond thought quite correct. 



MINNESOTA IN THE BEGINNING. 



117 



CHAPTER XXII. 

MINNESOTA FR03I ITS OKGANIZATI ON AS A TERRITORY, A. D. 1849, TO A. D. 1854. 



Appearance of the Country, A. I>. 1S49 — Arrival of first Editor — Governor 
Ramsey an'ives — Guest of H. H. Sihley — Froclnination issued — Governor 
Ramsey and H. M. Rice move to Saint Paul— ^Fourtli of July Celebration — 
First election — Early newspape'rs — First Courts— Kirst Legislature — Pioneer 
News Carrier's Address — Wedding at Fort Snelling — Territorial Seal — Scalp 
Dance at Stillwater — First Steamboat at Falls of Saint Antliony — Presbyterian 
Chapel burned — Indian council at Fort Snelling — First Steamboat above Saint 
Anthony — First boat at the Blue Earth River — Congressional election — Visit.of 
Frcdrika Bremer — Indian newspaper — Otlier newspapers— Second Legislature 
— University of Minnesota — Teamster killed by Indians — Sioux Treaties — Third 
Legislature— Land slide at Stillwater — Death of first Editor — Fourth Legislature 
Baldwin School, now Macalester College — Indian fight in Saint Paul. 

On the third of March, 1849, tlie bill was passed 
by Congress for organizing the territory of 
Minnesota, wbose boimdary ou the west, extended 
to the ilissonri River. At this time, the region was 
little more than a wilderness. The west bank of 
the Slississippi, from the Iowa line to Lake 
Itasca, was unceded by the Indians. 

At "Wapashaw, was a trading post in charge of 
Alexis Biiilly, and here also resided the ancient 
voyageur, of fourscore years, A. Rocque. 

At the foot of Lake Pepin was a store house 
kept by ilr. F. S. Richards. On the west shore of 
the lake lived the eccentric Wells, whose wife 
was a bois brule, a daughter of the deceased 
trader, Duncan Graham. 

The two unfinished buildings of stone, on 
the beautiful bank opposite the renowned 
Maiden's Rock, and the surrounding skin lodges 
of his wife's relatives and friends, presented a 
rude but pictiuesque scene. Above the lake was 
a cluster of bark wigwams, the Dahkotah village 
of Raymneecha, now Red AVing, at which was a 
Presbyterian mission house. 

The next settlement was Kaposia, also au In- 
dian village, and the residence of a Presbyterian 
missionary, the Rev. T. S. Williamson, M. D. 
On the east side of the Mississippi, the first set- 
tlement, at the mouth of the St. Croix, was Point 
Douglas, then as now, a small hamlet. 

At Red Rock, thesite of a former Methodist 
mission station, there were a few ftirmers. Saint 
Paul was just emerging from a collection of In- 
dian whisky shops and birch roofed cabins of 



half-breed voyageurs. Here and there a frame 
tenement was erected, and, under the auspices of 
the Hon. H. il. Rice, who had obtained an inter- 
est in the town, some warehouses were con- 
structed, and the foundations of the American 
House, a frame hotel, which stood at Third and 
Exchange street, were laid. In 1849, the popu- 
lation had increased to two hundred and fifty 
or three hundred inhabitants, for rumors had 
gone abroad that it might be mentioned in the 
act, creating the territory, as the capital 
of ilinnesota. More than a month after 
the adjournment of Congress, just at eve, 
on the ninth of April, amid terrific peals of 
thunder and torrents of rain, the weekly steam 
packet, the first to force its way through the icy 
barrier of Lake Pepin, rounded tlie rocky point 
whistling loud and long, as if the bearer of glad 
tidings. Before she was safely moored to the 
landing, the shouts of the excited villagers were 
he;ird announcing that there was a territory of 
Minnesota, and that Saint Paul was the seat of 
government. 

Every successive steamboat anival poured out 
on the landing men big with hope, and anxious 
to do something to mould the future of the new 
state. 

Nine days after the news of the existence of the 
territory of Minnesota was received, there arrived 
James M. Goodhue with press, type, and printing 
apparatus. A graduate of Amherst college, and 
a lawyer by profession, he wielded a sharp pen, 
and wrote editorials, which, more than anj-thing 
else, perhaps, induced immigration. Though a 
man of some faults, one of the counties properly 
bears his name. On the twenty-eighth of April, 
he issued from his press the first number of the 
Pioneer. 

On the twenty - seventh of May, Alexander 
Ramsey, the Governor, and family, arrived at 
Saint Paul, butowiug to the crowded state of pub- 



118 



HXPLGJiERS AAB PlONEMMii OF 3f/iViV£,«01'vl. 



lie houses, immediately proceeded in the steamer 
to the establishmetit of the Far Company, kuowii 
as Meudota, at the junction of the Minnesota and 
Mississippi, and became the guest of the lion. H. 
U. Sibley. 

On the first of June, Gtovemor Ramsey, by pro- 
clamation, declared the territory duly organized, 
with the followiiif; oflicers : Alexander Kamsey, 
of Pennsylvania, Governor ; C. K. Smith, of Ohio, 
Secretary ; A. Goodrich, of Tennessee, Chief 
Justice ; D. Cooper, of Pennsylvania, and B. B. 
Meeker, of Kentucky, Associate Judges ; Josliua 
L. Taylor, Marshal ; II. L. Moss, attorney of the 
United States. 

On the eleventh of June, a second proclama- 
tion was issued, dividing tlie territory into three 
temporary judicial disti'icts. The first comprised 
the county of St. Croix ; the county of La Pouite 
and the region north and west of the ilississippi. 
and north of the ]Minnesota and of a Une rumiing 
due west from the headwaters of the Minnesota 
to the ilissouri river, constituted the second : 
and the country w^stof the Mississippi and south 
of the Minnesota, formed the third district. 
Judge Goodrich was assigned to the first, Meeker 
to the second, and Cooper to the tliird. A court 
was ordered to be held at Stillwater on the second 
Monday, at the Falls of St. Anthony on the thii-d, 
and at Mendota on the fourth Monday of August. 

Until the twenty -sixth of June, Governor 
Ramsey and family had been guests of Hon. H. 
If. Sibley, at Mendota. On the afternoon of 
that day they arrived at St. Paul, in a birch-bark 
canoe, and became permanent residents at the 
capital. The house first occupied as a guber- 
natorial mansion, was a small frame building that 
stood on Third, between Robert and Jackson 
streets, formerly known as the Xew England 
House. 

A few days after, the Hon. II. M. Rice and 
family moved from Mendota to St. Paul, and oc- 
cupied the house he had erected on St. Anthony 
street, near the corner of Market. 

On the first of July, a land office was estab- 
lished at Stillwater, and A. "Van Vorhes, after a 
few weeks, became the register. 

The anniversary of our J^ ational Indepenaence 
was celebrated in a becoming manner at the cap- 
ital. The place selected for the address, was a 
grove that stood on the sites of the City HaU and 



the Baldwin School buikUng, and the late Frank- 
lin Steele was the marshal of the day. 

On the seventh of July, a proclamation was is- 
sued, dividing the territory into seven council 
districts, and ordering an election to be held on 
the first day of August, for one delegate to rep- 
resent tlie people in tlie House of Representatives 
of the United Stales, for nine councillors and 
eighteen representatives, to constitute the Legis- 
lative Assembly of Miimesota. 

Ill this month, the Hon. H. M. Rice despatch- 
ed a boat laded with Indian goods from the 
the Falls of St. Anthony to Crow Wing, wliich 
was towed by horses after the maimer of a canal 
boat. 

Tlie election on the first of August, passed off 
with little excitement, lion. 11, II. Sibley being 
elected delegate to Congress without opposition. 
David Lambert, on what might, perhaps, be 
termed the old settlers" ticket, was defeated in 
St. Paul, by James M. Boal. The latter, on the 
night of the election, was honored wth a ride 
through town on the axle and fore-wheels fif an 
old wagon, which w^as drawn by his admiring 
but somewhat undisciplined friends. 

J. L. Taylor having declined the office of 
United States Marshal; A. M. Mitchell, of Ohio, 
a graduate of West Point, and colonel of a regi- 
ment of Ohio volunteers in the Mexican war, was 
appointed and arrived at the capital early in 
August. 

There were three papers published in the ter- 
ritory soon after its organization. The first was 
the Pioneer, issued on April twenty-eighth, 1849, 
imder most discom'aging circumstances. It w^as 
at first the intention of the witty and reckless 
editor to have called his paper " The Epistle of 
St. Paul." About the same time there was issued 
in Cincinnati, mider the auspices of the late Dr. 
A. RandaU, of California, the first number of 
the Register. The second number of the paper 
was printed at St. Paul, in July, and the office 
was on St. Anthony, between Washington and 
Market Streets, About the first of June, James 
Hughes, afterward of Hudson, Wisconsin, arrived 
with a press and materials, and established the 
Minnesota Chronicle. After an existence of a 
few weeks two papers were cUscontinued ; and, 
in theii' place, was issued the " Cluonicle and 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPORARY CAPITOL. 



lUi 



Register," edited by Nathaiel McLean and John 
P. Owens. 

The first courts, pursuant to proclamation of 
the governor, w ere lield in tlie month of August. 
At Stillwater, the court was organized on the 
thirteenth of the month. Judge Goodrich pre- 
siding, and Judge Cooper by courtesy, sitting on 
the bencli. On the twentieth, the second iudi- 
cial district held a court. The room used was 
the old government mill at Minneapolis. The 
presiding judge was B. 13. Sleeker; the foreman 
of the grand jury, Franklin Steele. On the last 
Monday of the month, the court for the third 
judicial district was organized in the large stone 
warehouse of the fur company at Mendota. Tlie 
presiding judge was David Cooper. Governor 
Eamsey sat on the right, and Judge Goodrich on 
the left. Hon. H. II. Sibley was the foreman of 
the grand jury. As some of the jurors could not 
speak the English language, W. II. Forbes acted 
as interpreter. The charge of Judge Cooper was 
lucid, scholarly, and dignified. At tlie request 
of the grand jury it was afterwards published. 

On Monday, the third of September, the first 
Legislative Assembly convened in the " Central 
House,'" in Saint Paul, a building at the corner 
of Mimiesota and Bench streets, facing the 
Mississippi river which answered the double 
purpose of capitol and hotel. On the first 
floor of the main biulding was the Secreta- 
ry's oflBce and Representative chamber, and in 
the second stoiy was the library and Council 
chandler. As the flag was run up the stafl; ui 
front of the house, a number of Indians sat on a 
rocky bluff in the vicinity, and gazed at what to 
them was a novel and perhaps saddenuig scene ; 
for if the tide of immigration sweeps in from the 
Pacific as it has from the Atlantic coast, they 
must soon dwindle. 

The legislatiue having organized, elected the 
following permanent officers: David Olmsted, 
President of Council ; Joseph R. Brown, Secre- 
ary ; H. A'. Lambert, Assistant. In the House 
of Representatives. Joseph ^V. Furber was elect- 
ed Speaker ; W. D. Phillips, Clerk ; L. B. Wait, 
Assistant. 

On Tuesday afternoon, both houses assembled 
m the dining hall of the hotel, and after prayer 
was offered by Rev. E. D. NeUl, Governor Ram- 
sey delivered his message. The message was alily 



written, and its perusal afforded satisfaction at 
home and abroad. 

The first session of the legislature adjourned on 
the first of November. Among other proceed- 
ings of interest, was the creation of the following 
counties: Itasca, Wapashaw, Dalikotah, "\Vah- 
nahtah, Mahkahto, Pembina Washington, Ram- 
sev and Benton. Tlie three latter counties com- 
prised the country tliat up to that time had been 
ceded by the Indians on the east side of the Mis- 
sissippi, Stil.'water was decla'.'cd the county seat 
of Washington, Sahit Paul, of Ramsey, and '• the 
seat of justice of the county of Benton was to be 
within one-quarter of a mile of a poinLoii the east 
side of the Mississippi, directly opposite the moutb 
of Sauk river." 

EVENTS OF A. D 1850. 

By the active exertions of the secretary of th» 
territory, C. K. Smith, Esq., the Historical 
Society of Minnesota was incorporated at the 
first session of the legislature. Tlie opening an- 
nual addi-ess was deUvered in the then Metliodist 
(now Swedenborgian) church at Saint Paul, on 
the first of January, 1850. 

The follo\\ing account of the proceedings is 
fi-om the Chronicle and Register. "The first 
public exercises of the Minnesota Historical 
Society, took place at the Methodist church. Saint 
Paul, on the first inst., and passed off higlily 
creditable to all concerned. The day was pleasant 
and the attendance large. At the appointed 
hour, the President and both Vice-Presidents of 
the society being absent ; on motion of Hon. C. 
K. Smith, Hon. Chief Justice Goodrich was 
.called to the chair. The same gentleman then 
moved that a committee, consistmg of Messrs. 
Parsons K. Jolmson, John A. Wakefield, and B. 
W. Brunson, be appointed to wait upon the 
Orator of the day. Rev. Mr. Neill, and inform 
him that the audience was waiting to hear his 
address. 

"Mr. Neill was shortly conducted to the pulpit; 
and after an eloquent and approriate prayer by 
the Rev. Mr. Parsons, and music by the band, he 
proceeded to deliver his discourse upon the early 
French missionaries and Voyageurs into ilinne- 
sota. We hope the society wUl provide for its 
liublication at an early day. 

■'After some brief remarks by Rev. Mr, 



120 



Exi'Luumta AM) riosjujaus OJf mixnehota. 



Hobart, upon the objects and ends of histoi y. the 
ceremonies were concluded witli a prayer by 
that gentleman. The audience dispersed highly 
delighted with all that occurred.' 

At this early period the Minnesota Pioneer 
issued a Carrier's New Year's .Vddress, which 
was amusing doggerel. The reference to the 
future greatness and ignoble origin of the capital 
of Minnesota was as follows : — 

The cities on this river must be three, 
Two that are bu: t and one that is to be. 
One, is the mart of all the tropics yield, 
The cane, the orange, and the cotton-fleld, 
And sends her ships abroad and boasts 
Her trade extended to a thousand coasts; 
Thb other, central for the temperate zone, 
Garners the stores that on the plains are grown, 
A place where steamboats from all quarters, 

range, 
To meet and speculate, as 'twere on 'change. 
Tlie third will ht, where rivers confluent How 
From the wide spreading north through plains 

of snow ; 
The mart of all that boundless forests give 
To make mankiiul more comfortably live, 
The land of manufacturing industry, 
The workshop of the nation it shall be. 
Propelled by this wide .stream, you'll see 
A thousand factories at Saint Anthony : 
And the Saint Croix a hundred mills shall drive, 
And all its smiling villages shall thrive ; 
IJut theii mij town— remember that high bench 
With cabins scattered over it, of French ? 
A man named Henry Jackson's living there. 
Also a man— why eveiy one knows L. Kobair, 
Below Fort Snelling, seven mi'.es or so, 
And three above the village of Old Crow 'i* 
Pig's Eye 'i* Yes ; Pig's Eye I That's the spot I 
A very funny name ; is't not y 
I'ig's I<;ye's the spot, to plant my city on. 
To be remembered by, when 1 am gone. 
I'ig's Eye converted thou shalt be, like Saul : 
Thy name henceforth shall be Saint Paul. 

On the evening of New Year's day, at Fort 
Snelling, there was an assemblage which is only 
seen on the outposts of civilization. In one of 
the stone edifices, outside of the wall, belonging 
to the United Slates, there resided a gentleman 
who had dwelt in Minnesota suice the year 1819, 



and for maii> years had been in the employ of 
the govenmient, as Indian interpreter. In youth 
he had been a member of the Columbia Fur Com- 
pany, and conforming to the habits of traders, 
liad purchased a Dahk<»tah wife who was wholly 
ignorant of the English language. As a family 
of children gathered around him he recognised 
the relation of husband and father, and consci- 
entiously discharged his duties as a parent. His 
daughter at a proper age was sent to a boarding 
school of some celebrity, and on the night re- 
ferred to was married to an intelligent young 
American farmer. Among the guests luesent 
were the ofllcers of the garrison in full uniform, 
with their wives, the United States Agent for 
the Dahkotahs, and family, the bois bndes of 
the neighborhood, and the Indian relatives of the 
mother. The mother did not make her appear- 
ance, but, as the minister proceeded with the 
ceremony, the Dahkotah relatives, wia|)ped in 
their blankets, gathered in the hall and looked 
in through the door. 

The marriage feast was wortliy of the occa- 
sion. In consequence of the numbers, tiie 
ofTicers and those of Eui^pean extraction partook 
first ; then the bois brules of Ojibway <and Dah- 
kotah descent; and, finally, the native Ameri- 
cans, who did ample justice to the plentiful sup- 
ply spread before them. 

Governor Kamsey, Hon. H. H. Sibley, and the 
delegate to Ctmgress devised at Washington, this 
winter, the ten-itorial seal. Thedcsign was Falls 
of St. Anthony in the distance. An immigrant 
ploughing the land on the borders of the Indian 
coinitry, full of hope, and looking fonvard to the 
possession of the luniting grounds l)eyond. An 
Ind'an,'amazed at the sight of the plough, and 
fleeing on horseback towards the setting sini. 

The motto of the Earl of Dunraven, "(iuse 
sursum volo videre" (I wish to see what is above) 
was most appropriately selected by Mr. Sibley, 
but by the blunder of an engraver it appeared on 
the tenitorial seal, "Quo sursum velo videre," 
which no scholar could translate. At length was 
substituted, "L' Etoile du Nord," "Star of the 
North," while the device of the setting sim 
remained, and this is objectionable, as the State 
of Maine had already placed the North Star on 
her escutcheon, with the motto " IJirigo," "I 
.!?uide.'' Perhai)s some future legislature may 



tiCAZP DANCE IN STILLWATER. 



121 



direct the first motto to be restored and correctly 
engriived. 

In the montii of April, tliere was a renewal of 
hosUHties lietween the Dalikotalis and Ojibways, 
on lands tliatliad been ceded to the Tiiited States. 
A war prophet at Red Wing, dreamed that he 
ought to raise a war party. Announcing the fact, 
a number expressed theirwilliugnesstogoon such 
an expedition. Seveial from the Kaposia village 
also joined tlie jiarty, under the leadership of a 
wortliless Indian, who bad been confined in the 
guartl-bouse at Fort. Snelling, the year previous, 
for scalping his wife. 

Passhig up the valley of the St. Croix, a rew 
miles above Stillwater the party discovered on the 
snow the marks of a keg and footprints.* These 
told them that a man and woman of the Ojibways 
had been to some whisky dealer's, and were re- 
turning. Following their trail, tliey found on 
Apple river, about twenty nnles from Stillwater, 
a Ijand of Ojibways encamped in one lodge. Wait- 
uig till daybreak of Wednesday, April second, the 
Dahkotahs commenced firing on the unsuspecting 
inmates, some of whom were drinlung from the 
contents of the whisky keg. The camp was com- 
posed of fifteen, and all were murdered and scalp- 
ed, with the exception of a lad, who was made -a 
captive. 

On Thursday, the victors came to Stillwater, 
and danced the seal]) dance around tlie cai)tiv(^ 
boy, in tlie heat of excitement, striking liini in the 
face with the scarcely cold and bloody scalps of 
his relatives. The child was then taken to Ka- 
posia, and adopted l)y the cliief. Governor Ram- 
sey immediately took measures to send the boy to 
his friends. At a conference held at the Gov- 
ernor's mansion, the boy was delivered up, and, 
on being led out to the kitchen Iiy a little son of 
the Governor, since deceased, to receive refresh- 
ments, he cried bitterly, seemingly more alarmed 
at being left with tlie whites than he had been 
while a captive at Kaposia. 

From the iirst of April the waters of the Mis- 
sissii>pi began to rise, and on the thirteenth, the 
lower floor of tlie wai'elioiise, tlien occupied by 
William Constans, at the foot of Jackson street, 
St. Paul, was submerged. Taking advantage of 
the freshet, the steamboat Antliouy Wayne, for a 
purse of two hundred dollars, ventured through 
the swift current above i^'ort Snelling, and reached 



the Falls of St. Anthony. The boat loft the fort 
after dinner, with Governor Ramsey and other 
guests, also the band of the Sixth Regiment on 
board, and reached the falls between three and 
four o'clock in the afternoon. The wliole town, 
men, women and chihlren, lined the shore as the 
boat approached, and welcomed this first arrival, 
wnth shouts and waving handkerchiefs. 

On the afternoon of May fifteenth, there might 
have been seen, huiTying through the streets of 
Sahit Paul, a number of naked and painted braves 
of the Kaposia band of Uahkfitahs, ornamented 
with all the attire of war, and panting for the 
scalps of their enemies. A few hours before, the 
warlike head chief of the Ojibways, young Ilole- 
in-the-Day, having secreted his canoe in tlie retired 
gorge which leads to the cave in the upper sulj- 
urbs, with two or three associates had crossed the 
river, and, almost in sight of the citizens of tho 
town, had attacked a small iiaity of Dahkotahs, 
and murdered and scalped one man. On receipt 
of the news, (iovernor Ramsey granted a parole 
to the thirteen Dahkotahs confined in Fort Snell- 
ing, for participating in tlie Apple river massacre. 

On the morning of the sixteenth of May, tlu^ 
first Protestant church edifice completed in tlie 
white settlements, a snii'll frame building, built 
for the Presbyterian church, at Saint Paul, was 
destroyed by fire, it being the first conflagi-ation 
that had occurred since the organization of the 
teiritory. 

One of the most interesting events of the year 
1850, was the Indian council, at Fort Snelling. 
Governor Ramsey had sent runners to the diifer- 
ent bands of the Ojibways and Dahkotahs, to 
meet him at the fort, for the purpose of en- 
deavouring to adjust their diniculti(^s. 

On Wednesday, the twelfth of June, after 
much talking, as is customary at Indian councils, 
the two tribes agreed as they had frequently done 
before, to be friendly, and Governor Ramsey 
presenting to each party an ox. the council was 
dissolved. 

On Thursday, the Ojibways visited St. Paul 
for the first time, young lIole-m-the-Day being 
dressed in a coat of a captain of United States 
infantry, which had been iiresented to him at the 
fort. On Friday, they left hi the steamer (gov- 
ernor Ramsey, which had been built at St. An- 
thony, and just commenced running between 



}22 



EXPLOIiERU AND I'lUMlEliii OF MINNESOTA. 



that point and Sauk Rapids, for their homes in 
the wilderness of the Upper ^Mississippi. 

Tlie summer of ISoO was the commencement 
of the navigation of the Minnesota River by 
steamboats. With the exception of a steamer 
tliat made a pleasure e.xciirsion as far as Shokpay, 
in 1841, no large vessels had ever disturbed the 
waters of this stream. In June, the '-Anthony 
Wayne," which a few weeks before had ascended 
to the Falls of St. Anthony, made a trip. On 
the eighteenth of Juiy she made a second trip, 
going almost to Mahkahto. The " Nominee " 
also navigated the stieam for some distance. 

On the twenty-second of July the o(lici?rs of 
the " Yankee," taking advantage of the high 
water, determined to navigate the stream as far 
as possible. The boat ascended to near the (liit- 
touwood river. 

As the time for the general election in Septem- 
ber approached, considi-ialile e,\citement was 
manifested. As there were no political Issues 
before the people, parties were formed based on 
personal preferences. Among tlio.se nominated 
for delegate to Congress, by various meetings, 
were 11, II. Sibley, the former delegate to- Con- 
gress, David Olmsted, at that time engaged in 
the Indian trade, and A. M. Mitchell, the United 
States marshal. Mr. Olmsted williilrew his 
name before election day, and the contest was 
between those interested in Sibley and jMitchell. 
The friends of each betrayed the greatest zeal, 
and neither pains nor money were spared to in- 
sure success. Mr. Sibley was elected by a small 
majority. For the first time in the territory, 
soldiers at the garrisons voted at tliis election, 
and there was considerable discussion as to the 
propriety of such a course. 

Miss Fredrika Bremer, the well known Swedish 
novelist, visited Minnesota in the month of 
October, and was the guest of Governor Ramsey. 

During November, the Dahkotah Tawaxitku 
Kin, or the Dahkotah Friend, a monthly paper, 
was commenced, one-half in the Dalikotah and 
one-half in the English language. Its editor was 
the Rev. Gideon II. Pond, a Presbyterian mis- 
sionary, and its place of publication at Saint Paul. 
It was published for nearly two years, and, though 
it failed to attract the attention of the Indian 
mind, it conveyed to the English reader nmcli 



correct information in relation to the habits, the 
belief, and superstitions, of the Dahkotahs. 

On the tenth of December, a new paper, owned 
and edited by Daniel A. Roliertson, late United 
I States marshal, of Ohio, and called the Minne- 
sota Democrat, made its appearance. 

During the summer there had been changes in 
the editorial suiicrvision of the "Chronicle and 
Register." For a brief period it was edited by 
L. A. Babcock, Esq., who was succeeded by \Y. 
a. Le Dr.c. 

About the time of the issuing of the Demo- 
crat, C. J. Ilenniss, formerly reporter for the 
Ignited States (ia/.ette, Philadelphia, became the 
editor of t!ie Chronicle. 

The lirst proclamation for a thauksKiving day 
was issued in IS.jO by the governor, and the 
tweuty-sixtli of December was the time appointed 
and it was generally observed. 

EVENTS OF A. D. 1851. 

On AVednesday, January first, 1851, the second 
Legislative Assembly assembled in a three-story 
brick building, since desti'oyed by fire, tliat stood 
on St. Anthony street, between Washington and 
Franklin. D. 15. Loonus was chosen Speaker of 
the Council, and M. E. Ames Speaker of the 
House. This assembly was characterized by 
more bitterness of feeling than any that has 
since convened. The preceding delegate election 
had been based on personal preferences, and 
cliques and factions manifested themselves at an 
early i)eriod of tlie session. 

The locating of the iienitentiary at Still\\ater, 
and the capitol building at St. Paul gave some 
dissatisfaction. By the efforts of J. W. North, 
Esq., a bill creating the University of ^Minnesota 
at or near the Falls of St. Anthony, was passed, 
and signed by the Governor. This institution, 
by the State Constitution, is now the State Uni- 
versity. 

During the session of this Legislature, the pub- 
lication of the " Chronicle and Register" ceased. 

,\bout the middle erf May, a war party of Dah- 
kotahs discovered near Swan River, an Ojibway 
with a keg of whisky. The latter escaped, with 
the loss of his keg. The war party, drinking the 
contents, became intoxicated, and, firing upon 
some tcamrters they met driving their wagons 
\\ ith goods to tlie Indian Agency, killed one of 



LANDS WEST OF TUB MrSSISSIPPI CEDED. 



323 



them, Andrew Swartz, a resident of St. Paul. 
The news was conveyed to Fort Kipley, and a 
party of soldiers, with Hole-ia-the-day as a guide, 
started in pursuit of the murderers, but did not 
succeed in capturing them. Through tlie influ- 
ence of Little Six, the Dahkotah chief, whose vil- 
lage was at (and named after him) Shok- 
pay, five of the oflfenders were arrested and 
placed in the guard house at Port Suelliug. On 
Monday, June ninth, they left the fort in a wagon, 
guarded by twenty-five dragoons, destined for 
Sauk Rapid.s for trial. As they departed they all 
sang their death eong, and the coarse soldiers 
amused themselves by making signs that they 
were going to be hung. On the first evening of 
the journey the five culprits encamped with the 
twenty-five dragoons. Handcuffed, they were 
placed in the tent, and yet at midnight they all 
escaped, only one being wounded by the guard- 
What was more remarkable, the wounded man 
was the first to bring the news to St. Paul. Pro- 
ceeding to Koposia, his wound was examined by 
the missionary and physician. Dr. Williamson; 
and then, fearing an arrest, he took a oanoe and 
paddled up the Minnesota. The excuses offered 
by the dragoons was, that all the guard but one 
fell asleep. 

The first paper published in Minnesota, beyond 
the capital, was the St. Anthony Express, which 
made its appearance during the last week of 
April or May. 

The most important event of the year 1851 
was the treaty with the Dahkotahs, by which the 
west side of the Mississippi and the valley of the 
Minunesota River were opened to the hardy immi- 
grant. The commissioners on the part of the 
United States were Luke Lea, Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, and Governor Eamsey. The 
. place of meeting for the upper bands was Trav- 
erse des Sioux. The commission arrived there 
on the last of June, but were obliged to wait 
many days for the assembling of the various 
bands of Dahkotahs. 

Oa the eighteenth of July, all those expected 
having arrived, the Sissetons and Wahpayton 
Dahkotahs assembled in grand council with the 
United States commissioners. After the usual 
feastings and speeches, a treaty was concluded 
on Wednesday, July twenty-third. The pipe 
having been smoked by the commissioners, Lea 



and Eamsey, it was passed to the chiefs. The 
paper containing the treaty was then read in 
English and translated into the Dahkotah by tlie 
Kev. S. E. Kiggs, Presbyterian Missioaary among 
this people. This finished, the chiefs came up 
to the secretary's table and touched the pen; the 
white men present then witnessed the document^ 
and nothing remained but the ratification of the 
United States Senate to open that vast country 
for the residence of the hardy immigrant. 

During the first week in August, a treaty was 
also concluded beneath an oak bower, on Pilot 
Knob, Mendota, with the M'dewakantonwan and 
WaUpaykootay bands of Dahkotahs. About sixty 
of the chiefs and principal men touched the pen, 
and Little Crow, who had beeen in the rnisssion- 
school at Lac qui Parle, signed his own name. 
Before they separated Colonel Ijea and Governor 
Eamsey gave them a few words of advice on 
various subjects connected with their future well- 
being, but particularly on the subject of educa- 
tion and temperance. The treaty was interpret- 
ed to them by the Eev. G. H. Pond, a gentleman 
who was conceded to be a most correct speaker 
of the Dahkotah tongue. 

The- day after the treaty these lower bands 
received thirty thousand dollars, which, by the 
treaty of 1837, was set apart for education; but, 
by the misrepresentations of interested half- 
breeds, the Indians were made to believe that 
it ought to be given to them to be employed as 
they pleased. 

The next week, with their sacks filled with 
money, they thronged the streets of St. Paul, 
purchasing whatever pleased their fancy. 

On the seventeenth of September, a new paper 
was commenced iu St. Paul, under the auspices 
of the "Whigs," and John P. Owens became 
editor, which relation he sustained until the fall 
of 1857. 

The election for members of the Legislature 
and county officers occurred on the fourteenth of 
October; and, for the first time, a regular Demo- 
cratic ticket was placed before the people. The 
parties called themselves Democratic and Anti- 
organization, or Coalition, 

In the month of November Jerome Fuller ar- 
rived, and took the place of Judge Goodricli as 
Chief Justice of Minnesota, who was removed; 
and, about the same time, Alexander Wilkin was 



121 



BXPLOBKliS AJUD l'10JSJ<lEliii OF MiySKHOTA. 



appouitetl secretary of tbe territory in place of 
C. K. Smith. 

The eigliteenth of December, piirsiiant to 
protlamation, was obser\'e<i as a day of Thaiiks- 
giviiig. 

EVENTS OF A. D. 1852. 

The third Legislative Assembly commenced its 
sessions ia one of the <;4i{>cp,<i on Tl'.ird below 
Jackson street, which became a portion of tlie 
Merchants' Hotel, ou the seventh of January, 
1852. 

This session, compared with the previous, 
formed a contrast as great as that between a 
boisterous day in ilanh and a calm June morn- 
ing. The minds of the population were more 
deeply interested in the ratiDcatiou of thetre.ities 
made A\-ith the Dahkoluhs, tluni in poUtical di.-> 
cussions. Among otl>pr le^isljition of interest 
was the creation of Ileiir.epin county. 

On Saturday, the .fc-irtoenth of February, a 
dog-traui arrived at S' Vaid from the north, 
with the distinguished Arctic explorer, Dr. Rae. 
He had been in search of the long-missing Sir 
John Franklin, by ^\■ay of the Mackenzie river, 
and was now on liis way to Europe. 

Ou the fourteentli of ilay, an interesting lusus 
natura3 occurred at Stillwater. On the prairies, 
beyond the elevated blulTs wliicli encircle the 
business portion of the town , tliere is a lake which 
discharges its waters through a ravine, and sup- 
pUcd McKusick's mill. Owing to heavy rairis, 
the hills became saturated with water, and the 
lake very fuU. Before daylight tlie citizens heard 
the " voice of many waters," and looking out, saw 
rushing down through the ravine, trees, gi^avel 
and dUnvium. Xothing impeded its course, and 
as it issued from the ravine it spread over th.e 
town site, covering up barns and small tenements, 
and, continuing to the lake shore, it materially 
improved the landing, by a deposit of many tons 
of earth. One of the editors of the day, alluding 
to the fact, quauitly remarked, that "it was a 
very extraordinary movement of real estate." 

During the summer, EUjah Terry, a young 
man Mho had left St. Paul the premuis March, 
and went to Pembina, to act as teacher to the 
mixed bloods in that vicinity, was murdered m\- 
der distressing circumstances. "With a bois bnile 
he had started to the woods on the morning of 



his death, to hew timber. A^^lile there he was 
fired upon by a small party of Dahkotahs ; a ball 
broke liis arm, and he was ]>ierced witli anows. 
His scalp was wrenched from his head, and was 
afterwards seen among Sissetoii Dalikotahs, near 
Big Stone Lake. 

About tlie last of August, the pioneer editor 
of Mimiesota, James M. Goodhue, died. 

At the November Term of the United States 
District Court, of Ramsey county, a Dalikotah, 
named Yu-ha-zee, was tried for the murder of a 
German woman. "\\'ith others she was travel- 
ing al>ove Shokpay, when a party of Indians, of 
whom the prisoner was one, met them ; and, 
gathering about the wagon, were much excited. 
The prisoner punched the woman firet with ids 
gun, and. being tlueatened by one of the party, 
loaded and fired, killing the woman and wound- 
ing one of the men. 

On the day of his trial he was escorted from 
Fort Suelling by a company of mounted dragoons 
in full dress. It was an impressive scene to 
witness the poor Indian half hid in his blanket, 
in a buggy with the civil oflicer, surrounded with 
all the pomi> and circumsUmee of war. Tlie jury 
found him guilty. Ou being asked if he had 
anything to say why sentence of death should 
not be passed, he replied, through the uiterpreter, 
that the band to which he belonged would remit 
their amuiities if he could be released. To tlus 
Judge Hayner, the successor of Judge Fuller, 
replied, that he had no authority to release 
Lini : and, ordering him to rise, after some 
appropriate and impressive remarks, he pro- 
nounced the first sentence of death ever pro- 
nounced by a judicial officer in ilinnesota. The 
prisoner treml)led while the judge spoke, and 
was a piteous spectacle. By the statute of Min- 
nesota, then, one con%icted of murder could not 
be exicutcd until twelve months had elapsed, and 
he was confined until the governor of the ter- 
orrity should by waiTant order his execution. 

K VENTS OF A. D. 1S53. 

The fourtli Legislative Assembly convened on 
the fifth of January. 1853, in the two story brick 
edifice at the corner of Tliird and Minnesota 
streets. The Council chose Martin McLeod as 
presiding officer, and the House Dr. David Day, 



INDIAN FIGHT IN STREEIS OF ST. PAUL. 



125 



Speaker. Governor Ramsey's message was an 
interesting document. 

The Baldwin school, now known asMacalester 
College, was incorporated at this session of the 
legislature, and was opened the following Jime. 

On the ninth of April, a party of Ojibways 
killed a Dalikotah. at the village of Shokpay. A 
war party, from Kaposia, then proceeded up the 
valley of the St. Croix, and killed an Ojibway. 
On the morning of the twenty-seventh, a band 
of Ojibway warriors, naked, decked, and fiercely 
gesticulatmg, might have been seen in the busiest 
street of the capital, in search of their enemies. 
Just at that time a small party of women, and 
one man, who had lost a leg in the battle of Still- 
water, arrived in a canoe from Kaposia, at the 
Jackson street landing. Perceiving the Ojib- 
ways, they retreated to the building then known 
as the " Pioneer " office, and the Ojibways dis- 
charging a volley through the windows, wounded 
a Dahkotaji woman who soon died. For a short 
time, the infant capital presented a sight 
■ similar to that witnessed in ancient days in 
Hadley or Deerfleld, the then frontier towns of 
Massachusetts. jSiessengers were despatched to 
Fort Snelling for the dragoons, and a party of 
citizens mounted on horseback, were quickly in 
pursuit of those who with so much boldness had 
sought the streets of St. Paul, as a place to 
avenge their wrongs. The dragoons soon fol- 
lowed, with Indian guides scenting the track of 
the Ojibways, like bloodliounds. The next day 
they discovered the transgressors, near the Falls 
of St. Croix. The Ojibways manifesting what 
was supposed to be an insolent spirit, the order 
was given by the lieutenant in command, to lire, 
and he whose scalp was afterwards dagueireo 



typed, and which was engraved for Graham's 
Magazine, wallowed in gore. 

During the summer, the passenger, as he stood 
on the hurricane deck of any of the steamboats, 
might have seen, on a scaffold on the bluffs in 
the rear of Kaposia, a square box covered with a 
coarsely fringed red cloth. Above it was sus- 
pended a piece of the Ojibway's scalp, whose 
death had caused the affray in the streets of St. 
Paul. Within, was the body of the woman who 
had been shot in the " Pioneer " buildmg, while 
seeking refuge. A scalp suspended over the 
corpse is supposed to be a consolation to the soul, 
and a great protection in the journey to the spirit 
land. 

On the accession of Pierce to the presidency of 
the United States, the ofHcers appointed under 
the Taylor and Fillmore administrations were 
removed, and the foUowmg gentlemen substitu- 
ted : Governor, W. A. Gorman, of Indiana ; Sec- 
retary, J. T. Kosser, of Yirguiia ; Chief Justice, 
W. 11. Welch, of Minnesota ; Associates, Moses 
Sherburne, of Maine, and A. G. Chatfield, of 
Wisconsin. One of the first official acts of the 
second Governor, was the making of a treaty 
with the Winnebago Indians at AVatab. Benton 
county, for an exchange of country. 

On the twenty-ninth of June, D. A. Robei-tson, 
who by his enthusiasm and earnest advocacy of 
its principles had done much to organize the 
Democratic party of Alinnesota, retired from the 
editorial chair and was succeeded by David Olm- 
sted. 

At the election held in October, Henry M. 
Rice and Alexander Wilkin were candidates 
for deligate to Congress. Tlie former was elect- 
ed by a decisive majority. 



126 



EXPLOREIiS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

EVENTS FROM A. D. 1854 TO THE ADMISSION OF MINNESOTA TO THE I'NtON. 



Fifth LesiBlnture— Execution of Yuhnzee— Sixth Lceialaturc- First i»ridge over the 
Mississippi— Arctic Explorcir— Seventh I^Bislature — Indian girl killed near 
BIn*>iiiiiiptun Ferry— Eintitli l^trislatiire — Attrmpt to Remove the Capital- 
Special Session of the Letn^lature — Convention to frame a State Constitution- 
Admission of Minnesota to the Union. 

The fifth session of the legislature was com- 
menced in the buikling just completed as the 
Capitol, on January fourth, 1854. The President 
of the Council was S. 13. Olmstead, and the Speak- 
er of the Uouse of Kepresent^itives was N. C. D. 
Taylor. 

Governor Gorman delivered his first annual 
message on the tenth, and as his predecessor, 
urged the importance of railway communications, 
and dwelt upon the necessity of fostering the in- 
terests of education, and of the lumbermen. 

The exciting bill of the session was the act in- 
corporating the Alimiesota and Northwestern 
Railroad Company, introduced by Joseph K. 
Brown. It was passed after the hour of midnight 
on the last day of the session. Contrary to the 
expectation of his friends, the Governor signed 
the bill. 

On the afternoon of December twenty-seventh, 
the first public execution in Minnesota, in accord- 
ance with tlie forms of law, took place. Yu-ha- 
zee, the Dahkotah who had been convicted in 
November, 1852, for the murder of a German 
woman, above Shokpay, was the mdividual. 
Tlie scaffold was erected on t)ie open space be- 
tween an inn called the Franklin House and the 
rear of the late Mr. J. W. Selby's enclosru'e 
in St. Paul. About two o'clock, the prisoner, 
dressed in a white shroud, left the old log pris- 
on, near the court house, and entered a carriage 
with the officers of the law. Being assisted up 
the steps that led to the scaffold, he made a few- 
remarks in his own language, and was then exe- 
cuted. Numerous ladies sent in a petition to 
tlie governor, asking tlie pardon of the Indian, 
to which tliat officer in decUnuig made an appro- 
priate reply. 



EVENTS OF A. D. 1855. 

The sixth session of the legislature convened 
on the tliird of January, 1855. \V. P. ^lurray 
was elected President of the Council, and James 
S. Norris Speaker of the House. 

About the last of January, the two houses ad- 
journed one day, to attend the exercises occa- 
sioned by the opening of tlie first bridge of 
any kind, over tlie mighty Mississippi, from 
Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. It was at 
Falls of Saint Anthony, and made of wire, and 
at the time of its opening, tlie patent for the 
land on which the west piers were built, had not 
been issued from the Land Office, a striking evi- 
dence of the rapidity with whicli tlie city of 
JIinne;ipolis, which now surrounds the Falls, has 
developed. 

On the twenty-ninth of March, a convention 
was held at Saint Anthony, which led to the 
formation of the Republican party of ^Minnesota. 
This body took measures for the holding of a 
territorial convention at St. Paul, wliich con- 
vened on the twenty-fifth of July, and William 
R. Marshall was nominated as delegate to Con- 
gress. Shortly after tlie friends of Mr. Sibley 
nominated David Olmsted and Henry M. Rice, 
tlie former delegate was also a candidate. The 
contest was animated, aud resulted in the elec- 
tion of Mr. Rice. 

About noon of December twelfth, 1855, a fonr- 
horse vehicle was seen driving rapidly through 
St. Paul, and deep was the mterest when it was 
announced that one of the Arctic exploring party, 
Mr. James Stewart, was on his way to Canada 
with relics of the world - renowiied and woiid- 
mounied Sir John Frankhn. Gathering together 
the precious fragments found on ^Montreal Island 
and vicinity, the party had left the region of ice- 
bergs on the ninth of August, and after a con- 
tinued land journey from that time, had reached 



PBOrOSEU liEMOVAL OF TJIE fiKAT OF UOVFUyMFJ^T. 



127 



Saint Paul on that clay, en route to the Hudson 
Bay Company's quarters in Canada. 

EVENTS OF A. D. 1856. 

The seventh session of the Legislative Assem- 
bly was begun on the second of January, 1856, 
and again the exciting question was tlie ]Sliime- 
sota and Xorthwestern Railroad Company. 

Jolm B. Brisbm was elected President of the 
Council, and Charles Gardner, Speaker of the 
House. 

This year was comparatively devoid of interest. 
The citizens of the tenitory were busily engaged 
in making claims in newly organized coimties, 
and in enlarging the area of civilization. 

On the twelfth of June, several Ojibways 
entered the farm house of Mr. WhaUon, who re- 
sided in Hennepin county, on the banks of the 
Minnesota, a mile below the Bloomington ferr>-. 
The wife of the farmer, a friend, and three cliild- 
ren, besides a little Dahkotah girl, who had been 
brought up in tlie mission-house at Kaposia, and 
so changed in manners that her origin was 
scarcely perceptible, were sitting in the room 
when the Indians came in. Instantly seizing 
the little Indian maiden, they threw her out of 
the door, killed and scalped her, and fled before 
the men who were near by, in the field, could 
reach the house. 

EVENTS OF A. D. 1857. 

The procurement of a state organization, and 
a grant of lauds for railroad purposes, were the 
topics of political interest during the year 1857. 

The eighth Legislative Assembly convened at 
the rapitol on the seventh of January, and J. B. 
Brisbin was elected President of the Council, and 
J. W. Furber, Speaker of the House. 

A bill changing the seat of government to 
Saint Peter, on the Minnesota River, caused 
much discussion. 

On Saturday, February twenty -eighth, Mr. 
Balcombe offered a resolution to report the bUl 
for the removal of the seat of government, and 
shoiUd Mr. Rolette, chairman of the committee, 
fail, that W. W. Wales, of said committee, report 
a copy of said bill. 

Mr. Setzer, after the reading of the resolution, 
moved a call of the Council, and Mr. Rolette was 
foimd to be absent. The chair ordered the ser- 
geant at arms to report Mr Eolette in his seat. 



>Ir. Balcombe moved that further proceedings 
imder tlie call be dispensed with; which did not 
prevail. From that time untU the next Thursday 
afternoon, March the fiftli, a period of one hun- 
dred and twenty-three liours, the Council re- 
mained in their chamber without recess. At that 
time a motion to adjourn prevailed. On Friday 
another motion was made to dispense with the 
call of the Coimcil, which did not prevail. On 
Saturday, the Council met, the president declared 
the call still pending. At seven and a half p. m., 
a committee of the House was announced. The 
chair ruled, that no commimication from tlie 
House could be received wliile a call of the Coun- 
cil was pending, and the committee withdi'ew. 
A motion was agam made during the last night 
of the session, to dispense with all fiurther pro- 
ceedings under the call, which prevailed, with 
one vote only in tlie negative. 

Mr. Ludden then moved that a committee be 
appointed to wait on the Governor, and inquire if 
he had any further communication to make to 
the Council. 

Mr. Lowry moved a call of the Council, which 
was ordered, and the roll being called, Messrs. 
Rolette, Thompson and Tillotson were absent. 

At twelve o'clock at night the president re- 
sumed the chair, and announced that the time 
limited by law for the continuation of the session 
of the territorial legislature had expired, and he 
therefore declared the Council adjomned and the 
seat of government remained at Saint Paul. 

The excitement on the capital question was in- 
tense, and it was a strange scene to see members 
of the Comicil, eating and sleeping in the hall of 
legislation for days, waiting for the sergeant-at- 
arms to report an absent member in his seiit. 

On the twenty-third of February, 1857, an act 
passed the United States Senate, to authorize 
the people of Minnesota to foiTa a constitution, 
preparatory to their admission into the Union 
on an equal footing with the original states. 

Governor Gorman called a special session 
of the legislattu'e, to take iuto consideration • 
measures that would give efficiency to the act. 
The extra session convened on April twenty- 
seventh, and a m-essage was transmitted by Sam- 
uel Aledary, who had been appointed governor 
in place of W. A. Gorman, whose term of office 



1:28 



.EXPLORERS ANl) riUSEERU OF 21INJSES0TA. 



had exi)iied. The extra session adjourned on 
the twenty-third of May ; and in accordance 
with tne provisions of the enal ill ng act of Con- 
gress, an election was lield on the lirst Monday 
in June, for delegates to a convention wliicli was 
to assemble at the capitol on the second ^Monday 
in July. The election resulted, as was tlioii!,'ht. 
in giving a majority of delegates to tlie Itepiihli- 
cau party. 

At nii(hiight previous to the day fixed for the 
meeting of the convention, tlie Kcpublicans pro- 
ceeded to the capitol, because the enabling act 
had not fixed at what hour on tlie second -Mon- 
day the convention should asscnil)le, and fear- 
ing that the Democratic delegates might antici- 
pate them, and elect the oflicers of the liody. 
A little before twelve, A. Jl., on Monday, the 
. secretary of the territory entered the si)eaker"s 
rostrum, and began to call t!ie body to order ; 
and at the same time a delegate, J. "\V. Xorth. 
who had in his ]iossession a written request from 
the majority of the delegates pi;.;(:nt, proceeded 
to do tlie same tiling. The secretary of the ter- 
ritory put a motion to adjourn, aiul the Demo- 
cratic members present voting in the alih-mative, 
they left the hall. The Republicans, feeling that 
they were in the majority, remained, and in due 
time organized, and proceeded with the busiues;; 
specified in the enabling act, to form a constitu- 
tion, and-take all necessary steps for the est^ib- 
iishment of a state goverimient, in conformity 
with the Federal Constitution, subject to the 
approval and ratification of the people of the 
proposed state. 

After several days the Democratic wing also 
organized in tlie Senate chamber at the capitol, 
and, claiming to be the true body, also proceeded 
to form a constitution. Botli parties were re- 
markably orderly and intelligent, and everything 
w'as marked by perfect decorum. After they had 
been in session some weeks, moderate counsels 



prevailed, and a committee of conference was 
appointed from each body, which resulted in 
both adopting the constitution framed by the 
Democratic wing, on tlie twenty-ninth of Ang- 
gust. According to the provision of the consti- 
tution, an election was lield for state ofBcere 
and the adoption of the constitution, on tlie 
second Tuesday, the thirteenth of October. The 
constitution was adopted by almost a unanimous 
vote. It provided that the territorial officers 
should retain their ollices until the stale was ad- 
mitted into the Union, not anticipating the 
long delay which was experienced. 

The first session of the stale legislature com- 
menced on the first 'Wednesday of December, at 
the capitol, in the city of Saint Paul ; and during 
the month elected Henry M. Kice and .James 
Shields as their Representatives in the United 
States Senate. 

EVENTS OK A. I>. 18.5S. 

On the twenty-ninth of .January, I808, Mr. 
Douglas submitted a bill to the United States 
Senate, for the admission of ^liimesota into the 
Uiiiim. On the first of February, a discussion 
arose on the bill, in wliich Senators Douglas, 
Wilson, Gwiu, Hale, ]\Iasoii, (Jreen, Brown, and 
Crittenden participated. Brown, of Mississijipi, 
was opposed to the admission of Minnesota, un- 
til the Kansas question was settled. Mr. Crit- 
tenden, as a Southern man, could not endorse i'.ll 
that was said liy the Senator from Mississipji; 
and his words of wisdom and moderation during 
this day's discussion, were worthy of remeji- 
brance. Oil April the scveiilli, the bill passed 
the Senate with only three dissenting votes ; and 
in a short time tlie House of Representatives 
concurred, and on !May the eleventh, the Presi- 
dent approved, and .Minnesota was fully rec- 
ognized as one of the I'nited States of America. 



FIRST STATE LEGISLATURE. 



129 



OUTLINE HISTORY 



OF THE 



STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



CHAPTEB XXIV. 

PIItST STATE LEGISDATUKE STATE BAHWAT BONDS 

MINNESOTA DURING THE CIVIL WAB-BEGIMENTS 

- — THE SIOUX ODTBEEAK. 

The transition of Minnesota from a territorial 
to a state organization occurred at the period when 
the whole republic was suffering from financial em- 
barrassments. 

By an act of congress approved by the president 
on the 5th of March, 1857, lands had been granted 
to Minnesota to aid in the construction of railways. 
During an extra session of the legislature of Min- 
nesota, an act was passed in May, 1857, giving 
the congressional grant to certain corporations to 
build railroads. 

A few months after, it was discovered that the 
corporators had neither the money nor the credit 
to begin and complete these internal improve- 
ments. In the winter of 1858 the legislature again 
listened to the siren voices of the railway corpora- 
tions, until their words to some members seemed 
like "apples of gold in pictures of silver," and an 
additional act was passed submitting to the people 
an amendment to the constitution which provided 
for the loan of the public credit to the land grant 
railroad companies to the amount of $5,000,000, 
upon condition that a certain amount of labor on 
the roads was performed. 

Some of the citizens saw in the proposed meas- 
ure "a cloud no larger than a man's hand," which 
would lead to a terrific storm, and a large public 
meeting was convened at the capitol in St. Paul, 
and addressed by ex-Governor Gorman, D. A. 
Robertson, William E. Marshall and others depre- 

9 



elating the engrafting of such a peculiar amend- 
ment into the constitution; but tlie people were 
poor and needy and deluded and would not lis- 
ten; their hopes and happiness seemed to depend 
upon the pHghted faith of railway corporators, and 
on April the 15th, the appointed election day, 
25,023 votes were deposited for, while only 6,733 
votes were cast against the amendment. 

FIRST STATE LEGISLATURE. 

The election of October, 1857, was carried on 
with much partisan feeling by democrats and re- 
publicans. The returns from wilderness precincts 
were unusually large, and in the counting of votes 
for governor, Alexander Kamsey appeared to have 
received 17,550, and Henry H. Sibley 17,796 bal- 
lots. Governor Sibley was declared elected by a 
majority of 246, and duly recognized. The first 
legislature assembled on the 2d of December, 
1857, before the formal admission of Minnesota 
into the Union, and on the 25th of March, 1858, 
adjourned until June the 2d, when it again met. 
The next day Governor Sibley delivered his mes- 
sage. His term of office was arduous. On the 
4th of August, 1858, he expressed his determina- 
tion not to deliver any state bonds to the railway 
companies unless they would give first mortgages, 
with priority of lien, upon their lands, roads and 
franchises, in favor of the state. One of the com- 
panies applied for a mandamus from the supreme 
court of the state, to compel the issue of the 
bonds without the restrictions demanded by the 
governor. 

In November the court. Judge Flandrau dis- 
senting, directed the governor to issue state bonds 
as soon as a railway company delivered their fh-st 



130 



OUTLINE UISTOUr QF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



mortgage bonds, as provided by the amendment 
to the constitution. But, as was to be expected, 
bonds sent out under such peculiar circumstances 
were not sought after by capitalists. Moreover, 
after over two million dollars in bonds had been 
issued, not an iron rail had been laid, and only 
about two hundred and fifty miles of grading had 
been completed. 

In his last message Governor Sibley in refer- 
ence to the law in regard to state credit to railways, 
says: "I regret to be obliged to state that the 
measure has proved a failure, and has by no means 
accomplished what was hoped from it, either in 
providing means for the issue of a safe currency 
or of aiding the companies in the completion of 
the work upon the roads." 

ACT FOB NOnMAIi SCHOOLSi 

Notwithstanding the pecuniary complications of 
the state, during Governor Sibley's administra- 
tion, the legislature did not entirely forget that 
there were some interests of more importance than 
railway construction, and on the 2d of August, 
1858, largely through the influence of the late 
John D. Ford, M. D., a public spirited citizen of 
Winona, an act was passed for the estabhshment 
of three training schools for teachers. 

FIRST STEAMBOAT "ON TUE KED BIVER OP THE 
NORTH. 

In the month of June, 1859 an important route 
was opened between the Mississippi and the Eed 
Elver of the North. The then enterprising firm 
of J. C. Burbank & Co., of St. Paul, having se- 
cured from the Hudson Bay Company the trans- 
portation of their supjjlies by way of the Missis- 
sippi, in place of the tedious and treacherous routes 
through Hudson's Bay or Lake Superior, they 
purchased a bttle steamboat on the Red River of 
the North which had been built by Anson North- 
rup, and commenced the carrying of freight and 
passengers by land to Breckenridge and by water 
to Pembina. 

This boat had been the first steamboat which 
moved on the Mississippi above the falls of St. 
Anthony, to which there is a reference made upon 
the 121st page. 

Mr. Nortbrup, after he purchased the boat, with 
a large number of wagons carried the boat and 
machinery from Crow Wing on the Mississippi 
and on the 8th of April, 1859, reached the Red 
River not far from the site of Fargo. 

SECOND STATE LEGISLATUBB. 

At an election held in October, 21,335 votes were 



deposited for Alexander Ramsey as governor, and 
17,532 for George L. Becker. Gkivernor Ramsey, 
in an inaugural delivered on the second ot Jan- 
•uary, 1860, devoted a large space to the discus- 
sion of the difficulties arising from the issue of 
the railroad bonds. He said: "It is extremely 
desuable to remove as speedily as possible so vex- 
ing a question from our state politics, and not al- 
low it to remain for years to disturb our elections, 
possibly to divide our people into bond and anti- 
bond parties, and introduce, annually, into our 
legislative halls an element of discord and possi- 
bly of corruption, all to end justas similar compli- 
cations in other states have ended. The men who 
wiU have gradually engrossed the poscssion of all 
the bonds, at the cost of a few cents on the dollar, 
wOl knock year after year at the door of the legisla- 
turo for their payment in full, the press will be 
subsidized; the cry of repudiation will be raised; 
all the ordinary and extraordinary means of pro- 
curing legislation in doubtful cases will be freely 
resorted to, until finally the bondholders will pile 
up almost fabulous fortunes. * * * * It is 
assuredly true that the present time is, of all 
others, aUke for the present bondholder and the 
people of the state, the very time to arrange, ad- 
just and settle these uufortimate and deplorable 
raih'oad and loan comjjhcations." 

The legislature of this year passed a law sub- 
mitting an amendment to the constitution which 
would prevent the issue of any more railroad bonds. 
At an election in November, 18G0, it was voted on, 
and reads as follows: "The credit of the state 
shall never be given on bonds in aid of any in- 
dividual, association or corporation; nor shall there 
be any further issue of bonds denominated Min- 
nesota state railroad bonds, under what purports 
to be an amendment to section ten, of article nine, 
of the constitution, adopted April 14, 1858, which 
is liereby expunged from the constitution, saving, 
excepting, and reserving to the state, nevertheless, 
all rights, remedies and forfeitures accruing under 
said amendment." 

FIRST WHITE PERSON EXECUTED. 

On p'.ige 126 there is a notice of the first In- 
dian hung under the laws of Minnesota. On 
March 23, 1860 the first white person was executed 
and attracted considerable attention from the fact, 
the one who suffered the penalty of the law was a 
woman. 

Michael Bilansky died on the 11th of March, 
1859, and upon examination, he was found to have 



TUE FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY. 



131 



been poisoned. Anna, his fourth wife, was tried 
for the offence, found guilty, and on the 3d of De- 
cember, 1859, sentenced to be hung. The oppo- 
nents to capital punishment secured the passage of 
an act, by the legislature, to meet her case, but it 
was vetoed by the governor, as unconstitutional. 
Two days before the execution, the unhappy wo- 
man asked her spiritual adviser to write to her 
parents in North Carolina, but not to state the 
cause of her death. Her scafifold was erected 
within the square of the Bamsey county jaU. 

THIKD STATE LEGISLATnEE. 

The third state legislature assembled on the 8th of 
January, 1861, and adjourned on the 8th of March. 
As Minnesota was the first state which received 
1,280 acres of land in each township, for school 
purposes. Governor Ramsey in his annual message 
occupied several pages, in an able and elaborate 
argument as to the best methods of guarding and 
sfelUng the school lands, and of protecting the 
school fund. 

His predecessor in ofiice, while a member of the 
convention to frame the constitution, had spoken 
in favor of dividing the school funds among the 
townships of the state, subject to the control of 
the local officers. 

MINNESOTA DUEING THE CIVtL WAR. 

The people of Minnesota had not been as excited 
as the citizens of the Atlantic states on the ques- 
tion which was discussed before the presidential 
election of November, 1860, and a majoiity had 
calmly declared their preference for Abraham Lin- 
coln, as president of the republic. 

But the blood of her quiet and intelligent popu- 
lation was stirred on the morning of April 14, 
1861, by the intelligence in the daily newspapers 
that the day before, the insurgents of South Caro- 
lina had bombarded Fort Sumter, and that after a 
gallant resistance of thirty-four hours General 
Eobert Anderson and the few soldiers of his com- 
mand had evacuated the fort. 

Governor Bamsey was in Washington at this 
period, and called upon the president of the repub- 
lic with two other citizens from Minnesota, and 
was the first of the state governors to tender the 
services of his fellow citizens. The offer of a regi- 
ment was accepted. The first company raised un- 
der the call of Minnesota was composed of ener- 
getic young men of St. Paul, and its captain was 
the esteemed William H. Acker, who afterwards 
fell in battle. 

On the last Monday of April a camp for the 



First regiment was opened at Fort Snelling. 
More companies having offered than were necessary 
on the 30th of May Governor Bamsey sent a tele- 
gram to the secretary of war, offering another 
regiment. 

THE FIRST EEGIMENT. 

On the 14th of June the First regiment was or- 
dered to Washington, and on the 21st it embarked 
at St. Paul on the steamboats War Eagle and 
Northern Belle, with the foUowiug officers: 

Will's A. Gorman, Colonel — Promoted to be 
brigadier general October 7, 1861, by the advice 
of Major General Winfield Scott. 

Stephen MiUer, Lt. Colonel — Made colonel of 7th 
regiment August, 1862. 

WUliam H. Dike, Major — Besigned October 22, 
1861. 

WiUiam B. Leach, Adjutant — Made captain and 
A. A. G. February 23, 1862. 

Mark W. Downie, Quartermaster — Captain 
Company B, July 16, 1861. 

Jacob H. Stewart, Surgeon — Prisoner at Bull 
Bun, July 21, 1861. Paroled at Richmond, Vir- 
ginia. 

Charles W. Le BoutUlier, Assistant Surgeon — 
Prisoner at Bull Run. Surgeon 9th regiment. 
Died April, 1863. 

Edward D. Neill, Chaplain — Commissioned July 
13, 1862, hospital chaplain U. S. A., resigned in 
1864, and ajjpointed by President Lincoln, one 
of his secretaries. 

After a few days in Washington, the regi- 
iment was sent to Alexandria, Virginia, where 
until the 16th of July it remained. On the 
morning of that day it began with other 
troops of Franklin's brigade to movetoward 
the enemy, and that night encamped in the val- 
ley of Pohick creek, and the next day marched 
to Sangster's station on the Orange & Alexandria 
railroad. The third day Centreville was reached. 
Before daylight on Sunday, the 21st of July, the 
soldiers of the First regiment rose for a march to 
battle. About three o'clock in the morning they 
left camp, and after passing through the hamlet of 
Centreville, halted for General Hunter's column to 
pass. At daylight the regiment again began to 
move, and after crossing a bridge on the Warren- 
ton turnpike, turned into the woods, from which at 
about ten o'clock it emerged into an open coun- 
try, from which could be seen an artiUery engage- 
ment on the left between the Union troops under 
Hunter, and the insurgents commanded by Evans. 



132 



OUTLINE niSTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



An hour after this the regiment reached a branch 
of Bull Bun, and, as the men were thirsty, began 
to fill their empty canteens. While thus occu- 
pied, and as the St. Paul company under Captain 
Wilkins was crossing the creek, an order came 
for Colonel Gorman to hurry up the regiment. 

The men now moved rapidly through the wood- 
laud of a hillside, stopping over some of the dead 
of Burnside's command, and hearing the cheers 
of victory caused by the pressing back of the in- 
surgent troops. At length the regiment, passing 
Sudley church, reached a clearing in the woods, 
and halted, while other troops of Franklin's brig- 
ado passed up the Sudley church road. Next 
they passed through a narrow strip of woods and 
occupied the cultivated field from which Evans and 
Bee of the rebel army had been driven by the 
troops of Bumside, Sykes and others of Himter's 
division. 

Crossing the Sudley road, Eiekett's battery un- 
limbered and began to fire at the enemy, whose 
batteries were between the Kobinson and Henry 
house on the south side of the Warrenton turn- 
pike, while the First Minnesota passed to the right. 
After firing about twenty minutes the battery was 
ordered to go down the Sudley road nearer the 
enemy, where it was soon disabled. The First 
Minnesota was soon met by rebel troops advancing 
under cover of the woods, who supposed the reg- 
iment was a part of the confederate army. 

Javan B. Irvine, then a private citizen af St. 
Paul, on a visit to the regiment, now a captain in 
the United States army, wrote to his wife : "We 
had just formed when we were ordered to kneel 
and fire upon the rebels who were advancing under 
the cover of the woods. We fired two volleys 
through the woods, when we were ordered to rally 
in the woods in our rear, which all did except the 
first platoon of our own company, which did not 
hear the order and stood their ground. The 
rebels soon came out from their shelter between 
us and their battery. Colonel Gorman mistook 
them for friends and told the men to cease firing 
upon them, although they had three secession 
tiags directly in front of their advancing columns. 
This threw our men into confusion, some declaring 
they are friends; others that they are enemies. I 
called to our boys to give it to them, and fired 
away myself as rapidly as possible. The rebels 
themselves mistook us for Georgia troops, and 
waved their hands at us to cease firing. I had 
just loaded to give them another charge, when a 



lieutenant-colonel of a Mississippi regiment rode 
out between us, waving his hand for us to stop 
firing. I rushed up to him and asked 'If he was a 
secessionist?' He said 'He was a Mississippian.' 
I presented my bayonet to his breast and com- 
manded him to surrender, which he did after some 
hesitation. I ordered him to dismount, and led 
him and his horse from the field, in the meantime 
disarming him of his sword and pistols. I led him 
oflf about two miles and placed him in charge of 
a lieutenant with an escort of cavalry, to be taken 
to General McDowell. He requested the officer to 
allow me to accompany him, as he desired my pro- 
tection. The officer assured him that ho would 
be safe in their hands, and he rode off. I retained 
his pistol, but sent his sword with him." In an- 
other letter, dated the 25th of July, Mr. Irvine 
writes from Washington : "I have just returned 
from a visit to Lieutenant-Colonel Boone, who is 
confined in the old Capitol. I found him in a 
pleasant room on the third story, surrounded by 
several southern gentlemen, among whom was 
Senator Breckenridge. He was glad to see me, 
and appeared quite well after the fatigue of the 
battle of Sunday. There were with mo Chaplain 
Neill, Captains Wilkin and Colville, and Lieuten- 
ant Coates, who were introduced." 

The mistake of several regiments of the Union 
troops in supposing that the rebels were friendly 
regiments led to confusion and disaster, which was 
followed by panic. 

SECOND REGIMENT. 

The Second Minnesota Regiment which had 
been organized in July, 1861, left Fort Snelling 
on the eleventh of October, and proceeding to 
Louisville, was incorporated with the Army of the 
Ohio. Its officers were: Horatio P. Van Cleve, 
Colonel. Promoted Brigader General March 21, 
1862. James George, Lt. Colonel. Promoted 
Colonel; resigned June 29, 1864. Simeon Smith, 
Major. Appointed Paymaster U. S. A., Septem- 
ber, 1861. Alexander Wilkin, Major. Colonel 
9th Minnesota, August, 1862. Reginald Bingham, 
Surgeon. Dismissed May 27, 1862. M. C. Toll- 
man, AssH Surgeon. Promoted Surgeon. Timothy 
Cressey, CJuiplain. Resigned October, 10, 1863. 
Daniel D. Heaney, Adjutant. Promoted Captain 
Company C. William S. Grow, Q uarler Master. 
Resigned, January, 1863. 

SHARP SHOOTERS. 

A company of Sharp Shooters under Captain 
F. Peteler, proceeding to Washington, on the 11th, 



MINNESOTA DURING THE REBELLION. 



133 



of October was assigned as Co., A, 2d Kegiment 
U. S. Sharp Sbootera. 

THIRD REGIMENT. 

On the 16th of November, 1861, the Third Keg- 
iment left the State and went to Tennessee. Its 
officers were: Henry C. Lester, Cofoft^?. Dismissed 
Decmber 1, 1862. Benjamin F. Smith, Lt. Colond. 
Resigned May 9, 1862. John A. Hadley, Major. 
Resigned May 1, 1862. R. C. Olin, Adjutant.— 
Resigned. O. H, Blakely, Adjutant. Levi Butler. 
ISuffjeon. — Resigned September 30, 1863. Francis 
Millipan, AssH Surgeon. — Resigned April 8, 1862. 
Chaunoey Hobart, Chaplain,. — Resigned June 2, 
1863. 

AETIIjLEBY. 

In December, the First Battery of Light Artil- 
lery left the State, and reported for duty at St. 
Louis, Missouri 

CAVAI-RY. 

During the fall, three companies of cavalry 
were organized, and proceeded to Benton Barracks, 
Missouri. Ultimately they were incorporated 
with the Fifth Iowa Cavalry. 

MOVEMENTS OP MINNESOTA TROOPS IN 1862. 

On Sunday the 19th of January, 1862, not far 
from Somerset and about forty miles from Danville, 
Kentucky, about 7 o'clock in the morning. Col. 
Van Cleve was ordered to meet the enemy. In 
ten minutes the Second Minnesota regiment was 
in line of battle. After supporting a battery for 
some time it continued the march, and pro- 
ceeding half a mile found the enemy behind the 
fences, and a hand to hand fight of thirty minutes 
ensued, resulting in the flight of the rebels. Gen. 
ZollicofFer and Lieut. Peyton, of the insurgents 
were of the killed. 

BATTLE OF PITTSBUEQ LANDINO. 

On Sunday, the 6th of April occurred the battle 
of Pittsburg Landing, in Tennessee. Minnesota 
was there represented by the First Minnesota bat- 
tery, Captain Emil Munch, which was attached to 
the division of General Prentiss. Captain Munch 
was severely wounded. One of the soldiers of his 
command wrote as follows: "Sunday morning, 
just after breakfast, an officer rode up to our Cap- 
tain's tent and told him to prepare for action. * 
* * * * We wheeled into battery and opened 
upon them. * * * The first time we wheeled 
one of our drivers was killed; his name was Colby 
Stinson. Haywood's horse was shot at almost the 
same time. The second time we came into bat- 
tery, the captain was wounded in the leg, and his 



horse shot under him. They charged on our gims 
and on the sixth platoon howitzer, but they got 
hold of the wrong end of the gun. We then lim- 
bered up and retreated within the line of battle. 
While we were retreating they shot one of our 
horses, when we had to stop and take him out, 
which let the rebels come vqy rather close. When 
within about sis rods they fired and woimded 
Corporal Davis, breaking his leg above the ankle." 
As the artillery driver was picked up, after be- 
ing fatally wounded, at the beginning of the fight 
he said, 'Don't stop with me. Stand to your guns 
like men,' and expired. 

FIRST REGIMENT AT YORKTOWN SIEGE. 

Early in April the First regiment as a 
part of Sedgwick's division of the Army 
of the Potomac arrived near Yorktown, 
Virginia, and was stationed between the 
Warwick and York rivers, near Wynnes' mill. Dur- 
ing the night of the 30th of May, there was a con- 
tinual discharge of cannon by the enemy, but just 
before daylight the next day, which was Sunday, 
it ceased and the pickets cautiously approaching 
discovered that the rebels had abandoned their 
works. The next day the regiment was encamped 
on the field where Cornwallis surrendered to Wash- 
ington. 

BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS. 

While Gorman's brigade was encamped at 
Goodly Hole oreek, Hanover county, Virginia, an 
order came about three o'clock of the afternoon of 
Saturday, the tliirty-first day of May to 
to cross the Chicahominy and engage in 
the battle which had been going on for a few 
hours. In a few minutes the First Minnesota was 
on the march, by a road which had been cut 
through the swamp, and crossed the Chicahominy 
by a rude bridge of logs, with both ends com- 
pletely submerged by the stream swollen by re- 
cent rains, and rising every hour. 

About 5 o'clock in the afternoon the First Min- 
nesota as the advance of Gorman's brigade reached 
the scene of action, and soon the whole brigade 
with Kii'by's battery held the enemy in check at 
that point. 

The next day ^ley were in line of battle but not 
attacked. Upon the field around a country farm 
house they encamped. 

BATTLE OF SAVAGE STATION. 

Just before daylight on Sunday, Jime the 29th, 
Sedgwick's, to which the First Minnesota belonged, 
left the position that had been held since the bat- 



134 



OUTLINE n I STORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



tie of Fair Oaks, and had not proceeded more than 
two miles before they met the enemy in a peach 
orchard, and after a sharp conflict compelled 
them to retire. At about 5 c' clock the afternoon 
of the same day they again met the enemy at 
Savage Station, and a battle lasted till dark. Bur- 
gess, the color sergeant who brought ofl' the flag 
from the Bull Kuu battle, a man much respected, 
^?as killed instantly. 

On Monday, between Wliite Oak swamp and 
Willis' church, the regiment had a skirmish, and 
Captain Colville was sliglitly wounded. Tuesday 
ivas the 1st of July, and the regiment was drawn 
up at the dividing line of Henrico and Charles 
City county , in sight of James river, and although 
much exposed to the enemy's batteries, was not 
actually engaged. At midnight the order was 
given to move, and on the morning of the 2d of 
July they tramped upon the wheat fields at Har- 
rison's Landing, and in a violent rain encamped. 

MOVEMENTS OP OTHEB TROOPS. 

The Fourth regiment left Fort Snelling for Ben- 
ton barracks, Missouri, on the 2l8t of April, 1862, 
with the following officers: 

John B. Sanborn, Colonel — Promoted brigadier 
general. 

Minor T. Thomas, Lt. Colond — Made colonel of 
8th regiment August 24, 1862. 

A. Edward Welch, Major — Died at Nashville 
February 1, 1864. 

John M. Thompson, Adjtitant — Captain Com- 
pany E, November 20, 1862. 

Thomas B. Hunt, Qaaricrmasier — Made captain 
and A. Q. M. April 9, 1863. 

John H. Murphy, Surf/eon — Eesigned July 9, 
1863. 

Elisha W. Cross, Assistant Surgeon — Promoted 
July 9, 1863. 

Asa S. Fiske, Chaplain — Eesigned Oct. 3, 1864. 

FIFTH BEQIMENT. 

The Second Minnesota Battery, Captain W. A. 
Hotchkiss, left the same day as the Fourth regi- 
ment. On the 13th of May the Fifth regiment 
departed from Fort Snelling with the following 
officers: Eudolph Borgesrode, colonel, resigned 
August 31, 1862; Lucius F. Hubbard, heutenant- 
colonel, promoted colonel August 31, 1862, elected 
governor of Minnesota 1881; William B. Gere, 
major, promoted lieutenant-colonel; Alpheus R. 
French, adjutant, resigned March 19, 1863; W. 
B. McGrorty, quartermaster, resigned September 
15, 1864; F. B. Etheridge, surgeon, resigned Sep- 



tember 3, 1862 ; V. B. Kennedy, assistant surgeon, 
promoted surgeon; J. F. Chaffee, chaplain, re- 
signed June 23, 1862; John Ireland, chaplain, re- 
signed April, 1863. 

Before the close of May the Second, Fourth and 
Fifth regiments were in conflict with the insur- 
gents, near Corinth, Mississippi. 

BATTLE OF ItTKA. 

On the 18th of September, Colonel Sanborn, 
acting as brigade commander in the Third divis- 
ion of the Army of the Mississippi, moved his 
troops, including the Fourth Minnesota regiment, 
to a position on the Tuscumbia road, and formed 
a line of battle. 

BATTLE OF COBINTH. 

In a few days the contest Viegan at luka, culmi- 
nated at Corinth, and the Fourth and Fifth regi- 
ments and First INIiunesota battery were engaged. 

On the 3d of October, about five o'clock. Colo- 
nel Sanborn advanced his troops and received a 
severe fire from the enemy. Captain Mowers 
beckoned with his sword during the firing, as if 
he wished to make an important communication, 
but before Colonel Sanborn reached his side he 
fell, having been shot through the head. Before 
(hiylight on the 4th of October the Fifth regiment, 
under command of Colonel L. F. Hubbard, was 
aroused by the discharge of artillery. Later in 
the day it became engaged with the enemy, and 
drove the rebels out of the streets of Corinth. A 
private writes: "When we charged on the enemy 
General Rosecrans asked what little regiment that 
was, and on being told said 'The Fifth Minnesota 
had saved the town.' Major Coleman, General 
Stanley's assistant adjutant-general, was with us 
when he received his bullet-wound, and his last 
words were, "Tell the general that the Fifth Min- 
nesota fought nobly. God bless the Fifth.' " 

OTHEB MOVEMENTS. 

A few days after the fight at Corinth the Sec- 
ond Minnesota battery. Captain Hotchkiss, did 
good service with Buell's army at PerryviUe, Ky. 

In the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., on the 
13th of December, the First Minnesota regiment 
supported Kirbey's battery as it had done at Fair 
Oaks. 

THntD EEGIMBNT HUMILIATED. 

On the morning of the 13th of July, nearMur- 
f reesboro, Ky.; the Third regiment was in the pres- 
ence of the enemy. The colonel called a council 
of officers to decide whether they should fight, 
and the first vote was in the affirmative, but an- 



THE SIOUX OUTBREAK. 



135 



other vote being taken it was decided to surrender. 
Lieutenant-Colonel O. W. Griggs, Captains An- 
drews and Hoyt voted each time to fight. In 
September the regiment returned to Minnesota, 
humiliated by the want of good judgment upon 
the part of their colonel, and was assigned to duty 
in the Indian country. 

THE SIODX OUTBREAK. 

The year 1862 will always be remembered as the 
period of the uprising of the Sioux, and the 
slaughter of the unsuspecting inhabitants of the 
scattered settlements in the Minnesota valley. 
Elsewhere in this work will be found a detailed ac- 
count of the savage cruelties. In this place we 
only give the narrativfe of the events as related by 
Alexander Kamsey, then the governor of Min- 
nesota. 

"My surprise may therefore be judged, when, on 
August 19th, while busy in my office, Mr. Wm. H. 
Shelley, one of our citizens who had been at the 
agency just before the outbreak, came in, dusty 
and exhausted with a fifteen hours' ride on horse- 
back, bearing dispatches to me of the most start- 
ling character from Agent Galbraith, dated Au- 
gust 18th, stating that the same day the Sioux at 
the lower agency had risen, murdered the settlers, 
and were plundering and burning all the build- 
ings in that vicinity. As I beUeve no particulars 
regarding the manner in which the news were first 
conveyed to me has been published, it might be 
mentioned here. Mr. Shelley had been at Eed- 
Vood agency, and other places in that vicinity, 
with the concurrence of the agent, recruiting men 
for a company, which was afterwards mustered into 
the Tenth regiment under Captain James O'Gor- 
nran, formerly a clerk of Nathan Myriok, Esq., a 
trader at Eedwood, and known as the Renville 
Eangers. He (Shelley) left Eedwood, he states, 
on Saturday, August 16th, with forty-five men, 
bound for Fort Snelling. Everything was quiet 
there theu. It may be well to note here that one 
of the supposed causes of the outbreak was the 
fact that the Indians had been told that the gov- 
ernment needed soldiers very badly, that many 
white men had been killed, and that all those in 
that locality were to be marched south, leaving 
the state unprotected. Seeing the men leave on 
Saturday may have strengthened this behef. Stop- 
ping at Fort Ridgely that night, the Eenville 
Eangers the next day continued their march, and 
on Monday afternoon arrived at St. Peter. Gal- 
braith was with them. Here, he was overtaken by 



a messenger who had ridden down from Eed- 
wood that day, hearing the news of the terrible 
occurrences of that morhing. This messenger was 
Mr. — Dickinson, who formerly kept a hotel at 
Henderson, but was living on the reservation at 
that time. He was in great distress aboiit the 
safety of his family, and returning at once was 
killed by the Indians. 

"When Agent Galbraith received the news, Mr. 
Shelley states, no one would at first believe it, 
as such rumors are frequent in the Indian country. 
Mr. Dickinson assured him of the truth with such 
earnestness, however, that his account was finally 
credited and the Eenville Rangers were at once 
armed and sent back to Fort Ridgely, where they 
did good semce in protecting the post. 

"Agent Galbraith at once prepared the dispatches 
to me, giving the terrible news and calHng for aid. 
No one could be found who would volunteer to 
carry the message, and Mr. Shelley offered to 
come himself. He had great difficulty in getting 
a horse; but finally secured one, and started for 
St. Paul, a distance of about ninety miles, about 
dark. He had not ridden a horse for some years, 
and as may be well supposed by those who have 
had expei'ience in amateur horseback-riding, suf- 
fered very much from soreness; but rode all night 
at as fast a gate as his horse could carry him, . 
Spreading the startling news as he went down the 
Minnesota valley. Reaching St. Paul about 9 A. 
M., much exhausted he made his way to the oapitol, 
and laid before me his message. The news soon 
spread through the city and created intense ex- 
citement. 

"At that time, of course, the full extent and 
threatening nature of the outbreak could not be 
determined. It seemed serious, it is true, but in 
view of the riotous conduct of the Indians at 
Yellow Medicine a few days before, was deemed a 
repetition of the emeuie, which would be simply 
local in its character, and easily quelled by a small 
force and good management on the part of the 
authorities at the agency. 

"But these hopes, (that the outbreak was a local 
one) were soon rudely dispelled by the arrival, an 
hour or two later, of another courier, George C. 
Whitcomb, of Forest City, bearing the news of 
the murders at Acton. Mr. Whitcomb had ridden 
to Chaska or Carver on Monday, and came down 
from there on the small steamer Antelope, reaching 
the city an hour or two after Mr. Shelley. 

"It now became evident that the outbreak was 



136 



OUTLINE niSTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



more general than had at first been credited, and 
that prompt and vigorous measures would be re- 
quired for its suppression and the protection of 
the inhabitants on the frontier. I at once pro- 
ceeded to Fort Snelling and consulted with the 
authorities there (who had already received dis- 
patches from Fort Ridgely) regarding the out- 
break and the best means to be used to meet the 
danger. 

"A serious difficulty met us at the outstart. The 
only troops at Fort Snelling were the raw recruits 
who had been hastQy gathered for the five regi- 
ments. Most of them were without arms or suit- 
able clothing as yet; some not mustered in or 
properly oflBcered, and those who had arms had 
no fixed ammunition of the proper calibre. We 
were without transportation, quartermaster's or 
commissary stores, and, in fact, devoid of anything 
with which to commence a campaign against two 
or three thousand Indians, well mounted and 
armed, with an abundance of ammunition and 
provisions captured at the agency, and flushed 
with the easy victories they had just won over the 
unarmed settlers. Finally four companies were 
fully organized, armed and uniformed, and late at 
night were got off on two small steamers, the An- 
telope and Pomeroy, for Shakopee, from which 
point they would proceed overland. It was ar- 
ranged that others should follow as fast as they 
could be got ready. 

"This expedition was placed under the manage- 
ment of H. H. Sibley, whose long residence in the 
country of the Sioux had given him great influ" 
ence with that people, and it was hoped that the 
chiefs and older men were stiU sensible to reason, 
and that with his diplomatic ability he could bring 
the powers of these to check the mad and reck- 
less disposition of the "young men," and that if 
an opportunity for this failed that his knowledge 
of Indian war and tactics would enable him to 
overcome them in battle. And I think the result 
indicated the wisdom of my choice. 

•'I at once telegraphed all the facts to President 
Lincoln, and also telegraphed to Governor Solo- 
mon, of Wisconsin, for one hundred thousand cart- 
ridges, of a calibre to fit our rifles, and the requi- 
sition was kindly honored by that patriotic officer, 
and the ammunition was on its way next day. 
The governors of Iowa, Illinois and Michigan were 
also asked for arms and ammimition. 

During the day other messengers arrived from 
Fort Kidgely, St. Peter and other points on 



the upper Minnesota, with intelhgence of the 
most painfid character, regarding the extent and 
ferocity of the massacre. The messages all pleaded 
earnestly for aid, and intimated that without 
speedy reinforcements or a supjjly of arms. Fort 
Kidgely, New Ulm, St. Peter and other points 
would undoubtedly fall into the hands of the 
savages, and thousands of persons be butchered 
The principal danger seemed to be to the settle- 
ments in that region, as they were in the vicinity 
of the main body of Indians congregated to await 
the payments. Comers arrived from various 
points every few hours, and I spent the whole 
night answering their calls as I could. 

"Late that night, probably after midnight, Mr. 
J. Y. Branham, Sr., arrived from Forest City, after 
a forced ride on horseback of 100 miles, bearing 
the following message: 

***** *»♦ 

"Forest City, Aug. 20, 1862, 6 o'clock a. m. 

His Excellency, Alexander Kamsey, Governor, 
etc. — Sir: In advance of the news from the Min- 
nesota river, the Indians have opened on us in 
Meeker. It is warl A few propose to make a 
stand here. Send us, forthwith, some good guns 
and ammunition to match. Yours truly, 

A. C. Smith. 

Seventy-five stands of Springfield rifles and sev- 
eral thousand roimds of ball cartridges were at 
once issued to George C. Whitcomb, to be used in 
arming a company which I directed to be raised 
and enrolled to use these arms; and Gen. Sibley 
gave Mr. Whitcomb a captain's commission for 
the company. Transportation was furnished him, 
and the rifles were in Forest City by the morning 
of the 23d, a portion having been issued to a 
company at Hutchinson on the way up. A com- 
pany was organized and the arms placed in their 
hands, and I am glad to say they did good service 
in defending the towns of Forest City and Hutch- 
inson on more than one occasion, and many of the 
Indians are known to have been killed with them. 
The conduct and bravery of the courageous men 
who guarded those towns, and resisted the assaults 
of the red savages, are worthy of being commemo- 
rated on the pages of our state history." 

MOVEMENT OF MINNESOTA BEGIMENTS 1863. 

On the 3d of April, 1863, the Fourth regiment 
was opposite Grand Gulf, Mississippi, and in a 
few days they entered Port Gibson, and here Col. 
Sanborn resumed the command of a brigade. On 
the 14th of May the regiment was at the batUe 



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 



137 



of Kayraond, and on the 14th participated in the 
battle of Jackson. A newspaper correspondent 
writes: "Captain L. B. Martin, of the Fourth 
Minnesota, A. A. G. to Colonel Sanborn, seized the 
flag of the 59th Indiana infantry, rode rapidly be- 
yond the skirmishers, (Co. H, Fourth Minnesota, 
Lt. Geo. A. Clark) and raised it over the dome of 
the Capitol" of Mississippi. On the 16th the regi- 
ment was in the battle of Champion Hill, and four 
days later in the siege of Vicksburg. 

FIFTH KBQIUENT. 

The Fifth regiment reached Grand Gulf on the 
7th of May and was in the battles of Kaymond 
and Jackson, and at the rear of Vicksburg. 

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 

The First regiment reached Gettysburg, Pa., 
on the 1st of July, and the nest morning Han- 
cock's corps, to which it was attached, moved to a 
ridge, the right resting on Cemetery HiU, the left 
near Sugar Loaf Mountain. The line of battle 
was a semi-ellipse, and Gibbon's division, to 
which the regiment belonged occupied the 
center of the curve nearest the enemy. On the 
2d of July, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Gen- 
eral Hancock rode up to Colonel Colville, and 
ordered him to charge upon the advancing foe. 
The muzzles of the opposing muskets were not far 
distant and the conflict was terrific. When the 
sun set Captain Muller and Lieutenant Farrer were 
kiUed; Captain Periam mortally wounded; Colonel 
ColviUe, Lieut-Colonel Adams, Major Downie, 
Adjutant Peller, Lieutenants Sinclair, Demerest, 
DeGray and Boyd, severely -wounded. 

On the 3d of July, about 10 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the rebels opened a terrible artUlery fire, 
which lasted until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and 
then the infantry was suddenly advanced, and 
there was a fearful cotflict, resulting in the defeat 
of the enemy. The loss on this day was also very 
severe. Captain Messick, in command of the 
First regiment, after the wounding of Colville, 
and Adams and Downie, was killed. Captain FarreU 
was mortally wounded, and Lieutenants Harmon, 
Heffelfinger, and May were wounded. Color-Ser- 
geant E. P. Perkins was wounded on the 2d of 
July. On the 3d of July Corporal Dehn, of the 
color guard was shot through the hand and the 
flag staff cut in two. Corporal H. D. O'Brien 
seized the flag with the broken staff and waving 
it over his head rushed up to the muzzles of the 
enemy's muskets and was wounded in the hand, 
but Corporal W. N. Irvine instantly grasped the 



flag and held it up. Marshall Sherman of com- 
pany E, captured the flag of the 28th Virginia 
regiment. 

THE SECOND EEGIMBNT. 

The Second regiment, under Colonel George, 
on the 19th of September fought at Chicamauga, 
and in the first day's fight, eight were killed and 
forty-one wounded. On the 25th of November, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop in command, it moved 
against the enemy at Mission Bidge, and of the 
seven non-commissioned officers in the color guard, 
six were killed or wounded. 

The Fourth regiment was also in the vicinity of 
Chattanooga, but did not suffer any loss. 

EVENTS OF 1864. 
The Third regiment, which after the Indian ex- 
pedition had been ordered to Little Bock, Arkan- 
sas, on the 30th of March, 1864, had an engage- 
ment near Augusta, at Fitzhugh's Woods. Seven 
men were killed and sixteen wounded. General 
C. C. Andrews, in command of the force, had his 
horse killed by a bullet. 

FIRST REGIMENT. 

The First regiment after three year's service 
was mustered out at Fort SneUing, and on the 
28th of April, 1864, held its last dress parade, in 
the presence of Governor Miller, who had once 
been their lieutenant-colonel and commander. In 
May some of its members re-enlisted as a battal- 
ion, and again joined the Army of the Potomac. 

SIXTH, SEVENTH, NINTH AND TENTH REGIMENTS. 

The Sixth regir-'^nt, which had been in the ex- 
pedition against the Sioux, in Jrme, 1864, was as- 
signed to the 16th army corps, as was the Seventh, 
Ninth and Tenth, and on the 13th of July, near 
Tupelo, Mississippi, the Seventh, Ninth and Tenth, 
with portions of the Fifth, were in battle. Dur- 
ing the first day's fight Surgeon Smith, of the 
Seventh, was fatally wounded through the neck. 
On the morning of the 14th the battle began in 
earnest, and the Seventh, under Colonel W. E. 
Marshall, made a successful charge. Colonel Al- 
exander Wilkin, of the Ninth, was shot, and fell 
dead from his horse. 

THE FOITRTH REGIMENT. 

On the 15th of October the Fourth regiment 
were engaged near Altoona, Georgia. 

THE EIGHTH REGIMENT. 

On the 7th of December the Eighth was in bat- 
tle near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and fourteen 
were killed and seventy -six wounded. 



138 



OUTLINE HISTOBT OF TEE STATE OF SIINNESOTA. 



BATTLE Of NASHVILLE. 

During the month o[ Decemljer the Fifth, 
Seventh, Ninth and Tenth regiments did good ser- 
vice before Nashville. Colonel L. F. Hubbard, of 
the Fifth, commanding a brigade, after he had 
been knocked off his horse by a ball, rose, and on 
foot 'led his command over the enemy's works. 
Colonel W. R. Marshall, of the Seventh, in com- 
mand of a brigade, made a gallant charge, and 
Lieutenant-colonel S. P. Jennison, of the Tenth, 
one of the first on the enemy's parapet, received a 
severe wound. 

MINNESOTA TKOOrS IN 1865. 

In the spring of 1865 the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, 
Ninth and Tenth regiments were engaged in the 
siege of Mobile. The Second and Fourth regi- 
ments and First battery were with General Sher- 
man in his wonderful campaign, and the Eighth 
in the month of March was ordered to North Car- 
olina. The battalion, the remnant of the First, 
was with the Army of the Potomac until Lee's sur- 
render. 

Arrangements were soon perfected for disband- 
ing the Union army, and before the close of the 
summer all the Minnesota regiments that had been 
on duty were discharged. 

LIST OP MINNESOTA REGIMENTS AND TROOPS. 



First, Organized April 


18IU, 


Discharged 


May .5, 136J 


Second '* 


July 


" 


" 


July n, 1865 


Third 


Oct. 


" 


" 


Sept. " 


Fourth 


Deo. 


" 


" 


Aug. '* 


Fifth 


May, 


1862, 


" 


Sept. 


Sixth 


Aug. 


*' 


" 


Aug. 


Seventh " 


■* 


" 


,1 


" 


Eighth 


" 


" 


" 


" 


Ninth 


" 


" 


" 


• 1 ,. 


Tenth 


" 


" 


*' 


" " 


Eleventh ** 


" 


18G1 


" 


•' " 



ARTILLERY. 

First Regiment, Heavy, May, 1861. Discharged Sept. 1865. 

BATTERIES. 

First, October, 1831. Discharged June, 1885. 
Second, Dec. " " July " 

Third, Feb. 1863 " Feb. 1886. 

CAVALRY. 

Rangers, March, 1883. Discharged Dec. 1863. 
Brackctt's, Oct. 1861. " June 1868. 

2dReg't, July, 1883. 

SHARPSHOOTERS. 

Company A, organized ia 1861, 
B, " " 1682. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

STATE APFAntS FROM A. D. 1862 to A. D. 1882. 

In consequence of the Sioux outbreak, Grov- 
emor Ramsey called an extra ses.sion of the legis- 
lature, -which on the 9th of September, 1862, as- 
sembled. 

As long as Indian hostilities continued, the flow 
of immigration was checked, and the agricultural 
interests suffered; but notwithstanding the dis- 
turbed condition of affairs, the St. Paul & Pacific 
Railroad Company laid ten miles of rail, to the 
FaUs of St. Anthony. 

FIFTH STATE LEGISLATURE. 

During the fall of 1862 Alexander Ramsey had 
again been elected governor, and on the 7th of 
January, 1863, delivered the annu.al message before 
the Fifth state legislature. During this session he 
was elected to fill the vacancy that would take 
place in the United States senate by the expira- 
tion of the term of Henry M. Kice, who had been 
a senator from the time that Minnesota was organ- 
ized as a state. After Alexander Ramsey became a 
senator, the lieutenant-governor, Henry A. Swift, 
became governor by constitutional provision. 

GOVERNOR STEPHEN A. MILLER 

At the election during the fall of 1863, Stephen 
A. Miller, colonel of the Seventh regiment, was 
elected governor by a majority of- about seven 
thousand votes, Henry T. Welles being his com- 
petitor, and representative of the democratic party. 
During Governor Miller's administration, on the 
10th of November, 1865, two Sioux chiefs, Little 
Six and Medicine Bottle, were hung at Fort Snel- 
ling, for participation in the 1862 massacre. 

GOVERNOR W. R. MARSHALL. 

In the fall of 1865 William R. Marshall, who 
had succeeded his predecessor as colonel of the 
Seventh regiment, was nominated by the republi- 
can party for governor, and Henry M. Rice by the 
democratic party. The former was elected by 
about five thousand majority. In 1867 Governor 
Marshall was again nominated for the oiBce, and 
Charles E. Flandrau -was the democratic candidate, 
and he was again elected by about the same major- 
ity as before. 

GOVERNOR HORACE AUSTIN. 

Horace Austin, the judge of the Sixth judicial 
district, was in 1869 the republican candidate for 
governor, and received 27,238 votes, and George 
L. Otis, the democratic candidate, 25,401 votes. 
In 1871 Governor Austin was again nominated, 



ROCET MOUNTAIN LOCUST. 



139 



and received 45,883 votes, while 30,092 ballots 
were cast for Winthrop Young, the democratic 
candidate. The important event of his adminis- 
tration was the veto of an act of the legislature 
giving the internal improvement lands to certain 
railway corporations. 

Toward the close of Governor Austin's adminis- 
tration, William Seeger, the state treasurer, was im- 
peached for a wrong use of public funds. He 
plead guilty and was disqualified from holding 
any ofiBce of honor, trust or profit in the state. 

GOVERNOR OUSHMAN K. DAVIS. 

The republicans in the fall of 1873 nominated 
Oushman K. Davis for governor, who received 
40,741 votes, while 35,245 ballots were thrown for 
the democratic candidate, Ara Barton. 

The summer that he was elected the locust 
made its appearance in the land, and in certain 
regions devoured every green thing. One of the 
first acts of Governor Davis was to relieve the 
farmers who had sufifered from the visitation of 
locusts. The legislature of 1874 voted relief, and 
the people of the state voluntarily contributed 
clothing and provisions. 

During the administration of Governor Davis the 
principle was settled that there was nothing in the 
charter of a railroad company limiting the power 
of Minnesota to regulate the charges for freight 
and travel. 

WOMEN ALLOWED TO VOTE FOB SCHOOL OFFICERS. 

At the election in November, 1875, the people 
sanctioned the following amendment to the con- 
stitution: "The legislature may, notwithstanding 
anything in this article, [Article 7, section 8] pro- 
vide by law that any woman at the age of 
twenty-one years and upwards, may vote at any 
election held for the jiurpose of chosing any officer 
of schools, or upon any measure relating to schools, 
and may also provide that any such woman shall 
be eligible to hold any office solely pertaining to 
the management of schools." 

GOVERNOR J. S. PILLSBURT. 

John S. Pillsbury, the republican nominee, at 
the election of November, 1875, received 47,073 
for governor while his democratic competitor, D. 
L. Buell obtained 35,275 votes. Governor PiUsbury 
in his inaugural message, delivered on the 7th of 
January, 1876, urged upon the legislature, as his 
predecessors had done, the importance of provid- 
ing for the payment of the state railroad bonds. 

RAID ON NORTHFIELD BANK. 

On the 6th of September, 1876, the quiet citi- 



zens of Minnesota were excited by a telegraphic 
announcement that a band of outlaws from Mis- 
souri had, at mid-day, ridden into the town of 
Northfield, recklessly discharging firearms, and 
proceeding to the bank, killed the acting cashier 
in an attempt to secure its funds. Two of the 
desperadoes were shot in the streets, by firm resi- 
dents, 'and in a brief period, parties from the 
neighboring towns were in pursuit of the assassins. 
After a long and weary search four were sur- 
rounded in a swamp in Watonwan county, and one 
was killed, and the others captured. 

At the November term of the fifth district court 
held at Faribault, the criminals were arraigned, 
and imder an objebtionable statute, by pleading 
guilty, received an imjjrisonment for lite, instead 
of the merrited death of the gallows. 

THE BOOKT MOUNTAIN LOCUST. 

As early as 1874 in some of the counties of 
Minnesota, the Kocky Mountain locust, of the 
same genus, but a different species from the Eu- 
rope and Arctic locust, driven eastward by the 
failure of the succulent grasses of the upper Mis- 
souri valley appeared as a short, stout-legged, dj- 
vouring army, and in 1875 the myriad of eggs 
deposited were hatched out, and the insects bom 
within the state, flew to new camping grounds, to 
begin their devastations. 

In the spriug the locust appeared in some coun- 
ties, but by an ingenious contrivance of sheet 
iron, covered with tar, their numbers were speedily 
reduced. It was soon discovered that usually 
but one hatching of eggs took place in the same 
district, and it was evident that the crop of 1877 
would be remunerative. When the national 
Thanksgiving was observed on the 26th of No- 
vember nearly 40,000,000 bushels of wheat had 
been garnered, and many who had sown in tears, 
devoutly thanked Him who had given plenty, and 
meditated upon the words of the Hebrew Psalm- 
ist, "He maketh peace within thy borders and 
fiUeth thee with the finest of the wheat." 

GOVEBNOE PILLSBDBT'S SECOND TERM. 

At the election in November, 1877, Governor 
Pillsbury was elected a second time, receiving 
59,701, while 39,247 votes were cast for William L. 
Banning, the nominee of the democratic party. 
At this election the people voted to adopt two im- 
portant amendments to the constitution. 

BIENNIAL SESSION OP THE LEGISLATURE, 

One provided for a biennial, in place of the an- 
nual session of the legislature, in these words: 



uo 



OUTLINE niSTORr OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



"The legisluture of the state shall consist of a 
senate and house of representatives, ■who shall 
meet biennially, at the seat of goyemment of the 
state, at such time as shall be prescribed by law, 
but no session shall exceed the term of sixty 
days." 

CHRISTIAN INSTRCCTIOK EXCLUDED FEOM SCHOOLS. 

The other amendment excludes Christian and 
other religious instructions from all of the edu- 
cational institutions of Minnesota in these words: 
"But in no case, shall the moneys derived as afore- 
said, or any portion thereof, or any public moneys, 
or property be appropriated or used for the sup- 
port of schools wherein the distinctive doctrines, 
or creeds or tenets of any particular Christian or 
other religious sect, are promulgated or taught." 

IMPEACHSTENT OP JUDGE PAGE. 

The personal unpopularity of Sherman Page, 
judge of the Tenth judicial district, culminated by 
the house of rej^resentatives of the legislature of 
1878, presenting articles, impeaching him, for con- 
duet unbecoming a judge: the senate sitting as a 
court, examined the charges, and on the 22d of 
June, he was ac quitted. 

aOVERNOK PILLSBUEX'S THIBD TERM. 

The republican party nominated John S. Pills- 
bury for a third term as governor, and at the elec- 
tion in November, 1879, he received 57,-171 votes, 
wliile 42,444 were given for Edmund Kice, the rep- 
resentative of the democrats. 

With a persistence which won the respect of the 
opponents of the measure. Governor Pillsbury con- 
tin ued to advocate the payment of the state rail- 
road bonds. The legislature of 1870 submitted an 
amendment to the constitution, by which the "in- 
ternal improvement lands" were to be sold and the 
proceeds to be used in cancelling the bonds, by the 
bondholders agreeing to purchase the lands at a 
certain sum per acre. The amendment was 
adopted by a vote of the people, but few of the 
bondholders accepted the provisions, and it failed 
to effect the proposed end. The legislature of 
1871 passed an act for a commis.sion to make an 
equitable adjustment of the bonds, but at a sjiecial 
election in May it was rejected. 

The legislature of 1877 passed an act for calling 
m the railroad bonds, and issueing new bonds, 
which was submitted to the people at a special 
election on the 12th of June, and not accepted. 

The legislature of 1878 proposed a constitu- 
tional amendment offering the internal imj)rove- 
meut lands in exchange for railroad bonds, and the 



people at the November election disapproved of the 
proposition. Against the proposed amendment 
45,669 votes were given, and only '26,311 in favor. 

FIRST BIENNLAL SESSION. 

The first biennial session of the legislature con- 
vened in January, 1881, and Governor Pillsbury 
again, in his message of the 6th of January, held 
up to the view of the legislators the dishonored 
railroad bonds, and the duty of providing for their 
settlement. In his argument he said:* 

"Tlje liability having been voluntarily incurred, 
whetlier it was wisely created or not is foreign to 
the present question. It is certain that the obli- 
gations were fairly given for which consideration 
was fairly received; and the state having chosen 
foreclosure as her remedy, and disposed of the 
property thus acquired unconditionally as her own, 
the conclusion seems to me irresistible that she 
assumed the payment of the debt resting upon 
such property by every principle of law and 
equity. And, moreover, as the state promptly 
siezed the railroad property and franchises, ex- 
pressly to indemnify her for payment of the bonds, 
it is difficult to see what possible justification there 
can be for her refusal to make that payment." 

The legislature in March passed an act for the 
adjustment of these bonds, which being brought 
before the supreme court of the state was declared 
void. The court at the same time declared the 
amendment to the state constitution, which pro- 
hibited the settlement of these bonds, without the 
assent of a popular vote, to be a violation of the 
clause in the constitution of the United States of 
America prohibiting the impairment of the obliga- 
tion of contracts. This decision cleared the way 
for final action. Governor Pillsbury called an 
extra session of the legislature in October, 1881, 
which accepted the offer of the bondholders, to be 
satisfied with a partial payment, and made pro\-is- 
ions for cancelling bonds, the existence of which 
for more than twenty years had been a humiliation 
to a large majority of the thoughtful and intelli- 
gent citizens of Minnesota, and a blot upon the 
otherwise fair name of the commonwealth. 

GOVERNOR HUBBARD. 

Lucius F. Hubbard, who had been colonel of 
the Fifth Eegiment, was nominated by the repub- 
lican party, and elected in November, 1881, by a 
large majority over the democratic nominee, E. 
W. Johnson. He entered upon his duties in Jan- 
uary, 1882, about the time of the present chapter 
going to press. 



HISTORY OF STATE IlfSTITU'TIOA^. 



lil 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

OAPITOIi PENITENTIARY — UNIVERSITY — DEAF AND 

DUMB INSTITUTION SCHOOL FOR BLIND AND 

IMBEOILES INSANE ASYLUMS STATE REFORM 

SCHOOL NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

Among the public buildings of Minnesota, the 
capitol is entitled to priority of notice. 

TEMPORARY CAPITOLS. 

In the absence of a capitol the first legislature 
of the territory of Minnesota convened on Mon- 
day, the 3d of September, 184.9, at St. Paul, in 
a log building covered with pine boards painted 
white, two stories high, which was at the time a 
public inn, afterward known as the Central Hous3, 
and kept by Robert Kennedy. It was situated on 
the high bank of the river. The main portion of 
the building was used for the library, secretary's 
office, council chamber and house of representa- 
tiyes' h.ill, while the annex was occupied as the 
dining-room of the hotel, with rooms for travelers 
in the story above. Both houses of the legisla- 
ture met in the dining-hall to listen to the first 
message of Governor Ramsey. 

The permanent location of the capital was not 
settled by the first legislature, and nothing could 
be done toward the erection of a capitol with the 
$20,000 appropriated by congress, as Jhe perma- 
nent seat of government had not been designated. 

William R. Marshall, since governor, at that 
time a member of the house of rejjresentatives 
from St. Anthony, with others, -svished that point 
to be designated as the capital. 

Twenty years after, in some remarks before tho 
Old Settlers' Association of Hennepin county, Ex- 
Governor Marshall alluded to this desire. He 
said: "The original act [of congress] made 
St. Paul the temporary capital, but provided that 
the legislature might determine the permanent 
capital. A bill was introduced by the St. Paul 
delegation to fix the permanent capital there. I 
opposed it, endeavoring to have St. Anthony made 
the seat of government. We succeeded in defeat- 
ing the bill which sought to make St. Paul the 
permanent capital, but we could not get through 
the bill fixing it at St. Anthony. So the question 
remained open in regard to the permanent capital 
until the next session in 1851, when a compromise 
was effected by which the capitol was to be at St. 
Paul, the State University at St. Anthony, and 



the Penitentiary at Stillwater. At an early day, 
as well as now, caricatures and burlesques were 
in vogue. Young William Randall, of St. Paul, 
now deceased, who had some talent in the graphic 
line, drew a picture of the efforts at capitol re- 
moval. It was a building on wheels, with ropes 
attached, at which I was pictured tugging, while 
Brunson, Jackson, and the other St. Paul mem- 
bers, were holding and checking the wheels, to 
prevent my moving it, with humorous speeches 
proceeding from the mouths of the parties to the 
contest." 

The second territorial legislature assembled on 
the 2d of January, 1871, in a brick building three 
stories in height, which stood on Third street in 
St. Paul, on a portion of the site now occupied by 
the Metropolitan Hotel, and before the session 
closed it was enacted that St. Paul should be the 
permanent capital, and commissioners were ap- 
pointed to expend the congressional appropriation 
for a capitol. 

When the Third legislature assembled, in Jan- 
uary, 18.52, it was still necessary to occupy a 
hired building known as Goodrich's block, which 
stood on Third street just below the entrance of 
the Merchants' Hotel. In 1853, the capitol not 
being finished, the fourth legislature was obliged 
to meet in a two-story brick building at the corner 
of Third and Minnesota streets, and directly in the 
rear of the wooden edifice where the first legisla- 
ture in 1849 had met. 

THE CAPITOL. 

After it was decided, in 1851, that St. Paul was 
to be the capital of the territory, Charles Bazille 
gave the square bounded by Tenth, Eleventh, 
Wabasha, and Cedar streets for the capitol. 
A plan was adopted by the building commission- 
ers, and the contract was taken by Joseph Daniels, 
a builder, who now resides in Washington as a 
lawyer and claim agent. The building was of 
brick, and at first had a front jjortico, supported 
by four Ionic columns. It was two stories above 
the basement, 139 feet long and nearly 54 feet in 
width, with an extension in the rear 44x52 feet. 
In July, 1858, it was so far completed as to allow 
the governor to occupy the executive ofBce. 

SPEECHES OF EX-PBESIDENT FILLMORE AND GEORGE 
BANCROFT. 

Before the war it was used not only by the legis- 
lature, and for the offices of state, but was granted 



142 



OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINyESOT^l. 



for important meetings. On the 8th of June a 
large excursion party, under the auspices of the 
builders of the Ciiicago & Kock Island railway, 
arrived at St. Paul from the latter point, in five 
large steamboats, and among the passengers were 
some of the most distinguished scholars, statesmen 
and divines of the republic. At night the popu- 
lation of St. Paul filled the capitol, and the more 
sedate listened in the senate chamber to the stir- 
ring speeches of Ex-President Fillmore, and the 
historian, George Bancroft, who had been secre- 
tary of the navy, and minister plenipotentiary to 
Great Britain, while at a later period of the night 
the youthful portion of the throng danced in the 
reom then used by the supreme court. 

The "Pioneer" of the next day thus alludes to 
the occasion: "The ball in honor of the guests 
of the excursion came off, in fine style. At an 
early hour, the assembly having been called to or- 
der, by the Hon. H. H. Sibley, a welcoming speech 
was delivered by Governor Gorman, and replies 
were made by Ex-President Fillmore and the 
learned historian Bancroft. ****** 
The dancing then commenced and was kept up till 
a late hour, when the party broke up, the guests 
returning to the steamers, and our town's people 
to their homes, all delighted with the rare enter- 
tainment." 

HON. W. H. SEWABD'S SrEEOH. 

On the 8th of S^itember, 18G0, the capitol was 
visited by Hon. William H. Seward. At mid-Jay 
he met by invitation the memljers of the Histori- 
cal Society in their rooms at the Capitol, and an 
address of welcome was made by the Kt. Rev. 
Bishop Anderson, of Rupert's Land, to which he 
made a brief response. 

In the afternoon, crowds assembled in the 
grounds to listen to an expected speech, and every 
window of the capitol was occupied with eager 
faces. Standing upon the front steps, he ad- 
dressed the audience in the language of a patriot 
and a statesman, and among bis eloquent utter- 
ances, was the following prediction. 

" Every step of my progress since I reached the 
northern Misissippi has been attended by a great 
and agreeable surprise. I had, early, read the 
works in which tlie geographers had described the 
scenes upon which I was entering, and I had 
studied them in the finest productions of art, but 
still the grandeur and luxuriance of this region 



had not been conceived. Those sentinel walls that 
look down upon the Mississippi, seen as I beheld 
them, in their abundant verdure, just wlien the 
earhest tinge of the fall gave luxuriance to the 
forests, made me think how much of taste and 
genius had been wasted in celebrating the high- 
lands of Scotland, before the civilized man had 
reached the banks of the Mississippi; and the 
beautiful Lake Pepin, seen at sunset, when the 
autumnal green of the hills was lost in the deep 
blue, and the genial atmosphere reflected the rays 
of the sun, and the skies above seemed to move 
down and spread their gorgeous drapery on the 
scene, was a piece of upholstery, such as none 
but the hand of nature could have made, and it 
was liut the vestibule of the capitol of the state 
of Minnesota. ***** ***** 
* * * Here is the place, the central place 
where the agriculture of the richest region of 
North America must pour its tribute. On the 
east, all along the shore of Lake Sujierior, and 
west, stretching in one broad plain, in a belt quite 
across the continent, is a country where State after 
State is to arise, and where the productions for the 
support of humanity, in old and crowded States, 
must be brought forth. 

"This is then a commanding field, but it is as 
coraiiiaudiug in regard to the destiny of this coim- 
try and of this continent, as it is, in regard to the 
commercial future, for power is not permanently 
to reside on the eastern slope of the Alleghany 
Mountains, nor in the sea-ports. Sea-ports have 
always been overrun and controlled by the people 
of the interior, and the power that shall communi- 
cate and express the will of men on this continent 
is to be located in the Mississippi valley and at the 
sources of the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence. 

"In our day, studying, perhaps what might 
seem to others trilling or visionary, I had cast 
about for the future and ultimate central seat of 
power of North American people. I had looked 
at Quebec, New Orleans, Washington,' Cincinnati, 
St. LouLs, and San Francisco, and it had been tlje 
result of my last conjecture, that the seat of power 
in North America could be found in the valley of 
Mexico, and that the glories of the Aztec capital 
would be surrendered, at its becoming at last the 
capital of the United States of America, but I 
have corrected that view. I now believe that the 
ultimate seat of government in this great Conti- 
nent, will be found somewhere within the circle or 



HISTORY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 



143 



radius not very far from the spot where I now 
stand." 

BTiAG PRESENTATION. 

In a few months after this speech, Mr. Seward 
was chosen by President Lincoln, inaugurated 
March 4, 1861, as secretary of slate, and the next 
great crowd in front of the capitol was collected 
by the presentation of a flag by the ladies of St. 
Paul to tlie First Minnesota regiment which had 
been raised for the suppression of the slave-holders 
rebeUion. On May the 25th, 1861, the regiment 
came down from their rendezvous at Port Snelling, 
and marched to the capital grounds. The wife of 
Governor Ramsey, -with the flag in hand, aj)peared 
on .the front steps, surrounded by a committee of 
ladies, and presenting it to Colonel Gorman, made 
a brief address in which she said: "Prom this 
capitol, to the most remote frontier cottage, no 
heart but shall send up a prayer for your safety; 
no eye but shall follow with affection the flutter- 
ings of your banner, and no one but shall feel 
pride, when you crown the banner as you will 
crown it, with glory." 

As the State increased in population it was nec- 
essary to alter and enlarge the building, and in 
1873, a wing was added fronting on Exchange 
street, and the cupola was improved. The legis- 
lature of 1878 provided for the erection of another 
wing, at an expense of $14,000, fronting on Waba- 
sha street. The building, by successive additions, 
was in length 204 feet, and in width 150 feet, and 
the top of the dome was more than 100 feet from 
the ground. 

THE OAPITOIj in FLAMES. 

On the morning of the 1st of March, 1881, it 
was destroyed by fire. About 9 o'clock in the 
the evening two gentlemen, who lived opposite, 
discovered the capitol was on fire, and immedia- 
tely, by the telegraph, an alarm notified the firemen 
of the city, and the occupants of the capitol. 

The flames rapidly covered the cupola and licked 
the flag flying from the staff on top. One of the 
reporters of the Pioneer Press, who was in the 
senate chamber at the time, graphically describes 
the scene within. 

He writes: "The senate was at work on third 
reading of house bills ; Lieutenant Governor GU- 
man in his seat, and Secretary Jennison reading 
something about restraining cattle in Rice county ; 
the senators were lying back listening carelessly, 



when the door opened and Hon. Michael Doran 
announced that the building was on fire. All eyes 
were at once turned in that direction, and the 
flash of the flames was visible from the top of the 
gallery, as well as from the hall, which 
is on a level with the floor of the senate. The panic 
that ensued had a different effect upon the differ- 
ent persons, and those occupying places nearest the 
entrance, pushing open the door, and rushing pell 
mell through the blinding smoke. Two or three 
ladies happened to be in the vicinity of the doors, 
and happily escaped uninjured. But the opening 
of the door produced a draft which drew into the 
senate chamber clouds of smoke, the fire in the 
meantime having made its appearance over the 
center and rear of the gallery. All this occurred 
so suddenly that senators standing near the re- 
porter's table and the secretary's desk, which were 
on the opposite side of the chamber from the en- 
trance, stood as if paralyzed, gazing in mute as- 
tonishment at the smoke that passed in through 
the open doors, at the flames over the gallery, and 
the rushing crowd that blocked the door-ways. 
The senate suddenly and foi-maUy adjourned. 
President GkUman, however stood in his place, 
gavel in hand, and as he rapped his desk, loud and 
often he yelled: "Shut that door! Shut that 
doorl" 

"The cry was taken up by Colonel Crooks and 
other senators, and the order was fiually obeyed, 
after which, the smoke clearing away, the senators 
were enabled to collect their senses and decide 
what was best to be done. President Gilman, 
still standing up in his place, calm and collected 
as if nothing unusual had happened, was encour- 
aging the senators to keep cool. Colonel Crooks 
was giving orders as if a battle was raging around 
him. 

"Other senators were giving such advice as oc- 
curred to them, but unfortunately no advice was 
pertinent except to keep cool and that was aU. 
Some were importuning the secretary and his as- 
sistants to save the records, and General Jennison, 
his hands full of papers, was waiting a chance to 
walk out with them. But that chance looked re- 
mote, indeed, for there, locked in the senate cham- 
ber, were at least fifty men walking around, some 
looking at each other in a dazed sort of a way; 
others at the windows looking out at the snow-cov- 
ered yard, now Ulumiaated from the flames, that 
were heard roaring and crackUng overhead. 



144 



OUTLINE BISTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



From some windows men were yelling to the lim- 
ited crowd below: "Get some ladders! Send for 
ladders!" Other windows were occupied. About 
this time terror actually siezed the members, when 
Senator Buck remarked that the fire was raging 
overhead, and at the same moment bummg brands 
began to drop through the large ventilators upon 
the desks and floor beneath. 

"Then, for a moment, it seemed as it all hopes of 
escape were out off. * * * * * 
But happily the flames having made their way 
through the dome, a draught was created strong 
enough to clear the halls of smoke. The dome 
was almost directly over the entrance of the senate 
chamber, and burning brands and timbers had 
fallen down through the glass ceiling in front of 
the door, rendering escape in that director im- 
possible. 

"But a small window leading from the cloak room 
of the senate chamber to the first landing of the 
main stairway furnished an avenue of escape, and 
through this little opening every man in the sen- 
ate chamber managed to get out. 

"The windows were about ten feet high, but Mr. 
Michael Doran and several other gentlemen stood 
at the bottom, and uobly rendered assistance to 
those who came tumbling out, some headlong, 
some sidewaj'-s and some feet foremost. 

" As the reporter of the Pioneer-Press came out 
and landed on his feet, he paused for a moment to 
survey the scene overhead, where the flames were 
lashing themselves into fury as they played under- 
neath the dome, and saw the flag-staff burning, 
and coals dropping down like fiery hail. 

"It took but a few minutes for the senators to get 
out, after which they assembled on the outside, 
and they had no sooner gaiued the street than the 
ceiling of the seaate chamber fell in, and in ten 
minutes that whole wing was a mass of flames." 

Similar scenes took place in the hall of the 
house of representatives. A young lawyer, with 
a friend, as soon as the fire was noticed, riin into 
the law library and began to throw books out of 
the wmdows, but in a few minutes the density of 
the smoke and the approach of the flames com- 
pelled them to desist, and a large portion of the 
library was burned. The portraits of Generals 
Sherman and Ihomas which were hung over the 
stairway were saved. The books of the Histori- 
cal Society, in the basement, were removed, but 
were considerably damaged. In three hours the 



bare walls alone remained of the capitol which 
for nearly thirty years had been familiar to the 
law-makers and public men of Minnesota. 

Steps were immediately taken to remove the 
debris and build a new capitol, upon the old site. 
The foundation walls have been laid, and in the 
course of a year the superstructure will be com- 
pleted. 

THE PENrrENTIABT. • 

Before the penitentiary was built, those charged 
or convicted of crime were placed in charge of the 
commandants of Fort Snelling or Eipley, and kept 
at useful employment under military supervision. 
At the same time it was decided to erect a capitol 
at St. Paul,it was also determined that the territorial 
prison should be buUt at or within half a mile of 
Stillwater. A small lot was secured in 1851 in 
what was called the Battle ravine, in consequence of 
the conflict between the Sioux and Chippeways de- 
scribed on the 103d page. Within a stone wall was 
erected ofBces of the prison, with an annex con- 
taining six ceUs. A warden's house was built 
on the outside of the wall. In 1853, an addition 
of six cells was made and on the 5th of March, 
1853, F. R. Delano entered upon his duties as 
warden. His reports to the legislature show that 
for several years there was little use for the cells. 
The prison was opened for criminals on the 1st of 
.Septcmber,1853,auduntilJanuary, 1858 there had 
been received onlj' five convicts, and forty-one 
county and thirty city prisoners awaiting trial. 
The use of the prison by the counties and city as 
a temporary place of confinement led to some 
misunderstanding between the warden and Wash- 
ington county, and the grand jury of that county 
in November, 1857, complained that the wai'den 
was careless in discharge of his duties. The jury, 
among other complaints sent the following ironi- 
cal statement: "It was also found in such exami- 
uution that one Maria Roffin, committed on charge 
of selling spirituous hquors to the Indians within 
the territory of the United States escaped in the 
words of the record, 'by leaving the prison' and it 
is a matter of astonishment to this grand jury 
that she so magnanimously consented to leave the 
penitentiary behind her." 

Francis O. J. Smith acted as warden for a brief 
l)eriod after Delano, and then H. N. Setzer. In 
1859, the number of cells had increased to sixteen, 
iiul among the inmates was a hitherto respectable 



HISrORY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 



145 



citizen sentenced for fifteen years for robbing a 
post-office. 

In 1860 John S. Proctor became warden, and 
after eight years of efBoieut service, was succeeded 
by Joshua L. Taylor. By successive additions 
in 1869 nearly ten acres were enclosed by prison 
walls, and during this year extensive shops were 
built. The State in 1870 erected a costly prison 
at an expense of about $80,000, which, besides a 
chapel and necessary offices, contained two hun- 
dred and ninety-nine cells. 

A. 0. Webber succeeded Taylor as Warden in 
March, 1870, and the following October, Henry 
A. Jackman took his place, and continued in office 
until August, 1874, when the present incumbent, 
J. A. Keed, was appointed. 

It has been the policy of the State to hire the 
convicts to labor for contractors, in workshops 
within the walls. At present the inmates are 
largely engaged in the making of agricultural 
machines for the firm of Seymour, Sabin & Co. 

THE UNIVBKSITY OP MINNESOTA. 

The Territorial Legislature of 18.51, passed an 
act establishing the University of Minnesota at or 
near the Falls of St. Anthony, and memorialized 
Congress for a grant of lands for the Institution. 
Soon after, Congress ordered seventy-two sections 
of land to be selected and reserved for the use of 
said University. 

As the Kegents had no funds, Franklin Steele 
gave the site now the public square, on Second 
Street in the East Division, oj^posite the Minnesota 
Medical College. Mr. Steele and others at their 
own expense erected a wooden building thereon, 
for a Preparatory Department, and the Eev. E. W. 
Merrill was engiiged as Principal. At the close 
of the year 1853, the Eegents reported that there 
was ninety- four students in attendance, but that 
the site selected being too near the Falls, they had 
purchased of Joshtia L. Taylor and Paul B. George 
about twenty-five acres, a mile eastward, on 
the heigth overlooking the Falls of St. Anthony. 

Governor Gorman, in his message in 1854 to 
the Legislature said : "The University of IMinne- 
sota exists as yet only in name, but the time has 
comewjien a substantial reality may and should 
be created." But the Eegents could not find any 
patent which would compress a myth into reality, 
for not an acre of the land grant of Congress was 
available. The Governor in his message therefore 
■'idded: "It would not embarrass our resources, 
10 



in my judgment, if a small loan was effected to 
erect a building, and establish one or two profes- 
sorships, and a preparatory department, such loau 
to be based upon the townships of land appropri- 
ated for the sole use of the University." 

While it was pleasing to loc; 1 pride to have e 
building in prospect which could be seen from 
afar, the friends of education shook their heads, 
and declared the prospect of borrowing money to 
build a University building before the common 
school system was organized was visionary, and 
would be unsuccessful. The idea, however, con- 
tinued to be agitated, and the Begents at length 
were authorized by the Legislature of 1856, to 
issue lionds in the name of the University, under 
its corporate seal, for fifteen thousand dollars, to 
be secured by the mortgage of the University 
building which had been erected on the new site, 
and forty thousand dollars more were authorized 
to be issued by the Legislature of 1858, to be 
secured by a lien on the lands devoted for a Ter- 
ritorial University. With the aid of these loans a 
costly and inconvenient stone edifice was con- 
structed, but when finished there was no demand 
for it, and no means for the payment of interest or 
professors. 

In the fall of 1858, in the hope that the Uni- 
versity might be saved from its desperate condi- 
tion, the Regents elected the Rev. Edward D. 
Neill as Chancellor. He accepted the position 
without any salary being pledged, and insisted 
that a University must necessarily be of slow de- 
velopment, and must succeed, not precede, the 
common schools, and contended that five years 
might elapse before anything could be done for a 
University which would be tangible and visible. 
He also expressed the belief that in time, with 
strict watchfulness, the heavy load of debt could 
be hf ted. 

The Legislature of 1860 abolished the old board 
of Regents of the Territorial University by pass- 
ing an act for a State University, which had been 
prepared by the Chancellor, and met the, approval 
of Chancellor Tappan, of Michigan University. 
Its first section declared "that the object of the 
State University established by the Constitution of 
the State, at or near the Falls of St. Anthony, 
shall be to provide the best and most efficient 
means of imparting to the youth of the State an 
education more advanced than that given in the 
public schools, and a thorough knowledge of the 



146 



OUTLINE BISTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



branches of literature, the arts and Boiences, with 
their various applications." 

This charter also provided for the appointment 
of five Regents, to be appointed by the Governor, 
and confirmed by the Senate, iu place of the 
twelve who had before been elected by the Legis- 
lature. The Legislature of 1860 also enacted that 
the Chancellor shoiild be ex-officio State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction. 

The first meeting of the Regents of the State 
University was held on the fifth of April, 1860, 
and steps were taken to secure the then useless edi- 
fice from further dilapidation. The Chancellor 
urged at this meeting that a large portion of the 
territorial land grant would be absorbed in pay- 
ment of the moneys used in the erection of 
a building in advance of the times, and that 
the only way to secure the existence of a State 
University was by asking Congress for an addi- 
tional two townshi^js, or seventy-two sections of 
land, which he contended could be done under the 
phraseology of the enabUug act, which said: "That 
seventy-two sections of land shall be set apart and 
reserved for the use and support of a State Univer- 
sity to be selected by the Governor of said State,'" 
etc. 

The Regents requested the Governor to suggest 
to the authorities that it was not the intention of 
Congress to turn over the debts and prospectively 
encumbered lands of an old and badly managed 
Territorial institution, but to give the State that 
was to be, a grant for a State University, free 
from all connection with tlie Territorial organiza- 
tion. The Governor communicated these views 
to the authorities at Washington, but it was not 
tUl after years of patient waiting that the land was 
obtained by an act of Congress. 

At the breaking out of the civil war in 1861, 
the Chancellor became Chaplain of the First Regi- 
ment of Minnesota Volunteers, and went to the 
seat of war, and the University affairs continued to 
grow worse, and the University building was a 
by-word and hissing among the passers by. Dur- 
ing the year 1863, some of the citizens of St. An- 
thony determined to make another effort to extri- 
cate the institution from its difficulties, and the 
legislature of 1864 passed an act abolishing the 
board of Regents, and creating three persons sole 
regents, with power to liquidate the debts of the 
institution. The Regeuts under this law were 
John S. Pillsbury and O. C. Merriman, of St. An- 
thony, and John Nicols, of St. Paul. 



The increased demand for pine lands, of which 
the University owned many acres, and the sound 
discretion of these gentlemen co-operated in pro- 
curing happy results. In two years Governor 
Marshall, in his message to the legislature, was 
able to say: "The very able and successful man- 
agement of the affairs of the institution, imder the 
piesent board of Regents, relieving it of over one 
hundred thousand dollars of debt, and saving over 
thirty thousand acres of land that was at one time 
supposed to be lost, entitles Messrs. Pillsbury, 
Merriman, and Nicols to the lasting gratitude of 
the State." 

The legislature of 1867 appropriated $5,000 for 
a preparatory and Normal department, and the 
Regents this year chose as principal of the school, 
the Rev. W. W. Washburn, a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Michigan, and Gabriel Campbell, of the 
same institution, and Ira Moore as assistants. The 
legislature of 1868 passed an act to reorganize the 
University, and to establish an Agricultural Col- 
lege therein. 

Departing from the policy of the University of 
Michigan, it established what the Regents wished,a 
department of Elementary instruction. It also pro- 
vided for a OoUege of Science, Literature and the 
Arts; a College of Agriculture and MecUaniiis with 
Military Tactics; a college of Law, and a College 
of Medicine. 

The provision of the act of 1860, for the appoint- 
ment of Regents was retained, and the number to 
be confirmed by the Senate, was increased from 
five to seven. 

The new board of Regents was organized in 
March, 1868. John S. Pillsbury, of St. Anthony, 
President; O. C. Merriman, of St. Anthony, Sec- 
retary, and John Nicils, of St. Paul, Treasurer. 

At a meeting of the Regents in August, 1869, 
arrangements were made for collegiate work by 
electing as President and Professor of mathematics 
^^■illiam W. FolweU. 

President FohveU was bom in 1835, in Seneca 
county. New York, and graduated with distinction 
in 1827, at Hobart College in Geneva, New York. 
For two years lie was a tutor at Hobart, and then 
went to Europe. Upon his return the civil war was 
raging, and he entered the 50th New Y'ork Volun- 
teers. After the army was disbanded he engaged 
in business in Ohio, but at the time of his election 
to the presidency of the University, was Professor 
oE mathematics, astronomy, and German at Ken- 
yon College. 



HISTORY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 



147 



THE FACULir. 

The present faculty of the institution is as fol- 
lows: 

William W. Folwell, instructor, political science. 

Jabez Brooks, D. D., professor, Greek, and in 
charge o£ Latin. 

Newton H. WincheU, professor, State geologist, 
C: N. Hewitt, M. D., professor, Public Health. 

JohnG. Moore, professor, German. 

Moses Marston, Ph. D., professor, English lit- 
erature. 

C. W. Hall, professor, geology and biology. 

John 0. Hutchinson, assistant professor, Greek 
and mathematics. 

Johu S. Clark, assistant professor, Latin. 

Matilda J. Campbell, instructor, German and 
English. 

Maria L. Sanford, professor, rhetoric, and elocu- 
tion. 

William A. Pike, 0. E., professor, engineering 
and physics. 

John F. Downey, professor, mathematics and 
astronomy. 

James A. Dodge, Ph. D., professor, chemistry. 

Alexander T. Ormond, professor, mental and 
moral philosophy and history. 

Charles W. Benton, professor, French.- 

Edward D. Porter, professor, agriculture. 

William H. Leib, instructor, vocal music. 

William F. Decker, instructor, shop work and 
drawing. 

Edgar C. Brown, U. S. A., professor, military 
science. 

James Bowen, instructor, practical horticulture. 

THE CAMPUS AND BUILDINGS. 

The campus of the university since it was orig- 
inally acquired, has been somewhat enlarged, and 
now consists of about fifty acres in extent, undu- 
lating in surface, and well wooded with native 
trees. The buildings are thus far but two in 
number, the plan of the original building, which 
in outline was not unlike the insane asylum build- 
ing at St. Peter, having been changed by the 
erection in 1876, of a large four-story structure 
built of stone and surmounted by a tower. This 
building is 186 feet in length and ninety in 
breadth, exclusive of porches, having three stories 
above the basement in the old part- The walls 
are of blue limestone and the roof of tin. The 
rooms, fifty -three in number, as well as all the 
corridors are heated by an efficient steam appara- 



tus, and are thoroughly ventilated. Water is sup- 
plied from the city mains, and there is a stand- 
pipe running from the basement through the roof 
with hose attached on all the floors for protection 
against fire. The assembly hall, in the third 
story, is 87x55 feet, 24 feet high, and wiU seat 
with comfort 700 people, and 1,200 can be accom- 
modated. 

THE AGRICULTUKAL BUILDING 

is the first of the special buildings for the separ- 
ate colleges, and was built in 1876. It is of 
brick, on a basement of blue stone, 146x54 feet. 
The central portion is two stories in height. The 
south wing, 46x25 feet, is a plant house of double 
sash and glass. The north wing contains the 
chemical laboratory. There are class rooms for 
chemistry, physics and agriculture, and private 
laboratories for the professors. A large room in 
the second story is occupied by the museum of 
technology and agriculture, and the basement is 
filled up with a carpenter shop, a room with vises 
and tools at which eight can work, and another 
room fitted with eight forges and a blower — the 
commencement of the faciUties for practical in- 
struction. 

DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTION. 

Of all the public institutions of Minnesota, no 
one has had a more joleasing history, and more 
symmetrical development than the Institution for 
the education of the deaf and dumb and the blind 
at Faribault. 

The legislature of 1858, passed an act for the 
establishment of "The Minnesota State Institute 
for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb," within 
two miles of Faribault, in Rice county, upon con- 
dition that the town or county, should within one 
year from the passage of the law give forty acres 
of land for its use. The condition was comj^lied 
with, but the financial condition of the country 
and the breaking out of the civil war, with other 
causes retarded the progress of the Institution for 
five years. 

The legislature of 1863 made the first appro- 
priation of fifteen himdred dollars for the opening 
of the Institution. Mr. E. A. Mott, of Faribault, 
who has to this time been an efiicient director, at 
the request of the other two directors, visited the 
East for teachers, and secured Prof. Kinney and 
wife of Columbus, Ohio. A store on Front Street 
was tfien rented, and adapted for the temporary 



148 



OUTLINE niSTORT OF THE STATE OP MINNESOTA. 



use of the Institution, which opened on the 9th of 
September, 1863, with live pupils, which soon in- 
creased to ten. 

On February 13th, 1864, the State appropriated 
about four thousand dollars for the supiiert of the 
Institution, and the directors expended about one 
thousand dollars in the erection of small additional 
building, eighteen by twenty feet in dimensions, 
as s boys' dormitory. 

After laboring faithfully for three years and se- 
curing the respect of his associates, on July 1st, 
1866, Prof. Kinney resigned on account of ill health. 

The directors the nest month elected as Super- 
intendent Jonathan L. Noyes, A. M. On the 7th 
of SejJtember Professor Noyes an-ived at Faribault 
with Miss A. L. Steele as an assistant teacher and 
Henrietta Watson as matron. 

NOBTH WINO OF EDIFICE COMPLETED. 

Upon the 17th of March, 1863, the Institution 
was removed to a wing of the new building upon 
a site of fifty-two acres beautifully situated upon 
the brow of the hills east of Faribault. The edi- 
fice of the French louvre style, and was designed 
by Monroe Sheire, a St. Paul architect, and cost 
about fifty-three thousand dollars, and water was 
introduced from si^rings in the vicinity. 

WOEK SHOPS. 

In 1869, the Superintendent was cheered by the 
completion of the first work shop, and soon eight 
mutes imder the direction of a mute foreman be- 
gan to make flour barrels, and in less than a year 
had sent out more than one thousand, and in 1873 
4,054 barrels were made. 

SOUTH WDfG BEGAN. 

The completed wing was not intended to accom- 
modate more than sixty pupils and soon there was 
a demand for more room. During the year 1869 
the foundation of the south wing was completed, 
and on the 10th of September 1873 the building 
was occupied by boys, the other wing being used 
for the girls. By the time the building was ready 
■■itudents were waiting to occupy. 

MAUI BniLDlNQ COMPLETED. 

In 1879 the design was completed by the finith- 
ing of the centre building. The whole edifice is 
thus described by the architect, Monroe Sheire: 
"The plan of the building is rectangular, and con- 
sists of a central portion one hundred feet north 



and south, and one hundred and eight feet east 
and west, exclusive of piazzas, and two wings, one 
on the north, and the other on the south side, 
each of those being eighty by forty-five. This 
makes the extreme length two hundred and sixty 
feet, and the width one hundred and eight feet. 
The entire building is four stories above the base- 
ment." 

The exterior walls are built of blue Ume stone 
from this vicinity, and the style Franco Roman- 
esque. Over the center is a graceful cupola, and 
the top of the same is one hundred and fifty feet 
above the ground. 

The entire cost to the State of all the improve- 
ments was about $175,000, and the building wdl 
accommodate about two hundred pupils. The 
rooms are lighted by gas from the Faribault Gas 
Works. 

INDTTSTBIAL SCHOOLS. 

Tlie first shop opened was for making barrels. 
To this cooper shop has been added a shoe shop, a 
tailor shop and a printing office. 

MAGAZINE. 

The pupils established in March, 1876, a little 
paper called the Gopher. It was printed on a 
small press, and second-hand* type was used. 

In June, 1877, it was more than doubled in 
size, and changed its name to "The Mutes' Com- 
piiuion." Printed with good type, and filled with 
pleasant articles it still exists, and adds to the in- 
terest in the institution. 

EDUCATION OF THE BLIND. 

In 1863 a law was passed by the legislature re- 
quiring blind chOdren to be educated under the sir- 
pervision of the Deaf and Dumb Institutior.. 
Early in July, 1866, a school for the blind was 
opened in a separate building, rented for the pur- 
\,ox, under the care of Miss H. N. Tucker. Dur- 
ing the first term there were three pupils. In May, 
1863, the blind pupils were brought into the deal 
and dumb institution, but the experiment of in 
strufting these two classes together was not satis- 
factory, and in 1874 the blind were removed to 
the old Faribault House, half a mile south of 
the Deaf and Dumb Institution, which had been 
fitted up for their accommodation, and where 
a large new brick building, for the use of the 
blind, has since been erected. In 1875, Profes- 
sor James J. Dow was made prineiiml of the 
schooL 



UliiTOliT OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 



149 



SOHOOI; 3?0K THE FEEBLE MINDED. 

From time to time, iu his report to the Legisla- 
ture, Siiperiutendent Noyes alhided to the fact that 
Bome children appeared deaf aud dumb because of 
their feeble mental development, and in 1879, the 
state appropriated S5,000 for a school for imbecile 
children. 

The institution was started in July of that year 
by Dr. Henry M. Knight, now deceased, then 
Superintendent and founder of the Connecticut 
school of the same description, who was on a visit 
to Faribault. He superintended the school until 
the arrival, in September, of his son, Dr. George 
H. Knight, who had been trained imder his father. 

For the use of the school the Fairview House was 
rented, and fourteen feeble children were sent 
from the Insane Asylum at St. Peter. In eigh- 
teen months the number had increased to twenty - 
five. 

The site of the new building for the school is 
about forty rods south of the Blind School. The 
dimensions are 44x80 feet, with a tower projection 
20x18 feet. It is of limestone, and three stories 
above the basement, covered with an iron hip-roof, 
and cost about $25,000. 

SUPEEINTENDENT J. L. NOTES. 

The growth of the Minnesota institution for the 
education of the deaf and dumb and the blind, 
has been so symmetrical, and indicative of one ' 
moulding mind, that c sketch of the institution 
would be incomplete without some notice of the 
Superintendent, who has guided it for the last 
sixteen years. 

On the 13th of June, 1827, Jonathan Lovejoy 
Noyes was born in Windham, Kockingham county. 
New Hampshire. At the age of fourteen years he 
was sent to Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachu- 
setts, not only one of the oldest, but among 
the best schools in the United States. At Andover 
he had the advantage of the instruction of the 
thorough Greek scholar. Dr. Samuel H. Taylor, 
the eminent author, Lyman H. Coleman, D. D., 
afterwards Professor of Latin in Lafayette Col- 
lege, Pennsylvania, and William H. Wells, whose 
English grammar has been used in many insti- 
tutions. 

After completing his preparatory studies, in 
1848, he entered Yale College, and in four years 
received the diploma of Bachelor of Arts. After 
graduation he received an appointment in the 



Pennsylvania Institution of the Deaf and Dumb, on 
Broad Street, Philadelphia, and found instructing 
deaf mutes was a pleasant occupation. After six 
years of important work in Philadelphia, he was 
employed two years in a similar institution at 
Baton Bouge, Louisiana, and then received an ap- 
pointment in the well known American Asylum so 
long presided over by Thomas H. Gallandet, at 
Hartford, Connecticut. While laboring here he 
was invited to take charge of the "Minnesota In- 
stitution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb 
and the Blind," and in September, 1866, he ar- 
rived at Faribault. With wisdom and patience, 
gentleness and energy, and an unfaltering trust in 
a superintending Providence, he has there contin- 
ued his work with the approbation of his fellow 
citizens, and the affection of the pupils of the 
institution. 

At the time that he was relieved of the care of 
the blind and imbecile, the directors entered upon 
their minutes the following testimonial: 

"■Resolved, That upon the retirement of Prof. J. 
L. Noyes from the superintendency of the dej)art- 
ments of the blind and imbecile, the board of 

Directors, of the Minnesota Institution for the 
Deaf and Dumb, and Blind and Idiots, and Imbe- 
ciles, desire to testify to his deejD interest in these 
several departments; his efficient and timely ser- 
vices in their establishment; and his wise direction 
of their early progress, until they have become 
full-fledged and independent departments of our 
noble State charitable institutions. ' 

"For his cordial and courteous co-operation with 
the directors in their work, and for his timely 
counsel and advice, never withheld when needed, 
the board by this testimonial, render to him their 
hearty recognition and warm acknowledgement." 

On the 2l8tof July, 1862, Professor Noyes mar- 
ried Eliza H. Wadsworth, of Hartford, Connecti- 
cut, a descendent of the Colonel Wadsworth, who 
in the old colony time, hid the charter of Connecti- 
cut in an oak, which for generations has been 
known in history as the "Charter Oak." They 
have but one child, a daughter. 

INSANE HOSPITAL AT ST. PETER. 

Until the year 1866, the insane of Minnesota 
were sent to the Iowa Asylum for treatment, but 
in January of that year the Legislature passed an 
act appointing Wm. K. Marshall, John M. Berry, 
Thomas Wilson, Charles Mclhath, and S. J. K. 
McMillan to select a proper place for the Minne- 



160 



OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



sota Hospital for the Insane. The vicinity of St. 
Peter was chosen, the citizens presenting to the 
State two hundred and ten acres one mile south of 
the city, and on the Minnesota River, directly op- 
posite to Kasota. 

In October, 1866, temporary buildings were 
erected, and the Trustees elected Samuel E. 
Shantz. of Utica, N. Y., as the Superintendent. 
A plan submitted by Samuel Sloan, a Philadelphia 
architect, consisting of a central building, with 
sections and wings for the accommodation of at 
least five hundred patients, in 1867, was adopted, 
and in 1876 the great structure was completed. 
• It is built of Kasota limestone, the walls lined 
with brick, and the roof covered with slates. The 
central building is four stories in height, sur- 
mounted ■with a fine cupola, and therein are the 
chapel and offices. Each wing is three stories 
high, with nine separate lialls. 

The expenses of construction of the Asylum, 
with the outbuildings, has been more than half a 
million of dollars. Dr. Shantz having died, Cyrus 
K. Bartlett, M. D., of Northampton, Massachu- 
setts, was appointed Superintedent. 

In January, 1880, in the old temporary build- 
ings and in the Asylum proper there were six hun- 
dred and sixty patients. On the 15th of Novem- 
ber, 1880, about half past eight in the evening, 
the Superintendent and assistants were shocked by 
the announcement that the north wing was on 
fire. It began in the northwest comer of the 
basement, and is supposed to liave been kindled by 
a patient employed about the kitchen who was not 
violent. The flames rapidly ascended to the dif- 
ferent stories, through the holes for the hot air 
pipes, and the openings for the dumb waiters. 

The wing at the time contained two himdred 
and seventy patients, and as they were Uberated 
by their nurses and told to make their escape, ex- 
hibited various emotions. Some clapped their 
hands with glee, others trembled with fear. 
Many, barefooted and with bare heads, rushed for 
the neighboring hills and sat on the cold snow. 
A few remained inside. One patient was noticed 
in a window of the third story, with his knees 
drawn up to his chin, and his face in his hands, a 
cool and interested looker on, and with an expres- 
sion of cynical contempt for the flames as they ap- 
proached his seat. When a tongue of fire would 
shoot toward him, he would lower his head, and 
after it passed would resume his position with more 
than the indifierence of a stoic. At last the brick 



work beneath him gave way with a loud crash, 
and as he was precijiitated into the cauldron of fire 
soon to be burned to ashes, his maniacal laugh was 
heard above the roar of the flames. 

The remains of eighteen patients were found in 
the ruins, and seven died in a few days after the 
fire, in consequence of injuries and exposure. 

Immediate steps were taken by the Governor to 
repair the damages by the fire. 

INSANE HOSPITAL AT ROCHESTER. 

In 1878, the Legislature enacted a law by 
which an inebriate asylum commenced at Koches- 
ter could be used for an Insane Asylum. With the 
ai^propriation, alterations and additions were 
made, Dr. J. E. Bowers elected Superintendent, 
and on the Ist of January, 1879, it was opened for 
patients. 

Twenty thonsatld dollars have since been appro- 
priated for a wing for female patients. 

STATE REFORM SCHOOIi. 

During the year 1865, I. V. D. Heard, Esq., a 
lawyer of Saint Paul, and at that time City At- 
torney sent a communication to one of the daily 
papers urging the importance of separating child 
ren arrested for petty crimes, from the depraved 
adults found in the station house or county jail, 
and also called the attention of the City Council 
to the need for a Reform School. 

The next Legislature, in 1866, under the influ- 
ence created by the discussion passed a law creat- 
ing a House of Eefuge, and appropriated $5,000 for 
its xise on condition that the city of Saint Paul 
would give the same amount. 

In November, 1867; the managers purchased 
thirty acres with a stone farm house and Ijam 
thereon, for S10,000, situated in Rose township, in 
Saint Anthony near Snelling Avenue, in the west- 
em suburbs of Saint Paul. 

In 1868 the House of Refuge was ready to re- 
ceive wayward youths, and this year the Legis- 
lature changed the name to the Minnesota State 
Reform School, and accepted it as a state institu- 
tion. The Rev. J. G. Riheldaflbr D. D., who had 
for years been pastor of one of the Saint Paul 
Presbyterian churclies was elected superintendent 

In 1869 the main budding of light colored 
brick, 40x60 feet was erected, and occupied in 
December. 

In February, 1879, the laundry, a separate 
building was burned, and-^n appropriation of the 



SKETCHES OF PUBLIC MEN. 



151 



Legislature was made soon after of $15,000 for 
the rebuilding of the laundry and the ei'ection of 
a work shop. This shop is 50x100 and three 
stories high. The boys besides receiving a good 
English education, are taught to be tailors, tinners, 
carjsenters and gardeners. The sale of bouquets 
from the green house, of sleds and toys, and of 
tin ware has been one of the sources of revenue. 

Doctor Riheldaffer continues as superintendent 
and by his judicious management has prepared 
many of the inmates to lead useful and honorable 
lives, after their discharge from the Institution. 

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. 

By the influence of Lieut. Gov. Holcomb and 
others the first State Legislature in 1858 passed 
an Act by -which three Normal schools might be 
erected, but made no proper provision for their 
support. 

WINONA NOKMAL SCHOOL. 

Dr. Ford, a graduate of Dartmouth college, 
and a respectable physician in Winona, \vith sev- 
eral residents of the same place secured to the 
amount of $5,512 subscriptions for the establish- 
ment of a Normal School at that point, and a 
small appropriation was secured in 1880 from the 
Legislature. 

John Ogden, af Ohio, was elected Principal, and 
in September, 1860, the school was opened in a 
temporary building. Soon after the civil war be- 
gan the school was suspended, and Mr. Ogden 
entered the army. 

In 1864 the Legislature made an appropriation 
of $3,000, and and WiUiam F. Phelps, who had 
been in charge of the New Jersey Normal School 
at Trenton, was chosen principal. In 1865 the 
State appropriated S5,000 annually for the school 
and the citizens of Winona gave over |20,000 to- 
ward the securing of a site and the erection of a 
permanent edifice. 

One of the best and most ornamental education- 
al buildings in the Northwest was commenced and 
in September, 1869, was so far finished as to ac- 
commodate pupils. To complete it nearly $150,- 
000 was given by the State. 

In 1876 Prof. W. F. Phelps resigned and was 
succeeded by Charles A. Morey who in May, 
1879 retired. The present principal is Irwin 
Shepard. 

MANKATO NOBMAL SCHOOL. 

In 1866, Mankato having offered a site for a 



second Normal School, the Legislature give $5,000 
for its support. George M. Gage was elected 
Principal and on the 1st of September, 1868 the 
school was opened, It occupied the basement of, 
the Methodist church for a few weeks, and then 
moved into a room over a store at the corner of 
Front and Main streets. In April 1870, the State 
building was first occupied. 

Prof. Gage resgned in June, 1872, and his suc- 
cessor was Miss J. A. Sears who remained one year. 
In July 1873, the Eev. D. 0. John was elected 
principal, and in the spring of 1880, he retired. 

The present Principal is Professor Edward Sear- 
ing, formerly State Superintendent of Public In- 
struction in Wisconsin, a fine Latin scholar, and 
editor of an edition of Virgil. 

ST. CLOUD NORMAL SCHOOL. 

In 1809, the citizens of St. Cloud gave $5,000 
for the establishment in that city of the third 
Normal School, and a buildiug was fitted up for 
its use. The legislature in 1869, appropriated 
$3,000 for current expenses. In 1870, a new build- 
ing was begun, the legislature having appropriated 
.1;10,000, and in 1873, $30,000; this building in 
1875 was first occupied. In 1875, the Rev. D. L. 
Kiehle was elected Principal, Prof. Ira Moore, the 
first Principal having resigned. In 1881, Prof. 
Kiehle was appointed State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, and Jerome Allen, late of New 
York, was elected his successor. 



CHAPTER XXVIL 

MINNESOTA GOVBRNOBS UNITED STATES SENATOHS 

■ — MEMBERS OP UNITED STATES HOUSE OP KEPEE- 

SENTATIVES. 

GOVERNOR BAMSEI A. D. 1849 TO A. D. 1853. 

Alexander Ramsey, the first Governor of the 
Territory of Minnesota, was born on the 8th of 
September, 1815, near Harrisburg, in Dauphin 
county, Pennsylvania. His grandfather was a 
descendent of one of the many colonists who came 
from the north of Ireland before the war of the 
Revolution, and his father about the time of the 
first treaty of peace with Great Britain, was boru in 
York county, Pennsylvania. His mother Elizabeth 
Kelker, was of German descent, a woman of en- 
ergy, industry and religious principle. 

His father dying, when the subject of this sketch 



152 



OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OP MINNESOTA. 



was ten years of age, he went into the store of his 
maternal uncle in Harrisburg, and remained two 
years. Then he was emplojed as a copyist in the 
ofiBee of Register of Deeds. For several years he 
was engaged in such business as would give sup- 
port. Thoughtful, persevering and studious, at 
the age of eighteen he was able to enter Lafayette 
College, at Easton, Pennsylvania. After he left 
College he entered a lawyer's ofBce in Harrisburg, 
and subsequently attended lecture j at the Law 
Sohool at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 

At the age of twenty-four, in 1839, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar of Dauphin county. His execu- 
tive ability was immediately noticed, and the nest 
year he took an active part in the political cam- 
paign, advocating the claims of William H. Harri- 
son, and he was complimented by being made 
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Presidential Elec- 
tors. After the electoral vote was delivered in 
Washington, in a few weeks, in January 18il, he 
was elected chief clerk of the House of Represen- 
tatives of Pennsylvania. Here his ability in dis- 
patching business, and his great discretion made 
a most favorable impression, and in ISiS, the 
Whigs of Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill 
counties nominated him, as their candidate for 
Congress. Popular among the young men of 
Harrisburg, that city wliich had hitherto given a 
democratic majority, voted for the Whig ticket 
which he represented, and the whole district gave 
him a majority of votes. At the expiration of his 
term, in 18-15 he was again elected to Congress. 

Strong in his political preferences, without man- 
ifesting political rancor, and of large perceptive 
power, he was in 1818 chosen by the Whig party 
Pensylvania, as the secretary of the Central Com- 
mittee, and he directed the movements in his na- 
tive State, which led to the electoral votes being 
thrown for General Zachary Taylor for President. 

On the 4th of March, 1849, President Taylor 
took the oath of office, and in less than a month he 
signed the commission of Alexander Ramsey as 
Governor of the Territory of Minnesota, which 
had been created by a law approved the day before 
his inauguration. 

By the way of Buffalo, and from thence by 
lake to Chicago, and from thence to Galena, where 
he took a steamboat, he traveled to Minnesota and 
arrived at St. Paul early in the morning of the 
27th of May, with his wife, children and nurse, 
but went with the boat up to Mendota, where he 
was cordially mot by the Territorial delegate, 



Hon. H. H. Sibley, and with his family was his 
guest for several weeks. He then came to St, 
Paul, occupied a small housa on Ttiird street near 
the comer of Robert. 

On the Ist of Jane he issued his first proclama- 
mation declaring the organization of the Territorial 
government, and on the 11th, he issued another 
creating judicial districts and providing for the 
election of members of a legislature to assemble 
in September. To his duties as Governor was 
added the superintendency of Indian affairs and 
during the first summer he held frequent confer- 
ences with the Indians, and his first report to the 
Conmaissioner of Indian Affairs is still valuable 
for its information relative to the Indian tribes at 
that time hunting in the valleys of the Minnesota 
and the Mississippi. 

During the Governor's term of office he visited 
the Indians at their villages, and made himself 
familiar with their needs, and in the summer of 
1851, made treaties with the Sioux by which the 
country between the Mississippi Rivers, north of the 
State of Iowa, w.is ojjened for occupation by the 
whites. His term of office as Governor expired in 
April, 1853, and in 1855 his fellow townsmen 
elected him Mayor of St. Paul. In 1857, after 
Minnesota had adopted a State Constitution, the 
Republican party nominated Alexander Ramsey 
for Governor, and the Democrats nominated Henry 
H. Sibley. The election in October was close 
and exciting, and Mr. Sibley was at length de- 
clared Governor by a majority of about two hun- 
dred votes. The Rejjublicans were dissatisfied 
with the result, and contended that more Demo- 
cratic votes were thrown in the Otter Tail Lake 
region than there were citizens residing in the 
northern district. 

In 1859, Mr. Ramsey was again nominated by 
the Republicans for Governor, and elected by four 
thousand majority. Before the expiration of his 
term of office, the Republic was darkened by civil 
war. Governor Ramsey happened to be in Wash- 
ington when the news of the firing upon Fort 
Sumter was received, and was among the fii-st of 
the State Governors to call upon the President 
and tender a regiment of volunteers in defense of 
the EepubUc. Returning to the State, he dis- 
played energy and wisdom in the organization of 
regiments. 

In the fall of 1861, he was again nominated and 
elected as Governor, but before the expiration of 
this term, on July 10th, 1863, he was elected by 



SKETallES OF PUBLIC MEN. 



163 



the Legislature, United States Senator. Upon en- 
tering the Senate, he was placed on the Commit- 
tees on Naval Affairs, Post-offices, Patents, Pacific 
Railroad, and Chairman of the Committee on Rev- 
olutionary Pensions and Revolutionary Claims. 
He was also one of the Committee appointed by 
Congress to accompany the remains of President 
Lincoln to Springfield Cemetery, Illinois. 

The Legislature of 1869 re-elected him for the 
term ending in March, 1875. In 1880, he was ap- 
pointed Secretary of War by President Hayes, and 
for a time also acted as Secretary of the Navy. 

He was married in 1845 to Anna Earl, daughter 
of Michael H. Jenks, a member of Congress from 
Bucks county. He has had three children; his 
two sons died in early youth; his daughter 
Marion, the wife of Charles Eliot Furness, resides 
with her family, with her parents in St. Paul. 

GOVEENOB GOBM.\N A. D. 1853 TO A. D. 1857. 

At the expiration of Governor Ramsey's tenn 
of office, President Pierce appointed Willis Arnold 
Gorman as his successor. Gevernor Gorman was 
the only son of David L. Gorman and born in 
January, 1866 near Flemingsburgh, Kentucky- 
After receiving a good academic education he went 
to Bloomington, Indiana, and in 1836 graduated 
in the law department of the State University. 
He imediately entered upon the practice of law 
with few friends and no money, in Bloomington, 
and in a year was called upon to defend a man 
charged with murder, and obtained his acquittal. 

That one so young should have engaged in 
such a case excited the attention of thepubHo, and 
two years afterwards was elected a member of the 
Indiana legislature. His popularity was so great 
that he was re-elected a number of times. When 
war was declared against Mexico he enlisted as a 
private in a company of volunteers, which with 
others at New Albany was mustered into the ser- 
vice for one year, as the Third Regiment of 
Indiana Volunteers, with James H. Lane, after- 
wards U. S. Senator for Kansas, as Colonel, while 
he was commissioned as Major. It is said that 
under the orders of General Taylor with a de- 
tachment of riflemen he oi^ened the battle of 
Buena Vista. In this engagement his horse was 
shot and fell into a deep ravine carrying the 
Major with, him and severely bruising him. 

In August, 1847, he returned to Indiana and by 
his enthusiasm helped to raise the Fourth Regi- 
ment and was elected its Colonel, and went back 



to the seat of war, and was present in several bat- 
tles, and when peace was declared returned with 
the reputation of being a dashing officer. 

Resuming the practice of law, in the fall of 1848 
he was elected to Congress and served two terms, 
his last expiring on the 4th of March, 1853, the 
day when his fellow officer in the Mexican War, 
Gen. Franlvlin Pierce took the oath of office as 
President of the United States. With a commis- 
sion bearing the signature of President Pierce he 
arrived in Saint Paul, in May, 1853, as the second 
Territorial Governor of Minnesota. 

His term of Governor expired in the spring of 
1857, and he was elected a member of the Com- 
mittee to frame a State Constitution, which on the 
second Monday in July of that year, convened at 
the Capitol. After the committee adjourned he 
again entered upon the practice of law but when 
the news of the firing of Fort Sumter reached 
Saint Paul he realized that the nation's life 
was endangered, and that there would be a civil 
war. He offered his services to Governor Ram- 
sey and when the First Regiment of Minnesota 
volunteers was organized he was commissioned as 
Colonel. He entered with ardor upon his work of 
drilling the raw troops in camp at Fort Snelling, 
and the privates soon caught his enthusiasm. 

No officer ever had more pride in his regiment 
and his soldiers were faithful to his orders. His 
regiment was the advance regiment of FrankUn's 
Brigade, in Heintzelman's Division at the first Bat- 
tle of Bull Run, and there made a reputation 
which it increased at every battle, especially at 
Gettysburg. Upon the recommendation of Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott who had known him in Mex- 
ico after the battle of Bull Run he was aj)pointed 
Brigadier General by President Lincoln, 

After three years of service as Brigadier General 
he was mustered out and returning to St. Paul 
resumed his profession. From that time he held 
several positions under the city government. He 
died on the afternoon of the 25th of May, 1876. 

GOVEBNOB SIBLET, A. D. 1858 to A. D. 1860. 

No one is more intimately asssociated with the 
development of the Northwest than Henry Hast- 
ings Sibley, the first Governor of Minnesota under 
the State constitution. 

By the treaty of Peace of 1783, Great Britain 
recognized the independence of the United States 
of America, and the land east of the Mississippi, 



154 



OUTLINE HISTORY OP TUB STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



and northwest of the Ohio river was open to set- 
tlement by American citizens. 

la 1786, while Congress was in session in New 
York City, Dr. Manasseh Cutler, a graduate of 
Yale, a Puritan divine of a considerable scientific 
attainments, visited that place, and had frequent 
conferences with Dane of Massachusetts, and Jef- 
ferson, of Virginia, relative to the colonization of 
the Oliio valley, and he secured certain provisions 
in the celebrated "ordinance of 1787," among 
others, the grant of land in each to\vnship for the 
supi^ort of common schools, and also two 
townships for the use of a University. 

Under the auspices of Dr. Cutler, and a few 
others, the first colony, in December, 1787, left 
Massachusetts, and after a wearisome Journey, on 
April 7, 1788, reached Marietta, at the mouth of 
the Muskingum River. 

Among the families of this settlement was the 
maternal grandfather of Governor Sibley, Colonel 
Ebenezer Sproat, a gallant officer of Ehode Island, 
in the war of the Eebellion, and a friend of Kos- 
ciusko. 

Governor Sibley's mother, Sarah Sproat, was 
sent to school to the then celebrated Moravian 
Seminary at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and subse- 
quently finished her education at Philadelphia. 
In 1797 she returned to her wilderness home and 
her father purchased for her pleasure a piano, said 
to have been the first transported over the Alle- 
ghany Mountains. Soon after this Solomon Sibley, 
a young lawyer, a native of Sutton, Massachusetts, 
visited Marietta, and become acquainted and at- 
tached to Sarah Sproat, and in 1802, they were 
married. The next year Mrs. Siljley went to De- 
troit where her husband had settled, and she com- 
menced housekeeping opposite where the Biddle 
House is situated in that city. In 1799, Gover- 
nor Sibley's father was a representative from the 
region now known as Michigan, in the first Ter- 
ritorial Legislature of Northwest, which met at 
Cincinnati. From 1820 to 1823 he was delegate 
to Congress from Michigan, and in 1824 he became 
judge of the supreme court, and in 1836 resigned. 
Respected by all, on the 4th of April he died. 

His son, Henry Hastings Sibley, was born in 
February, 1811, in the city of Detroit. At the age 
of seventeen, relinquishing the study of law, he 
became a clerk at Sault St. Marie and then was 
employed by Eobeit Stuart, of the American Fur 
Company at Mackinaw. In 1834 he was placed in 
charge of the Indian trade above Lake Pepin with 



his new quarters at the mouth of the Minnesota 
River. 

In 1836, he built the first stone residence in 
Minnesota, without the military reservation, at 
Mendota, and here he was given to hospitality. 
The missionary of the cross, and the man of sci- 
ence, the officer of the army, and the tourist from 
a foreign land, were received with a friendliness 
that caused them to forget while under his roof 
that they were strangers in a strange land. 

In 1843, he was married to Sarah J. Steele, the 
sister of Franklin Steele, at Fort Snelling. 

On August Gth, 1846, Congress authorized the 
people of Wisconsin to organize a State govern- 
ment with the St. Croi.\ River as a part of its west- 
em boundary, thus leaving that portion of Wis- 
consin territory between the St. Croix and Missis- 
sijipi Rivers s( 11 under the direct supervison of 
Congress, and the Hon. M. L. Martin, the dele- 
gate of Wisconsin territory in Congress, intro- 
duced a bill to organize the territory of Minnesota 
including portions of Wisconsin and Iowa. 

It was not until the 29th of May, 1848, how- 
ever, that Wisconsin territory east of the Saint 
Croix, was reorganized as a State. On the 30th 
of October, Mr. Sibley, who was a resident of Iowa 
territory, was elected delegate to Congress, and 
after encountering many difficulties, was at length 
admitted to a seat. 

On the 3d of March, 1849, a law was approved 
by the President for the organization of Minne- 
sota teritory, and in the fall of that year he was 
elected the first delegate of the new Territory, as 
his father had been at an early period elected a 
delegate from the then new Michigan territory. In 
1851, he was elected for another term of two 
years. 

In 1857, he was a member of the convention to 
frame a State constitution for Minnesota, and was 
elected presiding officer by the democrats. By 
the same party he was nominated for Governor and 
elected by a smiU majority over the republican 
candidate, Alexander Rm sey. 

Minnesota was admitted as a State on the 11th 
of May, 1858, and on the 28th Governor Sibley 
delivered his inaugural message. 

After a residence of twenty -eight yeara at Men- 
dota, in 1862, he became a resident of Saint Paul. 
At the beginning of the Sioux outbreak. Governor 
Ramsey appointed him Colonel, and placed him 
at the head of the forces employed against the In- 
dians. On the 23d of September, 1862, he fought 



SKETCHES OF PUBLIC MEN. 



155 



the severe and decisive battle of Wood Lake. In 
March, 1863, he was confirmed by the senate as 
Brigadier General, and on the 29th o£ November, 
1865, he was appointed Brevet Major General for 
efficient and meritorious services. 

Since the war he has taken an active interest in 
every enterprise formed for the advancement of 
Minnesota, and for the benefit of St. Paul, the city 
of his residence. His sympathetic nature leads 
him to open Lis ear, and also his purse to those in 
distress, and among his chief mourners when he 
leaves this world will be the many poor he has be- 
friended, and the faint-hearted who took courage 
from his words of kindness. His beloved wife, in 
May, 1869, departed this life, leaving four chil- 
dren, two daughters and two sons. 

GOVERNOR RAMSET, JANUARY 1860 TO APRtL 1863. 

Alexander Ramsey, the first Territorial Gov- 
ernor, was elected the second State Governor, as 
has already been mentioned on another page. Be- 
fore his last term of oifice expired he was elected 
United States Senator by the Legislature, and 
Lieutenant Governor Swift became Governor, for 
the unexpired term. 

GOVERNOR SWIFT, APRHi, 1863 TO JANUARY, 1864. 

Henry A. Swift was the son of a physician. Dr. 
-John Swift, and on the 23d of March, 1823, was 
born at Ravenna, Ohio. In 1842, he graduated at 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, in the same 
State, and in 1845 was admitted to the practice of 
the law. During the winter of 1846-7, he was an 
assistant clerk of the lower house of the Ohio 
Legislature, and his quiet manner and methodic 
method of business made a favorable impression. 
The ijext year he was elected the Chief Clerk, and 
continued in oifice for two years. For two or 
three years he was Secretary of the Portage Farm- 
ers' Insurance Company. In April, 1853, he 
came to St. Paul, and engaged in merchandise and 
other occupations, and in 1856, became one of ttie 
founders of St. Peter. At the election of 1861, he 
was elected a State Senator for two years. In 
March, 1863, by the resignation of Lieutenant 
Governor Donnelly, who had been elected to the 
United States House of Representatives, he was 
chosen temporary President of the Senate, and 
when Governor Ramsey, in April, 1863, left the 
gubernatorial chair, for a seat in the United States 
Senate he became the acting Governor. When he 
ceased to act as Governor, he was again elected to 



the State Senate, and served during the years 
1864 and 1865, and was then appointed by the 
President, Register of the Land Office at St. Pe1;pr. 
On the 25th of February, 1869 he died. 

GOVEBNOR MILLER A. D. 1864 TO A. D. 1866. 

Stephen A. Miller was the grandson of a Ger- 
man immigrant who about the year 1785 settled 
in Pennsylvania. His parents were David and 
Rosanna Miller, and on the 7th of January, 1816, 
he was born in what is now Perry county in that 
State. 

He was like many of our best citizens, obliged 
to bear the yoke in his youth. At one time he 
was a canal boy and when quite a youth was in 
charge of a canal boat. Fond of reading he ac- 
quired much information, and of pleasing address 
he made friends, so that in 1837 he became a for- 
warding and commission merchant in Harrisburg. 

He always felt an interest in public affairs, and 
was an efficient speaker at political meetings. In 
1849 he was elected Prothonatary of Dauphin 
county. Pa., and from 1853 to 1855 was editor of 
the Harrisburg Telegraph; then Governor Pol- 
lock, of Pennsylvania, appointed him Flour In- 
spector for Philadelphia, which office he held until 
1858, when he removed to Minnesota on account of 
his health, and opened a store at Saint Cloud. 

In 1861, Governor Ramsey who had known him 
in Pennsylvania, appointed him Lieutenant Colo 
nel of the First Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, 
and was present with his regiment on July 2l8t of 
that year in the eventful battle of Bull Run. 
Gorman in his report of the return of the First 
Minnesota Regiment on that occasion wrote: "Be- 
fore leaving the field, a portion of the right wing, 
owing to the configuration of the ground and in- 
tervening woods, became detached, under the com- 
mand of Lt. Col. Miller whose gallantry was con- 
spicuous throughout the entire battle, and who 
contended every inch of the ground with his for- 
ces thrown out as skirmishers in the woods, and 
succeeded in occupying the original ground on 
the right, after the repulse of a body of cavalry." 

After this engagement, his friend Simon Cam- 
eron, the Secretary of War, tendered him a posi- 
tion in the regular army which he declined. 

Although in ill health he continued with the 
regiment, and was present at Fair Oaks and Mal- 
vern Hill. 

In September, 1862, he was made Colonel of the 
Seventh Regiment, and proceeded against the 



156 



OUTLINE UISrOllY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



Sioux Indians who had massacred so many set- 
tlers in the Upper Minnesota Valley, and in De- 
cember he was the Colonel commanding at Man- 
kato, and imder bis supervision, thirty -eight 
Siox, condemned for participation in the killing 
of white persons, on the 26th of February, 18G3, 
were executed by hanging from gallows, upon one 
scaffold, at the same time. This year he was made 
Brigadier General, and also nominated by the re- 
pubhcans for Governor, to which office he was 
elected for two years, and in January, 1864, en- 
entered upon its duties. 

In 1873, he was elected to the Legislature for 
a district in the southwestern portion of the State, 
and in 1876, was a Presidential elector, and bore 
the electoral vote to Wasliuigton. 

During the latter years of his life he was em- 
ployed as a land agent by the St. Paul & Sioiix 
City Railroad Company. In 1881 he died. He 
was married in 1839 to Margaret Funk, and they 
had three sons, and a daughter who died in early 
childhood. His son Wesley, a Lieutenant in the 
United States Army, fell in battle at Gettysburg; 
his second son was a Commissary of Subsistence, 
but is now a private; and his youngest son is in 
the service of a Pennsylvania railroad. 

GOVEKNOB MAKSHAlj, A. D. 1866 to A. D. 1870. 

William Rainey Marshall is the son of Joseph 
Marshall, a farmer and native of Bourbon county, 
Kentucky, whose wife was Abigail Shaw, of Penn- 
sylvania. He was born on the 17th of October, 
1825, in Boone county, Missouri. His boyhood 
was passed in Quincy, Illinois, and before he at- 
tained to manhood he went to the lead mine dis- 
trict of Wisconsin, and engaged in mining and 
surveying. 

In September, 1847, when twenty-two years of 
age, he came to the Falls of St. Croix, and iu a 
few mouths visited the Falls of St. Anthony, staked 
out a claim and returned. In the spring of 1848, 
he was elected to the Wisconsin legislature, but 
his seat was contested on the ground that he 
lived beyond the boundaries of the state of Wis- 
consin. In 1849, he again visited the Falls of St. 
Anthony, perfected his claim, opened a store, and 
represented that district in the lower house of the 
first Territorial legislature. In 1851, he came to 
St. Paul and established an iron and heavy hard- 
ware business. 

In 1852, he held the office of County Surveyor, 
and the next year, with his brother Joseph and 



N. P. Langford, he went into the banking busi- 
ness. In January, 1861, he became the editor of 
the Daily Press, which succeeded the Daily Times. 

In August, 1862, he was commissioned Lieut. 
Colonel of the Seventh Minnesota Regiment of In- 
fantry and proceeded to meet the Sioux wlio had 
been eugaged in the massacre of the settlers of 
the Minnesota valley. In a few weeks, on the 23d 
of September, 1862, he was in the battle of Wood 
Lake, and led a charge of five companies of his 
own regiment, and two of the Sixth, which routed 
the Sioux, sheltered in a ravine. 

In November, 1863, he became Colonel of the 
Seventh Regiment. After the campaign in the 
Indian country the regiment was ordered south, 
and he gallantly led his command, on the 14th of 
July, 1864, at the battle near Tupelo, Mississippi. 
In the conflict before Nashville, in December, he 
acted as a Brigade commander, and in April, 1865, 
he was present at the surrender of Mobile. 

In 1865, he was nominated by the Republican 
party, and elected Governor of Minnesota, and in 
1867, he was again nominated and elected. He 
entered ujion his duties as Governor, in January, 
1866, and retired in 1870, after four years of 
service. 

In 1870, he became vice-president of the bank 
which was known as the Marine National, which 
has ceased to exist, and was engaged in other en- 
terprises. 

In 1874, he was appointed one of the board of 
Railroad Commissioners, and in 1875, by a change 
of the law, he was elected Railroad Commissioner, 
and until January, 1882, discharged its duties. 

He has always been ready to help in any move- 
ment which would tend to promote the hapjjiness 
and intelligence of humanity. 

On the 22d of March, 1854, he was married to 
Abby Langford, of Utioa, and has had one child, 
a son. 

GOVEBNOB AUSTIN A. D. 1870 TO A. D. 1874. 

Horace Austin, about the year 1831, was bom 
in Connecticut. His father was a blacksmith, and 
for a time he was engaged in the same occupation. 
Determined to be something in the world, for sev- 
eral years, during the winter, he taught school. 
He then entered the office of a well known law 
firm at Augusta, Maine, and in 1854 came west. 
For a brief period he had charge of a school at 
the Falls of Saint Anthony. 

In 1856, he became a resident of St. Peter, on 



SKUTOHES OF PUBLIC MEN. 



157 



the Minnesota Biver. In 1863, in the expedition 
against the Sioux Indians, he served as captain in 
the volunteer cavalry. In 1869, he was elected 
Governor, and in 1871 he was re-elected. Soon 
after the termination of his second gubernatorial 
term, he was appointed Auditor of the United 
States Treasury at Washington. He has since 
been a United States Laud Officer in Dakota ter- 
ritory, but at present is residing at Fergus Falls, 
Minnesota. 

GOVEBNOB DAVIS A. D. 1874 TO A. D. 1876. 

Cuahman Kellog Davis, the son of Horatio JJ. 
and Clarissa F. Davis, on the 16th of June, 1838, 
was born at Henderson, Jefferson county. New 
York. "When he was a babe but a few months old, 
his father moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and 
opened a farm. At Waukesha, Carroll College 
had been commenced, and in this institution Gov- 
ernor Davis was partly educated, but in 1857 grad- 
uated at the University of Michigan. 

He read law at Waukesha with Alexander Kan- 
dall, who was Governor of Wisconsin, and at a 
later period Postmaster General of the United 
States, and in 1859 was admitted to the bar. 

In 1862, he was commissioned as first lieuten- 
ant of the 28th Wisconsin Infantry, and in time 
became the adjutant general of Brigadier General 
Willis A. Gorman, ex-Governor of Minnesota, but 
in 1864, owing to ill health he left the army. 

Coming to Saint Paul in August, 1864, he en- 
tered ujjon the practice of his profession, and 
formed a partnership with ex-Governor Gorman. 
Gifted with a vigorous mind, a fine voice, and an 
impressive speaker, he soon took high rank in his 
profession. 

In 1867, he was elected to the lower house of 
the legislature, and the next year was commisioned 
Unit-ed States District Attorney, which position 
he occupied for five years. 

In 1863, he was nominated by the republicans, 
and elected Governor. Entering upon the duties 
of the office in 1874, he served two years. 

Since his retirement he has had a large legal 
practice, and is frequently asked to lecture upon 
literary subjects, always interesting the audience. 

GOVERNOK PILLSBURY — A. D. 1876 TO 1882. 

John Sargent Pillsbury is of Puritan ancestry. 
He is the son of John and Susan Pillsbury, and 
on the 29th of July, 1828, was bom at Sutton, 



New Hampshire, where his father and grandfather 
Uved. 

Like the sons of many New Hampshire farmers, 
he was obliged, at an early age, to work for a sup- 
port. He commenced to learn house painting, but 
at the age of sixteen was a boy in a country store. 
When he was twenty-one yea'rs of age, he formed 
a partnership with Walter Harriman, subsequently 
Governor of New Hampshire. After two years he 
removed to Concord, and for four years was a tailor 
and dealer in cloths. In 1853, he came to Michigan, 
and in 1855, visited Minnesota, and was so pleased 
that he settled at St. Anthony, now the East Divi- 
sion of the city of Minneapolis, and opened a 
hardware store. Soon a fire destroyed his store 
and stock upon which there was no insurance, but 
by perseverance and hopefulness, he in time re- 
covered from the loss, with the increased confldenct 
of his fellow men. For six years he was an efficient 
member of the St. Anthony council. 

In 1863, he was one of three appointed sole Ee- 
gents of the University of Minnesota, with powel 
to liquidate a large indebtedness which had been 
unwisely created in Territorial days. By his 
carefiilness, after two or three years the debt was 
canceled, and a large partion of the land granted 
to the University saved. 

In 1863, he was elected a State Senator, and 
served for seven terms. In 1875, lie was nomi- 
nated by the republicans and elected Governor; 
in 1877, he was again elected, and in 1879 for the 
third time he was chosen, the only person who has 
served three successive terms as the Governor of 
Minnesota. 

By his courage and persistence he succeeded in 
obtaining the settlement of the railroad bonds 
which had been issued under the seal of the State, 
and had for years been ignored, and thus injured 
the credit of the State. 

In 1872, with his nephew he engaged in the 
manufacture of flour, and the firm owns several 
mills. Lately they have erected a mill in the 
East Division, one of the best and largest in the 
world. 

GOVEBNOB HUBBARD, A. D. 1882. 

LiiL^ius Frederick Hubbard was born on the 26th 
of January, 1836, at Troy, New York. His father, 
Charles Frederick, at the time of his death was 
Sheriff of Rensselaer county. At the age of six- 
teen, Governor Hubbard left the North Granville 
Academy, New York, and went to Poultney, Ver- 



158 



OUTLINE BISTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



mont, to learn the tinner's trade, and after a short 
period hs moved to Chicago, where he worked for 
four years. 

In 1857, he came to Minnesota, and established 
a paper called tlie "Republican," which he con- 
ducted until 1861, when in December of that year 
he enlisted as a private in the Fifth Minnesota 
Regiment, and by his efficiency so commended 
himself that in less than one year he became its 
Colonel. At the battle of Nashville, after he had 
been knocked ofiF his horse by a ball, he rose, and 
on foot led his command over the enemy's works. 
"For gallant and meritorious service in the battle 
of NashwUe, Tennessee, on the 15th and 16th of 
December, 1864," he received the brevet rank of 
Brigadier General. 

After the war he returned to Red Wing, and has 
been engaged in the grain and flour business. He 
was State Senator from 1871 to 1875, and iu 1881 
was elected Governor. He married in May, 1868, 
Amelia Thomas, of Red Wing, and has three 
children. 

mirsesota's kepbesextatives ts conghess of the 
united states of ameeica. 

From Maroli, 1849, to May, 1858, Minnesota 
was a Territory, and entitled to send to the con- 
gress of the United States, one delegate, with the 
privilege of representing the interests of his con- 
stituents, but not allowed to vote. 

TEBBITOBIAL DELEGATES. 

Before the recognition of Minnesota as a sepa- 
rate Territory, Henry H. Sibley sat in Congress, 
from January, 1849, as a delegate of the portion 
Wisconsin territory which was beyond the boun- 
daries of the state of Wisconsin, in 1848 admit- 
ted to the Union. In September, 1850 he was 
elected delegate by the citizens of Minnesota ter- 
ritory, to Congress. 

Henry M. Rice succeeded Mr. Sibley as delegate, 
and took his seat in the thirty-third congress, which 
convened on December 5th 1853, at Washington. He 
was re-elected to the thirty-fourth Congress, which 
as<iembled on the 3d of March, 1857. During his 
term of office Congress passed an act extending 
the pre-emption laws over the unsurveyed lands of 
Minnesota, and Mr. Rice obtained valuable land 
grants for the construction of railroads. 

William W. Kingsbury was the last Territorial 
delegate. He took his seat in the thirty-fifth con- 
gress, which convened on the 7th of 1 )ecember. 



1857, and the next May his seat was vacated by 
Minnesota becoming a State. 

UNITED STATES SENATOBS. 

Henry M. Rice, who had been for fonr years 
delegate to the House of Representatives, was on 
the 19th of December, 1857, elected one of two 
United States Senators. During his term the civil 
war began, and he rendered efficient service to the 
Union and the State he represented. He is still 
living, an honored citizen in St. Paul. 

James Shields, elected at the same time as Mr. 
Rice, to the United States Senate, drew the short 
term of two years. 

Morton S. Wilkinson was chosen by a joint con- 
vention of the Legislatiire, on December 15th, 
1359, to succed General Shields. During the re- 
bellion of the Slave States he was a firm supporter 
of the Union. 

Alexander Ramsey was elected by the Legisla- 
ture, on the 14th of January, 1863, as the suc- 
cessor of Henry M. Rice. The Legislature of 
1869 re elected Mr. Ramsey for a second term of 
six years, ending March 1875. For a full notice 
see the 138th page. 

Daniel S. Norton was, on January 10th, 1865, 
elected to the United States Senate as the suc- 
cessor of Mr. Wilkinson. Mr. Norton, who had 
been in feeble lieaUh for years, died in June, 1870. 

O. P. Stearns was elected on Jauuary 17th, 1871, 
for the few weeks of the unexpired term of Mr. 
Norton. 

WiUiam Windom, so long a member of the 
United States House of Representatives, was 
elected United States Senator for a term of six 
years, ending March 4th, 1877, and was re-elected 
for a second term ending March 4th, 1883, but re- 
signed, having been aj^pointed Secretary of the 
Treasury by President Garfield. 

A. J. Edgerton, of Kasson, was appointed by 
the Governor to fill the vacancy. President Gar- 
field having been assassinated, and Mr. Edgerton 
having been appointed Chief Justice of Dakota 
territory, Mr. Windom, at a special session of the 
Legislature in October, 1881, was re-elected 
United States Senator. 

S. J. R. McTMiUan, of St. Paul, on the 19th of 
February, 1875, was elected United States Sen- 
ator for the term expiring March 4th, 1881, and 
has since been re-elected for a second term, which, 
in March. 1887, will expire. 



SEETOUES OF PUBLIC MEN. 



159 



BEPKESENTATIVES IN THE V. S. HOUSE OP KEPBE- 
SENTATIVES. 

William W. Phelps was one of the first mem- 
bers of the United States House of Representatives 
from Minnesota. Born in Michigan in 1826, he 
graduated in 1846, at its Slate University. In 
1854, he came to Minnesota as Register of the 
Land OiBce at Red Wing, and in 1857, was elected 
a representative to Congress. 

James M. Cavanaugh was of Irish parentage, 
and came from Massachusetts. He was elected to 
the same Congress as Mr. Phelps, and subsequently 
removed to Colorado, where he died. 

William Windom was born on May 10th, 1827,in 
Belmont,county,Ohio. He was admitted to the bar 
in 1850, and was, in 1853, elected Prosecuting At- 
torney for Knox county, Ohio. The next year he 
came to Minnesota, and has represented the State 
in Congress ever since. 

Cyrus Aldrioh,of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, 
was elected a member of the Thirty-sixth Con- 
gress, which convened December 5th, 1859, and 
was re-elected to the Thirty-seventh Congress. 

Ignatius Donnelly was born in Philadelphia in 
1831. Graduated at the High School of that city, 
and in 1853 was admitted to the bar. In 1857, 
he came to Minnesota, and in 1859 was elected 
Lt. Governor, and re-elected in 1861. He be- 
came a rejjresentative of Minnesota in the United 
States Congress which convened on December 7th, 
1863, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth Con- 
gress which convened on December ith, 1865. He 
was also elected to the Fortieth congress, which 
convened in December, 1867. Since 1873 he has 
been an active State Senator from Dakota county, 
in which he has been a resident, and Harper 
Brothers have recently published a book from his 
pen of wide research called "Atlantis." 

Eugene M. Wilson, of BEnneapolis, was elected 
to the the Forty-first Congress, which assembled 
in December, 1869. He was bom December 25th, 
1833, at Morgantown, Virginia, and graduated at 
Jeiferson College, Pennsylvania. From 1857 to 
1861, he was United States District Attorney 
for Minnesota. During the civil war he was cap- 
tain in the First IMinnesota Cavalry. 

Mr. Wilson's father, grandfather, and maternal 
grandfather were members of Congress. 

M. S. Wilkinson, of whom mention has been 
made as U. S. Senator, was elected in 1868 a rep- 



resentative to the congress which convened in De- 
cember, 1869, and served one term. 

Mark H. DunneU of Owatonna, in the fall of 
1870, was elected from the First District to fill 
the seat in the House of Representatives so long 
occupied by Wm. Windom. 

Mr. Dunnell, in July, 1823, was born at Bus- 
ton, Maine. He graduated at the college estab- 
lished at Waterville, in that State, in 1849. From 
1855 to 1859 he was State Superiatendent of 
schools, and in 1860 commenced the practice of 
law. For a short period he was Colonel of the 
5th Maine regiment but resigned in 1862, and 
was appointed U. S. Consul at Vera Cruz, Mexi- 
co. In 1865, he came to Minnesota, and was 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 
April, 1867 to August, 1870. Mr. DonneU still 
rejsresents his district. 

John T. AveriU was elected ia November, 1870, 
from the Second District, to succeed Eugene M. 
Wilson. 

Mr. AveriU was born at Alma, Maine, and com- 
l^leted his studies at the Maine Wesleyan Univer- 
sity. He was a member of the Minnesota Senate 
in 1858 and 1859, and during the rebellion was 
Lieut. Colonel of the 6th Minnesota regiment. 
He is a member of the enterprising firm of paper 
manufacturers, AverUl, Russell and Carpenter. 
In the fall of 1872 he was re-elected as a member 
of the Forty-second Congress, which convened in 
December. 1873. 

Horace B. Strait was elected to Forty -third and 
Forty-fourth Congress, and is still a representative. 

William S. King, of Minneapolis, was born De- 
cember 16, 1828, at Malone, New York. He has 
been one of the most active citizens of Minnesota 
in developing its commercial and agriculutral in- 
terests. For several years he was Postmaster of 
the United States House of Representatives, and 
was elected to the Forty-fourth Congress, which 
convened in 1875. 

Jacob H. Stewart, M. D., was elected to the 
Forty-fifth Congress, which convened in Decem- 
ber, 1877. He was born January 15th, 1829, in 
Columbia county. New York, and in 1851, grad- 
uated at the University of New York. For sev- 
eral years he practiced medicine at PeekskiU, New 
York, and in 1855, removed to St. Paul. In 1859, 
he was elected to the State Senate,' and was Chair- 
man of the Railroad Committee. In 1864, he was 
Mayor of St. Paul. He was Surgeon of the First 



160 



OUTLINE n I STORY OF THE STATE OP MINNESOTA 



Jilinnesota, aud taken prisoner at the first battle of 
Bull Kun. From 18G9 to 1873, he was again 
Mayor of St. Paul, and is at the present time 
United States Surveyor General of the Minnesota 
land offioe. 

Henry Poehler was the successor of Horace B. 
Strait for the term ending March 4, 1881, when 
Mr. Strait was again elected. 

William Drew Washburn on the 1-lth of lan- 
uary, 1831, was born at Livermore, Maine, and in 
1854, graduated at Bowdoin College. In 1857, he 
came to Minnesota, and in 18G1, was appointed by 
the President, Surveyor General of U. S. Lands, 
for this region. He has been one of the most 
active among the business men of Minneapolis. 
In November, 1878, he was elected to represent 
the 3d district in the U. S. House of Kcpresenta- 
tives, and in 1880, re-elected. He is a brother of 
C. C, late Governor of Wisconsin, and of E. B., 
the Minister Plenipotentiary of U. S. of America, 
to France, and resident in Paris during the late 
Franco-German war. 

KECAPITULATION TERBITOBIAL GOVERSORS OF 

MINNESOTA. 

Alexander Ramsey 1« 10-1853 

Willis A. Gorrann 1S53-1857 

Samuel Medary 1857 

STATE GOVEUNOUS. 

Henry H. Sibley 1858-1860 

Alexander Rams?y 1860-1863 

H. A. Swift, Acting Gov. . . '. 1863-1861 

Stephen Miller 1864-18GG 

W. R. Marshall 1866-1870 

Horace Austin 1870-1874 



C. K. Davis 1874-1S76 

John S. PilLsbury 1876-1882 

L. F. Hubb.'.rd . ." 1882 

TERRITORIAL DELEGATES TO CONGRESS. 

Henry H. Sibley 1849-1853 

Henry M. Rice 1853-1857 

W. W. Kingsbury 1857-1858 

UNITED STATES SENATORS. 

Henry M. Rice 1857-1863 

James Shields 1857-1859 

M. S. Wilkinson 1859-1865 

Alexander Ramsey 1863-1875 

Daniel S. Norton 1865-1870 

O. P. Stearns 1871 

William Wiudom 1871 

A. J. Edgerton 1881 

S. J. R. McMillan 1875 

MEMBERS tJOTTED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES. 

W. W. Phelps 1857-1859 

J. M. Oavauaugh 1857-1859 

WiUiam Windom 1859-1871 

Cyrus Aldrieh 1859-1863 

Ignatius Donnelly 1863-1869 

Eugene M. Wilson : 1869-1871 

M. S. Wilkinson 1869-1771 

M. H. Dunnell 1871 

J. T. Averill 1871-1875 

H. B. Strait 1875-1879 

" 1881 

Henry Poehler 1879-1S81 

W.S. King 1875-1877 

J. H. Stewart 1877-1879 

W. D. Washburn 1879 



STATE EDUCATION. 



IGl 



STATE EDUCATION. 



BY CHARLES S. BKYA.NT, A. M, 



CHAPTER XXVin. 

EDUCATION — DEFINITION OF THE WOED — CHURCH 

AND STATE SEPARATED COLONIAL PERIOD 

HOWARD COLLEGE — WILLIAM PENN'S GREAT LAW 
WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE STATE EDUCA- 
TION UNDER THE CONFEDERATION AID GIVEN TO 

STATES IN THE NORTHWEST. 

As a word, education is of wide application and 
may convey but an indefinite idea. Broadly, it 
means to draw out, to lead forth, to train up, to 
foster, to enable the individual to properly use the 
faculties, mental or corpora), with which he is en- 
dowed; and to use them in a way that will accom- 
plish the desired result in all relations and in any 
department of industry, whether in the domain of 
intellectual research, or confined to the fields of 
physical labor. 

State Education points at once to a definite field 
of investigation; an organization which is to have 
extensive direction and control of the subject matter 
embraced in the terms chosen. It at once excludes 
the conclusion that any other species of education 
than secular education is intended. It excludes all 
other kinds of education not included in this term, 
without the slightest reflection upon parochial, sec- 
tarian, denominational or individual schools; inde- 
pendent or corporate educational organizations. 
State Education, then, may embrace whatever is 
required by the State, in the due execution of its 
mission in the protection of individual rights and 
the proper advancement of the citizen in material 
prosperity; in short whatever may contribute in 
any way to the honor, dignity, "and fair fame of a 
State; whose sovereign will directs, and, to a very 
great extent, controls the destiny of its subjects. 

11 



A reason may be given for this special depart- 
ment of education, without ignoring any others 
arising from the necessity of civil government, and 
its necessary separation from ecclesiastical control. 
It must be observed by every reasoning mind, that 
in the advancement and growth of social elements 
from savagery through famUies and tribes to civil- 
ization, and the better forms of government, that 
in the increasing growth multijjlied industries 
continually lead to a resistless demand for devision 
of labor, both intellectual and physical. This 
division must eventually lead, in every form of 
government, to a separation of what may be termed 
Church and State: and, of course, in such division 
every separate organization must control the ele- 
ments necessary to sustain its own perpetuity; for 
otherwise its identity would be lost, and it would 
cease to have any recognized existence. 

In these divisions of labor, severally organized 
for different and entirely distinct objects, mutual 
benefits must result, not from any invasion of the 
separate rights of the one or the other, by hostile 
aggression, but by reason of the greatest harmony 
of elements, and hence greater perfection in the 
labors of each, when limited to the promotion of 
each separate and peculiar work. In the division, 
one would be directed towards the temporal, the 
other toward the spiritual advancement of man, in 
any and all relations which he sustains, not only 
to his fellow men, but to the material or immaterial 
universe. These departments of labor are suffic- 
iently broad, although intimately related, tojequire 
the best directed energies of each, to properly cul- 
tivate their separate fields. And an evidence of 
the real harmony existing between these organiza- 



162 



STATE EDUCATION. 



tionB, the Church and State, relative to the present 
investigation, is found in the admilted fact that 
education, both temporal and spiritual, secular and 
sectarian, was a principal of the original organiza- 
tion, and not in conflict with its highest duty, or its 
most vigorous growth. In the division of the 
original organization, that department of educa- 
tion, which was only spiritual, was retained with 
its necessary adjuncts, while that which was only 
temporal was relegated to a new organization, the 
temporal organization, the State. The separate 
elements are still of the same (juality, althougli 
wielded by two instead of one organization. In 
this respect education may be compared to the 
diamond, which when broken and subdivided into 
most minute particles, each separate particle re- 
tains not only the form and number of facets, but 
the brilliancy of the original diamond. So in the 
case before us, though education has suffered 
division, and has been aj)i)ropriated by different 
organisms, it is nevertheless the same in nature, 
and retains the same quaUty and luster of the 
parent original. 

The laws of growth in these separate organiza- 
tions, the Church composed of every creed, and 
the State in every fonn of government, must de- 
termine the extent to which their special educa- 
tion shall be carried. If it shall be determined 
by the church, that her teachers, leaders, and fol- 
lowers in any stage of its growth, shall be limited 
in their acquisitions to the simple elements of 
knowledge, reading, writing, and arithmetic, it may 
be determined that the State should limit educa- 
tion to the same simple elements. But as th(! 
Church, conscious of its immature growth, has 
never restricted her leaders, teachers, or followers, 
to these simple elements of knowledge; neither 
lias the State seen fit to limit, nor can it ever limit 
education to any standard short of the extreme 
limits of its growth, the fullest development of 
its resources, and the demands of its citizens. 
State Education and Church Education are alike 
in their infancy, and no one is able to prescribe 
limits to the one or the other. The separation of 
Church and State, in matters of government only, 
is yet of very narrow limits, and is of very recent 
origin. And the separation of Church and State, 
in matters of education, has not yet clearly dawned 
upon the minds of the accredited leaders of these 
clearly distinct organizations. 

It is rational, however, to conclude, that among 



reasonable men, it would be quite as easy to de- 
termine the final triumph of State Education, as 
to determine the final success of the Christian 
faith over Buddhism, or the fijial triumph of man 
in the subjugation of the earth to his control. 
The decree has gone forth, that man shall subdue 
the earth; so that, guided by the higher law, Ed- 
ucation, under the direction or protection of the 
State, must prove a final success, foi' only by 
organic, scientific, and human instrumentality can 
the purpose of the Creator be possibly accom- 
plished on earth. 

If we have found greater perfection in quality, 
and better adaptation of methods in the work done 
by these organizations since the separation, we 
must conclude that the triumphs of each wiU be 
in proportion to the completeness of the separa- 
tion; and that the countries the least shackled by 
entangling alliances in this regard, must, other 
things being equal, lead the van, both in the ad- 
vancement of science and in the triumphs of an 
enlightened faith. And we can, by a very slight 
comi^arison of the ])resent with the past, deter- 
mine for ourselves, that the scientific curriculum of 
State schools has been greatly widened and en- 
riched, and its methods better adapted to proposed 
ends. We can as easily ascertain the important 
fact that those countries are in advance, where the 
two great organizations, Church and State, are 
least in conflict. We know also, that from the 
nature of the human movement westward, that 
the best defined conditions of these organizations 
should be found in the van of this movement. On 
this continent, then, the highest development of 
these organizations should be found, at least, when 
time shall have matured its natural results in the 
growth and polish of our institutions. Even now, 
in our infancy, what coimtry on earth can show- 
equal results in either the growth of general 
knowledge, the advance of education, or the tri- 
umphs of Christian labor at home and abroad ? 
These are the legitimate fruits of the wonderful 
energy given to the mind of man in the separate 
labors of these organizations, on the j'rinciple of 
the division of labor, and consequently better di- 
rected energies in every department of industry. 
This movement is onward, across the continent, 
and thence around the globe. Its force is irresist- 
able, and all efforts to reunite these happily di- 
vided powers, and to return to the culture of past 
times, and the governments and laws of past ages, 



COLONIAL PERIOD. 



163 



must be as unavailiug as an attempt to reverse 
the laws of nature. In their separation and 
friendly rivalry, exists the hope of man's temporal 
and sjnritual elevation. 

State Education is natural in its application. 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the 
earth, and every organism after its own kind. 
Now, in pursuance of this well known law of na- 
ture, that everything created is made after its own 
order and its own likeness, it follows that the new 
comers on this continent brought with them the 
germ of national and spiritual life. If we are 
right in this interpretation of tlie laws of life re- 
lating to living organisms, we shall expect to find 
its proper manifestation in the early institutions 
they created for their own special purposes imme- 
diately after their arrival here. We look into 
their history, and we find that by authority of the 
General Court of Massachusetts, in 1636, sixteen 
years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, 
Harvard College was established, as an existing 
identity; that in 1638, it was endowed by John 
Harvard, and named after him. But the Common 
School was not overlooked. At a public meeting 
in Boston, April 13th 1636, it was "generally 
agreed that one Philemon Pormont be entreated 
to become schoolmaster for teaching and nourter- 
ing children." 

After the date above, matters of education ran 
through the civil authority, and is forcibly ex- 
pressed in the acts of 1642 and 1647, passed by 
the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Col- 
ony. By the act of 1642, the select men of every 
town are required to have vigilant eye over their 
brothers and neighbors, to see, first, that none of 
them shall suffer so much barbarism in any of 
their families, as not to endeavor to teach, by them- 
selves or others, their children and apprentices so 
much learning as shall enable them perfectly to 
read the English tongue, and knowledge of the 
Capital laws, under penalty of twenty shillings 
for each offence. By the act of 1647, support of 
schools was made compulsory, and their blessings 
universal. By this law "every town containing 
fifty house-holders was required to appoint a 
teacher, to teach all children as shall resort to him 
to write and read;" and every town containing one 
hundred families or house-holders was required to 
"set up grammar schools, the master thereof being 
able to instruct youths so far as they may be fitted 
for the University." 



In New Amsterdam, among the Keformed Prot- 
estant Dutch, the conception of a school system 
guaranteed aud protected by the State, seems to 
have been entertained by the colonists from Hol- 
land, although circumstances hindered its practi- 
cal development. The same general statement is 
true of the mixed settlements along the Delaware; 
Menonites, Catholics, Dutch, aud Swedes, in con- 
nection -with their churches, established little 
schools in their early settlements. In 1682, the 
legislative assembly met at Chester. William 
Penn made provision for the education of youth 
of the province, and enacted, that the Governor 
and provincial Council should erect and order all 
public schools. One section of Penn's "Great 
law" is in the woi'ds following : 

'^Be it enacted by authority aforesaid, that all 
persons within the province and territories thereof, 
having children, and all the guardians and trus- 
tees of orphans, shall cause such to be instructed 
in reading and writing, so that they may be able 
to read the scriptures and to write by the time that 
they attain the age of 12 years, aud that they then 
be taught some useful trade or skill, that the poor 
may work to live, and the rich, if they become 
poor, may not want; of which every county shall 
take care. And in case such parents, guardians, 
or oversee;'s shall be found deficient in this respect, 
every such parent, guardian, or overseer, shall pay 
for every such child five pounds, except there 
should appear incaisacity of body or understanding 
to hinder it." 

And this "Great law" of William Penn, of 1682, 
will not suffer in comparison with the English 
statute on State Education, passed in 1870, and 
amended in 1877, one hundred and ninety-five 
years later. In this respect, America is two hun- 
dred years in advance cf Great Britain in State 
education. But our present limits will not allow 
us to compare American and English State school 
systems. 

In 1693, the assembly of Pennsylvania passed a 
second school law providing for the education of 
youth in every couuty. These elementary 
schools were free for boys and girls. In 1755, 
Pennsylvania College was endowed, and became a 
University in 1779. 

In Virginia, William and Mary College was 
famous even in colonial times. It was supported 
by direct State aid. In 1726, a tax was levied on 
liquors for its benefit by the House of Burgesses; 



164 



til'ATE EDUCATION. 



in 1759, a tax on peildlers was given this college 
by law, and from various revenues it was, in 1776, 
the richest coUege in North America. 

These extracts from the early history of State 
Education in pre-Cohjnial and Colonial times give 
abundant evidence of the nature of the organisms 
planted in American soil by the Pilgrim Fathera 
and their successors, as well as other early settlers 
on our Atlantic coast. The inner life has kept 
pace with the rcrpiirements of the external organ- 
izations, as the body assumes still greater and 
more national proportions. The inner life grew 
with the exterior demands. 

On the 9th of July, 1787, it was proclaimed to 
the world, that on the 15th of November, 1778, in 
the second year of the independence of America, 
the several colonies of New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts Bay, Kbode Island, Providence Planta- 
tions, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgiuia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia had entered 
into a Confederate Union. 

This Confederate Union, thus organized as a 
Government, was able to receive grants of land 
and to hold the same for such purposes as it saw 
proper. To the new government cessions were 
made by several of the States, from 1781 to 1802, 
of which the Virginia grant was the most im- 
portant. 

The Confederate Government, on the 13th of 
July, 1787, and within less than four years after 
the reception of the Virginia Land Grant, known 
as the Northwest Territory, passed the ever memo- 
rable ordinance of 1787. This was the first real 
estate to wliich the Confederation had acquired 
the absolute title in its own right. The legal 
government had its origin September 17th, 1787, 
while the ordinance for the government of the 
Northwest Territory was passed two months and 
four days before. Article Third of the renowned 
ordinance reads as follows: 

"lieUgion, morality, and knowledge being nec- 
essary to good government and the happiness of 
mankind, schools and the means of education shall 
forever be encouraged." 

What is the territory embraced by this authori- 
tative enunciation of the Confederate (ToveruniBut ? 
The extent of the land embraced is abnost if not 
quite e(iual to the area of the original thirteen colo- 
nies. Out of this munificent possession added to the 
infant American Union, have since been carved, by 



the authority of the United States government, the 
princely states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin, and in part Minnesota. In this 
vast region at least, the Government has said that 
education "shall bo forever encouraged." En- 
couraged how and by whom? Encouraged by 
the Government, by the legal State, by the su- 
preme power of the land. This announcement of 
governmental aid to State schools was no idle 
boast, made for the encouragement of a delusive 
hope, but the enunciation of a great truth, in- 
spired by the spirit of a higher life, now kindled 
in this new American temple, in which the Creator 
intended man should worship him according to the 
dictates of an enlightened conscience, "where none 
should molest or make him afraid." 

The early Confederation passed away, but the 
sjjirit that animated the organism was immortal, 
and immediately manifested itself in the new Gov- 
ernment, under our present constitution. On the 
17th of September, 1787, two months and four 
days from the date of the ordinance erecting the 
Northwest Territory was adopted, the new Con- 
stitution was inaugurated. The first State gov- 
ernment erected in the new territory was the state 
of Ohio, in 1802. The enabling act, passed by 
Congress on this accession of the first new State, 
a part of the new acquisition, contains this sub- 
stantial evidence that State aid was faithfully 
remembered and readily olTered to the cause of 
education : 

Sec. 3: "That the following proposition be and 
the same is hereby offered to the convention of the 
eastern States of said territory, when formed, for 
their free acceptance or rejection, which if accepteil 
by the convention shall be obligatory upon the 
United States: 

" That section number sixteen in every town- 
ship, and where such .section has been sold, granted 
or disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and 
most contiguous to the same, shall be granted to 
the inhabitants of such township for the use of 
schools." 

The proposition of course was duly accepted bj 
the vote of the people in the adoption of theii 
constitution prior to their admission to the Union, 
and on March 3d, 1803, Congress granted to Ohio 
in addition to section sixteen, an additional grant 
of one complete township tor the purpose of estab- 
lishing any higher institutions of learning. This 
was the beginning of substantial national recogni- 



iHf 



AID TO STATES IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



1G5 



tion of State aid to schools by grants of lanJ out of 
the national domain, but the government aid did 
not end in this first effort. The next State, Indi- 
ana, admitted in 1816, was granted the same sec- 
tion, number sixteen in each township; and in 
addition thereto, two townships of land were ex- 
pressly granted for a seminary of learning. In the 
admission of Illinois, in 1818, the section numbered 
sixteen in each township, and two entire townships 
in addition thereto, for a seminary of learning and 
the title thereto vested in the legislature. In the 
admission of Michigan in 1836, the same section 
sixteen, and seventy-two sections in addition there- 
to, were set apart to said State for the purpose of 
a State University. In the admission of Wis- 
consin, in 1848, the same provision was made as 
was made to the other States previously formed 
out of the new territory. This was the com- 
mencement. 

These five States completed the list of States 
which could exist in the territory northwest of the 
Ohio Kiver. Minnesota, the next State, in part 
lying east of the Mississippi, and in jiart west, 
takes its territory from two different sources; that 
east of the Father of Waters, from Virginia, which 
was embraced in the Northwest Territory, and that 
lying west of the same from the " Louisiana Pur- 
chase," bought of France by treaty of April 30, 
1803, including also the territory west of the Mis- 
sippi, which Napoleon had previously acquired 
from Spain. The greater portion of Minnesota, 
therefore lies outside the first territorial acquisi- 
tion of the Government of the United States; and 
yet the living spirit that inspired the early grants 
out of the first acquisition, had lost nothing of its 
fervor in the grant made to the New Northwest. 
When the Territory of Minnesota was organized, 
Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, then a Senator in Con- 
gress from the state of Illinois, nobly advocated 
the claims of Minnesota to an increased amount of 
Government aid for the support of schools, extend- 
ing from the Common school to the University. 
By Mr. Douglas' very able, disinterested and gen- 
erous assistance and support in Congress, aided by 
Hon. H. M. Rice, then Delegate from Minnesota, 



our enabling act was made still more liberal in 
relation to State Education, than that of any State 
or Territory yet admitted or organized in the 
amount of lands granted to schools generally. 

Section eighteen of the enabling act, passed on 
the 3d of March, 1849, is as follows: 

"And be it further enacted, That when the lands 
in said Territory shall be surveyed under the direc- 
tion of the Government of the United States, pre- 
paratory to bringing the same into market, sec- 
tions numbered sixteen and thirty-six in each town- 
ship in said Territory, shall be, and the same are 
hereby reserved for the purpose of being applied 
to schools in said Territory, and in the States and 
Ttrritories hereafter to be created out of the same." 

As the additions to the family of States increase 
westward, the national domain is still more freely 
contributed to the use of schools; and the charac- 
ter of the education demanded by the people 
made more and more definite. In 1851, while 
Oregon and Minnesota were yet territories of the 
United States, Congress passed the following act: 

" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 
Eepresentatives of America, in Congress assembled : 
That the Governors and legislative assemblies of 
the territories of Oregon and Minnesota, be, and 
they are hereby authorized to make such laws and 
needful regulations as they shall deem most expe- 
dient to protect from injury and waste, sections 
numbered sixteen and thirty-six in said Territories 
reserved in each township for the support of schools 
therein. 

(2.) "And be it further enacted, That the Secre- 
tary of the Interior be, and he is hereby authorized 
and directed to set apart and reserve from sale, out 
of any of the public lands within the territory of 
Minnesota, to which the Indian title has been or 
may be extinguished, and not otherwise appropri- 
ated, a quantity of land not exceeding two entire 
townships, for the use and support of a University 
in said Territory, and for no other purpose what- 
ever, to be located by legal subdivisions of not 
less than one entire section." 

[Approved February It), 1851.] 



166 



STATE EDUCATION. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

STATE EDUCATION IN MINNESOTA BOARD OP BE- 

GENTS CNIVEIiSITI OltANT — AID OF CONGBESS IN 

1862 VALUE OF SOHOOLHOUSES — LOCAL TAXA- 
TION IN DIFFERENT STATES STATE SCHOOL SYS- 
TEM KNOWS NO SECT lONOBANCE INHERITED, 

THE COMMON FOE OF MABKIND CONCLUSION. 

When Minnesota was prepared by her popula- 
tion for ajiplication to Congress for admission as 
a State, Congress, in an act authorizing her to 
form a State government, makes the following 
provision for schools: 

( 1 ) "That sections uumliered sixteen and thirty- 
sis in every township of public lands in said State, 
and where either of said sections, or any part 
thereof, has been sold or otherwise disposed of, 
other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous 
as may be, shall be granted to said State for the 
use of schools. 

(2) "That seventy-two sections of land shall 
be set apart and reserved for the use and support 
of a State TJuivei'sity to be selected by the Gov- 
ernor of said State, subject to the approval of the 
commissioner at the general land office, and be 
appropriated and applied in such manner as the 
legislature of said State may prescribe for the 
jMirposes aforesaid, but for no other purpose." 
[Passed February 26, 1857.] 

But that there might be no misapprehension 
that the American Government not only had the 
inclination to aid in the proper education of the 
citizen, but that in cases requiring direct control, 
the government would not hesitate to exercise its 
authority, in matters of education as well as in 
any and all other questions affecting its sover- 
eignty. To this end, on the second of July, 1862, 
Congress passed the "act donating public lands to 
the several States and Territories which may pro- 
vide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the 
mechanic arts." 

"Be it enacted, «fcc., that there be granted to the 
several States for the purposes hereinafter men- 
tioned, an amount of public land to be appor- 
tioned to each State (except States in reliellion), a 
quantity equal to thirty thousand acres for each 
senator and representative in Congress to which 
the States are respectively entitled by the appor- 
tionment imdor the census of 1860." 

Section four of said act is in substance as fol- 
lows: 

"That all moneys derived from the sale of these 



lands, directly or indirectly, shall be invested in 
stocks yielding not less than five per cent, upon 
the par value of such stocks. That the money so 
invested shall constitute a perpetual fund, the cap- 
ital of which shall remain forever undiminished, 
and the interest thereof shall be inviolably appro- 
])riated by each State which may claim the benefit 
of the act to the endowment, support, and main- 
tenance of at least one college, where the leading 
object shall be, without excluding other scientific 
and classical studies, and including military tac- 
tics, to teach such branches of learning :is are re- 
lated to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in 
such manner as the legislatures of the States may 
respectively prescribe, in order to promote the 
liberal and practical education of the industrial 
classes in the several pursuits and professions of 
life. 

Section five, second clause of said act, provides 
"That no portion of said fund, nor the interest 
thereon, shall be applied, directly or indirectly, 
under any pretence whatever, to the purchase, 
erection, preservation, or repair of any building or 
buildings." 

Section five, third clause, "That any State 
which may take and claim the benefit of the pro- 
visions of this act shall provide, within five years, 
at least not less than one college, as described in 
tlie fourth section of this act, or the grant to such 
State shall cease; and the said State shall be 
bound to pay the United States the amount re- 
ceived of any lands previously sold." 

Section five, fourth clau.se, "An annual report 
shall be made regarding the progress of each col- 
lege, recording any improvements and experi- 
ments made, with their costs and results, and such 
other matters, including State industrial and eco- 
nomical statistics, as may be supposed useful; one 
copy of which shall be transmitted by mail free, 
by each, to all the other colleges which may be 
endowed under the provisions of this act, and aLso 
one copy to the Secretary of the Interit)r." 

Under this act Minnesota is entitled to select 
150,000 acres to aid in teaching the branches in 
the act named in the State University, making the 
endowment fund of the Government to the state 
of Minnesota for educational purposes as follows: 

1. For common schools, in acres 3,000,000 

2. For State University, four townships 208,360 



Total apportionment 3,208,360 



AID OF CONGRESS IN 1862. 



167 



All these lands have not been selected. Under 
the agricultural college grant, only 94,439 acres 
have been selected, and only 72,708 acres under 
the two University grants, leaving only 167,147 
acres realized for University purposes, out of the 
208,360, a possible loss of 41,203 acres. 

The permanent school fund derived from the 
national domain by the state of Minnesota, at a 
reasonable estimate of the value of the lands se- 
cured out of those granted to her, cannot vary 
far from the results below, considering the prices 
already obtained: 

1. Common school lands in acres, 
3,000,000, valued at .^18,000,000 

2. University grants, in all, in acres, 

223,000, valued at 1,115,000 



Amount in acres, 3,223,000. . . . $19,115,000 
Out of this permanent school fund may be real- 
ized an annual fund, when lands are all sold : 

1. For common schools $!1,000,000 

2. University instruction 60,000 

These several grants, ample as they seem to be, 
are, however, not a tithe of the means required 
from the State itself for the free education of the 
children of the State. We shall see further on 
what the State has already done in her free school 
system. 

Minnesota, a State first distinguished by an 
extra grant of government land, has something to 
unite it to great national interest Its position in 
the sisterhood of States gives it a prominence that 
none other can occupy. A State lying on both 
sides of the great Father of waters, in a conti- 
nental valley midway between two vast oceans, 
encircling the Western Hemispliere, with a soil of 
superior fertility, a climate unequalled for health, 
and bright with skies the most inspiring, such a 
State, it may be said, must ever hold a prominent 
position in the Great American Union. 

In the acts of the early settlements on the At- 
lantic coast, in the Colonial Government, and the 
National Congress, we have the evidence of a 
determined intention "that schools and the means 
of education shall forever be encouraged" by the 
people who have the destinies of the Western 
Hemisphere in their hands. That the external 
organism of the system capable of accomplishing 
this heavy task, and of carrying forward this re- 
sponsible duty, rests with the people themselves, 



and is as extensive as the government they have 
established for the protection of their rights and 
the growth of their physical industries, and the 
free development of their intellectual powers. 
The peojjle, organized as a Nation, in assuming 
this duty, have in advance proclaimed to the 
world that "Religion, Morality, and Knowledge" 
are alike essential "to good government." And in 
organizing a government free from sectarian con- 
trol or alliance, America made an advance hitherto 
unknown, both in its temporal and spiritual power; 
for hitherto the work of the one had hindered the 
others, and the labors and unities of the two were 
inconsistent with the proper functions of either. 
The triumph, therefore, of either, for the control 
of both, was certain ruin, while separation of each, 
the one from the other, was the true life of both. 
Such a victory, therefore, was never before known 
on earth, as the entire separation, and yet the 
friendly rivalry of Church and State, first inaugu- 
rated in the free States of America. This idea was 
crystalized and at once stamped on the fore-front 
of the Nation's life in the aphorism, "Keligion, 
morality, and knowledge are alike essential to 
good government." And the deduction from this 
national aphorism necessarily follows: "That 
schools and the means of education should forever 
be encouraged." We assume, then, without fur- 
ther illustration drawn from the acts of the Nation, 
that the means of education have not and will not 
be withheld. We have seen two great acquisitions, 
the Northwest Territory, and the Louisiana Pur- 
chase, parceled out in greater and greater pro- 
fusion for educational uses, till the climax is 
reached in the Mississippi Valley, the future great 
cent«r of national power. At the head of this 
valley sits as regnant queen the state of Minne- 
sota, endowed with the means of education unsur- 
passed by any of her compeers in the sisterhood 
of States. Let us now inquire, as pertinent to 
this discussion, 

WHAT HAS MINITESOTA DONE FOR STATE EDUCATION? 

The answer is in part made up from her con- 
stitution and the laws enacted in pursuance 
thereof: First, then, article VIII. of her consti- 
tution reads thus: 

Section 1. The stability of a republican form of 
government depending mainly upon the intelli- 
gence of the people, it shall be the duty of the 
Legislature to establish a general and uniform 
system of public schools. 



168 



STATE EDUCATION. 



Section 2. The proceeds of such lands as are, 
or hereafter may \>e granted by the United States, 
for the use of schools in each towuship in this 
State, shall remain a perpetual school fund to the 
State. * * * * The principal of aU funds 
arising from sales or other disposition of lands or 
other property, granted or entrusted to this State, 
sliall forever be preserved inviolate and undimin- 
ished; and tlie income arising from the lease or sale 
of said school land shall be distributed to the dif- 
ferent townships throughout the State in propor- 
tion to the number of scholars in each township, 
between the ages of five and tweuty-one years; 
and shall be faitlifully applied to the specific object 
of the original grant or appropriation." 

Section 3. The legislature shall make such pro- 
vision by taxation or otherwise, as, with the in- 
come arising from the school fund, will secure a 
thorough and efficient system of public schools in 
each township in the State. 

But in no case shall the moneys derived as afore- 
siiid, or any portion thereof, or any public moneys 
or property, be njipropriated or used for the sup- 
port of schools wherein the destinctive doctrines, 
creeds, or tenets of any particular Christian or 
other religious sect are promulgated or taught." 

THE DNIVBRSITT. 

"Section 4. Tlie location of the University of 
Minnesota, as established by existing laws, [Sept. 
1851] is hereby confirmed, and said institution is 
hereby declared to be tie University of Minnesota. 
All the rights, immunities, franchises, and endow- 
ments heretofore granted or conferred, are hereby 
perpetuated unto the said University; and all lands 
which may be granted hereafter by Congress, or 
other donations for said University purposes, shall 
rest in the institution referred to in this section. 

The State constitution is in full harmony with 
the National government in the distinctive outlines 
laid down in the extracts above made. .\nd the 
Territorial and State governments, within these 
Umits, have consecutively appropriated by legis- 
lation, sufficient to carry forward the State school 
system. In the Territorial act, establishing the 
University, the peojile of the State announced in 
advance of the establishment of a State govern- 
ment, " that the proceeds of the land that may 
hereafter be granted by the United States to the 
Territory for the sujjport of the University, shall 
be and remain a perpetual fund, to be called "the 



University Fund," the interest of which shall be 
appropriated to the support of a University, and 
no sectarian instruction sliall be allowed in such 
University! "' This organization of the University 
was confirmed by the State constitution, and the 
congressional land grants severally passed to that 
corporation, and the use of the funds arising there- 
from were subjected to the restrictions named. So 
that both the common school and University were 
dedicated to State school purposes, and exjirossly 
excluded from sectarian control or sectarian in- 
struction. 

In this respect the State organization corres- 
ponds with the demands of the general govern- 
ment; and has organized the school system reach- 
ing from the common school to the university, so 
that it may be said, the State student may, if he 
choose, in the state of Minnesota pass from grade 
to grade, through common school, high school, and 
State University free of charge tor tuition. With- 
out referring f.pecially to the progressive legisla- 
tive enactments, the united system may be referred 
to as made up of units ot diflerent order.i, and suc- 
cessively in its ascending grades, governed by 
separate boards, rising in the scale of importance 
from the local trustee, directors, and treasurer, in 
common school, to the higher board of education, 
of six members ip the independent school district, 
and more or less than that number in districts and 
large cities under special charter, until we reach 
the climax in the dignified Board of Regents; a 
board created by law and known as the Regents of 
the State University. This honorable body con- 
sists of seven men nominated by the Governor and 
confirmed by the senate of the State legislature, 
each holding his office for three years; and besides 
these there are three ex-officio members, consisting 
of the President ot the State University, the' 
Superintendent ot Public Instruction, and the Gov- 
ernor of the State. This body of ten men are in 
reality the legal head of the State University, and 
indirectly the effective liead ot the State school 
system of Minnesota, and are themselves subject 
only to the control of the State Legislature. 
These various officers, throughout this series, are 
severally trustees ot legal duties which cannot be 
delegated. They fall under the legal maxim 
"that a trustee cannot make a trustee." These 
are the legal bodies to whom the several series of 
employes and servitors owe obedience. These 
various trustees determine the courae of studv 



MINNESOTA STATE SYSTEM. 



169 



and the rules of transfer from grade to grade until 
the last grade is reached at the head of the State 
system, or the scholar has perhaps completed a 
post-graduate course in a polytechnic school, in- 
augurated by the State for greater perfection, it 
may be in chemistry, agriculture, the mechanic 
arts, or other specialty, required by the State or 
national government. 

This system, let it be understood, differs from 
all private, parocliial, denominational, or sectarian 
schools. The State organism and all the sectarian 
elements of the church are, in this department of 
labor, entirely distinct. The State protects and 
encourages, but does not control either the schools 
or the faith of the church. The church supports 
and approves, but does not yield its tenets or its 
creed to the curriculum of the schools of the State. 
The State and the Church are in this respect en- 
tirely distinct and diflferent organizations. State 
education, however, and the education of the ad- 
herents of the church are in harmony throughout 
a great portion of the State curriculum. Indeed, 
there seems to be no reason why the greater por- 
tion of denominational teaching, so far as the same 
is in ha'mony with the schools of the State, should 
not be relegated to the State, that the church 
throughout all its sectarian element might be the 
better able to direct its energies and economize 
its benevolence in the cultivation of its own fields 
of chosen labor. But, however this may be, and 
wherever these two organizations choose to divide 
their labors, they are still harmonious even in their 
rivalry. 

The organism as a State system has, in Minne- 
sota, so matured that through all the grades to the 
University, the steps are defined and the gradients 
passed without any conflict of authority. The 
only check to the regular order of ascend- 
ing grades was first met in the State Uni- 
versity. These schools, in older countries, had at 
one time an independent position, and in their 
origin had their own scholars of all grades, from 
the preparatory department to the Senior Class in 
the finished course; but in our State system, when 
the common schools became graded, and the High 
School had grown up as a part of the organism of 
a completed system, the University naturally took 
its place at the head of the State system, having 
the same relation to the High School as the High 
School has to the Common School. There was no 
longer any reason why the same rule should not 



apply in the transfer from the High School to the 
University, that applied' in the transfer from the 
Common School to the High School, and to this 
conclusion the people of the State have already 
fully arrived. The rules of the board of Regents 
of the State University now allow students, with 
the Principal's certificate of qualification, to enter 
the Freshman class, on examination in sub-Fresh- 
man studies only. But even this is not satisfac- 
tory to the friends of the State school system. 
They demand for High School graduates an en- 
trance into the University, when the grade below 
is passed, on the examination of the school below 
for graduation therein. If, on the one hand, the 
High schools of the State, under the law for the 
encouragement of higher education, are required 
to prepare students so that they shall be qualified 
to enter some one of the classes of the University, 
on the other hand the University should be re- 
quired to admit the students thus qualified with- 
out further examination. The rule should work 
in either direction. The rights of students under 
the law are as sacred, and should be as inalienable, 
as the rights of teachers or faculties in State in- 
stitutions. The day of unlimited, irresjionsible 
discretion, a relic of absolute autocracy, a des- 
potic power, has no place in systems of free 
schools under constitutional and statutory limita- 
tions, and these presidents and faculties \\ ho con- 
tinue to exercise this power in the absence of 
right, should be reminded by Boards of Regents 
at the head of American State systems that their 
resignation would be acceptable. They belong to 
an antiquated system, outgrown by the age in 
which we live. 

The spirit of the people of our State was fully 
intimated in the legislature of 1881, in the House 
bill introduced as an amendment to the law of 
1878-79, for the encouragement of higher educa- 
tion, but finally laid aside for the law then in 
force, slightly amended, and quite in harmony 
with the House bill. Sections two and five 
alluded to read as follows; 

".\ny public, graded or high school in any city 
or incorporated village or township organized into 
a district under the s(<-called township system, 
which shall have regular cla.sses and courses of 
study, articulating with some course of study, op- 
tional or required, in the State University, and 
shall raise annually for the expense of said school 
doiible the amoiuit of State aid allowed by this 



170 



STATE EDUCATION. 



act, and shall admit students of either sex into the 
higlier classes thereof from any part of the State, 
without charge for tuition, shall receive State aid, 
as specified in section four of this act. Provided, 
that non-resident pupils shall in all cases be qual- 
ified to enter the highest department of said 
school at the entrance examination for resident 
pupils." 

"The High School Board shall have power, and 
it is hereby made their duty to provide uniform 
questions to test the qualifications of the scholars 
of said graded or high schools for entrance and 
graduation, and especially conduct the examina- 
tions of scholars in said schools, when desired and 
notified, and award diplomas to graduates who 
shall upon examination be found to have completed 
any course of study, either optional or required, 
entitling the holder to enter any class in the Uni- 
versity of Minnesota named therein, any time 
within one year from the date thereof, without 
further examination; said dijiloma to be executed 
by the several members of the High School 
Board." 

THE KELATED SYSTEM. 

We have now seen the position of the University 
in our syst«m of public schools. In its position 
only at the head of the series it differs from the 
grades below. The rights of the scholar follow 
him throughout the series. When he has com- 
pleted and received the certificate or diploma in 
tlic prescribed course in the High School, articu- 
lating with any course, optional or required, in the 
University, he has the same right, unconditioned, 
to pass to the higher class in that course, as he 
had to pass on examination, from one class to the 
other in any of the grades beiow. So it follows, 
that the University faculty or teacher who as- 
snmes the right to reject, condition, or re-examine 
such student, would exercise an abuse of power, 
unwarranted in law, arbitrary in spirit, and not 
republican in character. This rule is better and 
better understood in all State Universities, as free 
State educational organisms are more crystalized 
into forms, analogous to our State and national 
governments. The arbitrary will of the interme- 
diate, or head master, no longer prevails. His will 
niust yield to more certain legal rights, as the 
learner passes on, midcr prescribed rules, from in- 
fancy \o manhood through all the grades of school 
life. And no legislation framed on any other 



theory of educational promotion in republican 
States can stand against this American conscious- 
ness of equality existing between all the members 
of the body politic. In this consciousness is em- 
braced the inalienable rights of the child or the 
youth to an education free in all our public 
schools. In Minnesota it is guaranteed in the 
constitution that the legislature shall make such 
provisions, by taxation or otherwise, as, with the 
income arising from the school fund, will secure a 
thorough and cllicient system of public schools in 
each township in tlie State. Who shall say that 
the people have no right to secure such thorough 
and efficient system, even should that "thorough 
and efficient system" extend to direct taxation for 
a course extending to graduation from a Univer- 
sity? Should such a course exceed the constitu- 
tional limitation of a thorough and eflicient sys- 
tem of public schools? 

INTERPKETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

The people, through the medium of the law- 
making power, have given on three several occa- 
sions, in 1878, 1879, and 1881, an intimation of 
the scope and measuring of our State constitution 
'on educational extension to higher education than 
the common school. In the first section of the act 
of 1881, the legislature created a High School 
Board, consisting of the Governor of the State, 
Superintendent of Public lustniction, and the 
President of the University of Minnesota, who are 
charged with certain duties and granted certain 
powers contained in the act. And this High 
School Board are required to grant State aid to 
the amount of .f 400 diiring the school year to any 
public graded school, in any city or incorporated 
village, or township organized into a district, 
which shall give preparatory instruction, extend- 
ing to and articulating with the University course 
in some one of its classes, and shall admit stu- 
dents of either sex, from any part of the State, 
without charge for tuition. Provided only that 
non-resident pupils shall be qualified to enter 
some one of the organized classes of such graded 
or high school. To carry out this act, giving 
State aid directly out of the State treasury to a 
course of education reaching upward from the 
common school, through the high school to the 
University, the legislature appropriated the entire 
sum of #20,000. In this manner we have the in- 
terpretation of the people of Minnesota lis to the 



RESULTS OF THE RELATED SYSTEM. 



171 



meaning of "a thorough and efficient system of 
public schools, operative alike in each township in 
the State." And this interpretation of our legis- 
lature is in harmony witli the several acts of Con- 
gress, and particularly the act of July the second, 
1862, granting lands to the several States of the 
Union, known as the Agricultural College Grant. 
The States receiving said lands are required, in 
their colleges or universities, to "teach such 
branches of learning as are related to Agriculture 
and the Mechanic arts, without excluding other 
scientific and classical studies, and including mil- 
itary tactics, in such manner as the legislatures of 
(he States may respectively prescribe, in order to 
jMomote the liberal and practical education of the 
industrial classes in the several pursuits and pro- 
fessions of life."' 

And the Legislature of Minnesota has already 
established in' its University, optional or required 
courses of study fully meeting the limitations in 
the congressional act of 1862. In its elementary 
department it has three courses, known as classi- 
cal, scientific, and modern. In the College of 
Science, Literature, and the Arts, the courses of 
study are an extension of those of the elementary 
departments, and lead directly to the degrees of 
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bach- 
elor of Literature. In the College of Mechanic 
Arts the several courses of studies are principally 
limited to Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engi- 
neering, and Architecture. In the College of Ag- 
riculture are : (1 ) The regular University course, 
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture. 
(2) The elementary course, in part coinciding with 
the Scientific course of the Elementary Depart- 
ment. (3) A Farmers' Lecture course. (4) Three 
special courses for the year 1880-81. Law and 
Medicine have not yet been opened in the State 
University for want of means to carry forward 
these departments, now so much needed. 

Our State constitution has therefore been prac- 
tically interpreted by the people, by a test that 
caimot be misconstrued. They have fortified 
their opinion by the payment of the necessary tax 
to insure the success of a thorough and efficient 
system of public schools throughout the State. 
This proof of the people's interest in these schools 
appears in the amounts paid for expenses and in- 
struction. From the school fund the State of 
Minnesota received, in 1879, the full sum of 
$232,187.43 The State paid out the same year, 



the sum of $394,737.71. The difference is $162,- 
550.28, which was paid out by the State more than 
was derived from the government endowment fund. 
And it is not at all likely that the endowment fund, 
generous as it is, will ever produce an amount 
equal to the cost of instruction. The ratio of the 
increase of scholars it is believeil will always be in 
advance of the endowment fund. The cost of in- 
struction cannot fall much below an average, for 
all grades of scholars, of eight dollars per annum 
to each pupil. Our present 180,000 scholars en- 
rolled would, at this rate require $1,440,000, and 
in ten years and long before the sale of the school 
lands of the State shall have been made, this 180,- 
000 will have increased a hundred per cent., 
amounting to 360,000 scholars. These, at $8.00 
per scholar for tuition, would equal $2,880,000 
per annum, while the interest from the school 
fund in the same time cannot exceed $2,000,000, 
even should the land average the price of $6.00 
per acre, and the interest realized be always equal 
to per cent. 

SOME OF THE RESULTS 

In these infant steps taken by our State, we can 
discern the tendency of our organism towards a 
completed State system, as an element of a still 
wider union embracing the nation. To know 
what is yet to be done in this direction we must 
know what has already been done. We have, in 
the twenty years of our State history, built 3,693 
schoolhouses, varying in cost from $400 to $90,- 
000; total value of all, $3,156,210; three Normal 
school buildings at a cost of (1872) $215,231.52; 
a State University at an expenditure for buildings 
alone of $70,000, and an allowance by a late ack 
of the legislature of an additional $100,000, in 
three yearly appropriations, for additional build- 
ings to be erected, in all $170,000, allowed by the 
State for the University. Add these to the cost of 
common school structures, and we have already 
expended in school buildings over $4,800,000 for 
the simple purpose of housing the infant oi-gan- 
ism, our common school system here planted. 
We have seen a movement in cities like St. Paul, 
Minneapolis, Stillwater, and Winona, towards the 
local organization of a completed system of home 
schools, carrying instruction free to the University 
course, with a total enrollment of 13,500 scholars 
and 265 teachers, daily seated in buildings, all in 
the modem style of school architecture and school 



172 



STATE EDUCATION. 



furniture, costing to these cities the sum of 8850,- 
000 for buildings, and for instruction the sum of 
8118,000 annually. 

We have, in addition to these schools in the 
cities named, other home and fitting schools, to 
whom have been paid iji'lOO eaeh, under the law 
for the "Enoouragemont of Higher Education," 
passed in 1878, and amended in 1870, as follows: 
Anoka, Austin, Blue Earth City, Chatfield, Cannon 
Falls, Crookstou, Duluth, Detroit, Eyota, Fari- 
bault, Garden City, Glenooc, Howard Tiake, Hast- 
ings, Henderson, Kasson, Litchfield, Lancbboro, 
Le Sueur, Lake City, Monticello, Moorhead, Man- 
kato, Northfield, Owatonna, Osseo, Plainview, Eed 
Wing, Rushford, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Peter, 
Sauk Centre, Spring Valley, Wells, Waterville, 
Waseca, Wabasha. Wilmar, Winnebago City, Zum- 
brota, and Mantorville. 

These forty-two Stat* aid schools have paid in 
all for buildings and furniture the gross sum of 
8042,700; some of these buildings are superior in 
all that constitutes superiority in school architect- 
ure. The Rochester buildings and grounds cost 
the sum of $90,000. Several others, such as the 
Austin, Owatonna, Faribault, Hastings, Red Wing, 
Rushford, St. Cloud, and St. Peter schoolhouses, 
exceed in value the sum of 825,000; and others of 
these buildings arc estimated at «G,000, 88,000, 
.$10,000, and 815,000. In all they have an enroll- 
ment of scholars in attendance on classes graded up 
to the University course, numbering 13,000, under 
301 teachers, at an annual salary amounting in all 
to $123,509, and having in tlieir A, B, C, D classes 
1704 scholars, of whom 120 were prepared to 
enter the sub-freshman class of the State Univer- 
sity in 1880, and the number entering these grades 
in the year 1879-80 was 934, of whom 400 were 
non-residents of the districts. And in all these 
forty-two home schools of the people, the fitting 
schools of the State University, one uniform course 
of study, articulating with some course in the 
Univenrity, was observed. As many other courses 
as the local boards desired were also carried on in 
these schools. This, in short, is a part of what 
we have done. 

The organic elements that regularly combine to 
form governments, are similar to tho.sc organic ele- 
ments that combine to form systems of mental 
culture. The primitive type of government is the 
family. This is the lowest organic form. If no 
improvement is ever made upon this primitive ele- 



ment, by other combinations of an artificial na- 
ture, human governments would never rise higher 
than the family. If society is to advance, this 
organism widens into the clan, and in like manner 
the clan into the village, and the village into the 
more dignified ])rovince, and the province into the 
State. All these artificial conditions above tho 
family are the evidences of growth in pursuance 
of the laws of artificial life. In like manner the 
growth of intellectual organisms proceeds from 
the family instruction to the common school. 
Here the artificial organism would cease to ad- 
vance, and would remain stationary, as the clan in 
the organism of government, unless the common 
school should pass on to the wider and still higher 
unit of a grad(>d system reaching upward to the 
high school. Now this was the condition of the 
common school in America during the Colonial 
state, and even down to the national organization. 
Soon after this period, the intellectual life of the 
nation began to be aroused, and within the hujt 
fifty years the Stata common school has culmi- 
nated in the higher organism of the high school, 
and it is of very recent date that the high school 
has reached up to and articuhitod in any State 
with the State University. On this continent, both 
government and State schools started inlo life, 
freed from the domination of institutions grown 
effete from age and loss of vital energy. Hero, 
both entered into wider combinations, reaching 
higher results than the ages of the past. And 
yet, in educational organization we are far below 
the standard of perfection we shall attain in the 
rapidly advancing future. Not until our eystem 
of education has attained a national character as 
complete in its related articulation as the civil or- 
ganization of towns, counties, and States in the 
national Union, can our educational institutions do 
the work required of this age. And in Minnesota, 
one of the leading States in connected school or- 
ganic relations, we have, as yet, some 4,000 com- 
mon school districts, with an enrollment of some 
100,000 scholars of different ages, from five to 
twenty -one years; no higher in the scale than the 
common school, prior to the first high school on 
the American continent. These chaotic elements, 
outside of the system of graded schools now aided 
by the State, must be reduced to the same organ- 
ized graded system as those that now articulate in 
their course with the State University. 

Our complete organization as a State svstem for 



DIVISION UF LABOR A CAUSE OF GROWTH. 



173 



educational purposes, equal to the demands of the 
State, and required by the spirit of the age, will 
not be consummated until our four thousand 
school districts shall reap the full benefits of a 
graded system reaching to the high school course^ 
articulating with some course in the State Uni- 
versity and a course in commen with every other 
high school in the State. The system thus or- 
ganized might be required to report to the Board 
of Begents, as the legal head of the organization 
of the State School system, not only the numerical 
statistics, but the number and standing of the 
classes in each of the high schools in the several 
studies of the uniform course, established by the 
Board of Eegents, under the direction of the State 
Legislature. To this system must finally belong 
the certificate of standing and graduation, en- 
titling the holder to enter the designated class in 
any grade of the State schools named therein, 
whether High School or University. But this 
system is not and can never be a skeleton merely, 
made up of lifeless materials, as an anatomical 
specimen in the office of the student of the 
practice of the healing art. Within this organism 
there must preside the living teacher, bringing 
into this organic structure, not the debris of the 
effete systems of the past, not the mental esuvia 
of dwarfed intellectual powers of this or any for- 
mer age, but the teacher inspired by nature to 
feel and appreciate her methods, and ever moved 
by her divine afflatus. 

Every living organism has its own laws of 
growth; and the one we have under consideration 
may, in its most important feature, be compared to 
the growth of the forest tree. In its earlier years 
the forest tree strikes its roots deep into the earth 
aud matures its growing rootlets, the support of 
its future trunk, to stand against the storms and 
winds to which it is at all times exposed. When 
fully rooted in the groimd, with a trunk matured 
by the growth of years, it puts forth its infant 
branches and leaflets, suited to its immature but 
maturing nature; finally it gives evidence of stal- 
wart powers, and now its widespreading top tow- 
ers aloft among its compeers rearing its head high 
among the loftiest denizens of the woods. In like 
manner is the growth of the maturing State school 
organism. In the common school, the foundation 
is laid for the rising structure, but here are no 
branches, no fruitage. It seems in its earliest in- 
fancy to put forth no branches, but is simjjly tak- 



ing hold of the elements below on which its inner 
life and growth depend. As the system rises, the 
underlaying laws of life come forth in the princi- 
ples of invention, manufacturing, engraving, and 
designing, enriching every branch of intellectual 
and professional industry, and beautifying every 
field of human culture. These varied results are 
all in the law of growth in the organism of State 
schools carried on above the common schools to 
the University course. The higher the course the 
more beneficial the results to the industries of the 
world, whether those industries are intellectual or 
purely physical, cater only to the demands of 
wealth, or tend to suljserve the modi st demands of 
the humblest citizen. 

The only criticism that can reach the question 
now under consideration, is whether the graded 
organization tends to produce the results to which 
we have referred. The law relating to the division 
of .labor has esiJCcially operated in the graded sys- 
tem of State schools. Under its operation, it is 
claimed, by good judges, that eight years of 
school life, from five to twenty-one, has been saved 
to the pupils of the present generation, over those 
of the imgraded schools ante-dating the last fifty 
years. By the operation of this law, in one gen- 
eration, the saving of time, on the enrollments of 
State schools in the graded systems of the north- 
ern States of the American Union, would be 
enormous. For the State of Minnesota alone, on 
the enrollment of 180,000, the aggregate years of 
time saved would exceed a million! The time 
saved on the enrollment of the schools of the dif- 
ferent States, under the operation of this law 
would exceed over twenty million years! 

To the division of labor is due the wonderful 
facility with which modern business associations 
have laid their hands ui^on every branch of indus- 
trial pursuits, and bestowed upon the world the 
comforts of life. Introduced into our system of 
education it produces results as astonishing as the 
advent of the Spinning Jenny in the manufacture of 
cloth. As the raw material from the cotton field 
of the planter, passing, by gradation, through the 
unskilled hands of the ordinary laborer to the 
more perfect process of improved machinery, se- 
cure additional value in a constantly increasing 
ratio; so the graded system of intellectual culture, 
from the Primary to the High school, and thence 
to the University, adds increased lustre and value 
to the mental development in a ratio commen- 



174 



STATE EDUCATION. 



surate with the increased skill of the meutal ope- 
rator. 

The law of growth in State schools was clearly 
aniidunced by Horace Mann, when he applied to 
this system the law governing hydraulics, that no 
stream could rise above its fountain. The com- 
mon school could not jjroduce a scholarship above 
its own curriculum. The high school was a grade 
above, and as important in the State system as 
the elevated fountain head of the living stream. 
This law of growth makes the system at once the 
most natural, the most economical, and certainly 
the most pojnilar. These several elements might 
be illustrated, but the reader can easily imagine 
them at his leisure. As to the last, however, suffer 
an illustration. In Minnesota, for the school year 
ending August 21st, 1880, according to the report 
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, there 
were enrolled, one hundred and eighty thousand, 
two hundred and fifty-eight scholars in the State 
schools, while all others, embracing kindergartens, 
private schools, parochial schools, of all sects and 
all denominations, had an attendance at the same 
time of only two thousand four hundred and 
tweuty-eight; and to meet all possible omissions, 
it M'O allow double this number, there is lyss than 
three per cent, of the enrollment in the State 
school. This ratio will be found to hold good, at 
least throughout all the Northern States of the 
American Union. These State schools, then, are 
not unpopular in comparison with the schools of a 
private and opposite character. Nor is it owing 
altogether to the important fact, that State schools 
are free, that they are more popu'ir than schools 
of an 0])posit€ character; for these State schools 
are a tax upon the property of the people, and yet 
a tax most cheerfully borne, in consequence of 
their superior excellence and importance. 

The State school, if not already, can be so 
graded that each scholar can have the advantage 
of superior special instruction far better adaptsd 
to the studies through which he desires to pass, 
than similar instruction can be had in ungraded 
schools of any character whatever. In this re- 
spect the State system is without a rival. It has 
the power to introduce such changes as may meet 
all the demands of the State and all the claims of 
the learner. 

The State school knows no sect, no party, no 
privileged class, and no special favorites; the high, 
the low, the rich, and the poor, the home and for- 



eign-boru, black or white, are all equal at this 
altar. The child of the ruler and the ruled are 
here equal. The son of the Governor, the wood- 
sawyer, and tlie hod-carrier, here meet on one 
level, and alike contend for ranks, and alike expect 
the honors due to superior merit, the reward of 
intellectual culture. But, aside from the republi- 
can character of the State school system, the sys- 
tem is a State necessity. Without the required 
State culture under its control, the State must 
cease to exist as an organism for the promotion of 
human hapjriness or the protection of human 
rights, and its people, though once cultured and 
refined, must certainly return to barbarism and 
savage life. There can be no compromise in the 
warfare against inherited ignorance. Under all 
governments tha statute of limitations closes over 
the subject at twenty-one years; so that during 
the minority of the race must this warfare be 
waged by the government without truce. No 
peace can ever be proclaimed in this war, until the 
child shall inherit the matured wisdom, instead of 
the primal ignorance of the ancestor. 

The State school system, in our government, is 
from the necessity of the case, national. No 
State can enforce its system beyond the limits of 
its own territory. And unless the nation enforce 
its own uniform system, the conflict between juris- 
dictions could never be determined. No homo- 
geneous system could ever be enforced. As the 
graded system of State schools has now reached 
the period in its history which corresponds to the 
colonial history of the national organization, it 
m\ist here fail, as did the colonial system of gov- 
ernment, to fully meet the demands of the people. 
And what was it, let us consider, that led the peo- 
ple in the organization of the national government 
"to form a more perfect union?" Had it then be- 
come necessary to take this step, that "justice" 
might be established, domestic tranquility insured, 
the common defense made more efficient, the gen- 
eral welfare promoted, and the blessings of liberty 
better secured to themselves and their posterity, 
that the fathers of the government should think it 
necessary to form a more perfect union?" Why 
the necessity of a more perfect union? Were our 
fathers in fear of a domestic or foreign foe, that 
had manifested his power in their immediate jjres- 
cnce, threatening to jeopardize or destroy their do- 
mestic tranquility? Was this foe an hereditary 
enemy, who mi_L'ht at long intervals of time invade 



CONCLUSION. 



175 



their territory, and endanger the liberties of this 
people ? And tor this reason did they demand a 
more perfect imion? And does not this reason 
now exist in still greater force fur the formation of 
» still more perfect union in our system of State 
schools? Our fathers were moved by the most 
natural of all reasons, by this law of self-defense. 
They were attacked by a power too great to be 
successfully resisted in their colonial or unorgan- 
ized state. The fear of a destruction of the sev- 
eral colonies without a more perfect union drove 
them to this alternative. It was union and the 
hope of freedom, against disunion and the fear of 
death, that cemented the national government. 
And this was an external organism, the temple in 
which the spirit of freedom should preside, and in 
which her worshippers should enjoy not only do- 
mestic but national tranquility. Now, should it be 
manifested to the world that the soul and spirit, 
the very life of this temple, erected to freedom, is 
similarly threatened, should not be the same cause 
that operated in the erection of the temple itself, 
operate in the protection of its sacred fires, its soul 
and spirit? It would seem to require no admoni- 
tion to move a nation in the direction of its highest 
hopes, the protection of its inner life. 

And what is this enemy, and where is the power 
able to destroy both the temple and the spirit of 
freedom? And why should State Education take 
upon itself any advanced position other than its 
present indej)endent organic elements? In the 
face of what enemy should it now be claimed we 
should attempt to change front, and "form a more 
perfect union to insure domestic tranquility, and 
promote the {.eneral welfare," to the end that we 
may the better secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity ? That potent foe to 
our free institutions, to which we are now brought 
face to face, is human ignornuce, the natural hered- 
itary foe to every form of enlightened free gov- 
ernment. This hereditary enemy is now home- 
steaded upon our soil. This enemy, in the lan- 
guage of the declaration made by the colonies 
against their hereditary foe, this enemy to our 
government, has kept among us a standing army 
of illiterates, who can neither read nor write, but 
are armed with the ballot, more powerful than the 
sword, ready to strike the most deadly blow at 
human freedom; he has cut off and almost en- 
tirely destroyed our trade between States of the 
same government; has imposed a tax upon us 



without our consent, most grievous to be borne; 
he has quite abolished the free system of United 
States laws in several of our States; he has estab- 
lished, in many sections, arbitrary tribunals, ex- 
cluding the subject from the right of trial by jury, 
and enlarged the powers of his despotic rule, en- 
dangered the lives of peaceable citizens; he has 
alienated government of one section, by declaring 
the inhabitants aliens and enemies to his supposed 
hereditary right; he has excited domestic insur- 
rections amongst us; he has endeavored to destroy 
the peace and harmony of our people by bringing 
his despotic ignorance of our institutions into con- 
flict with the freedom and purity of our elections; 
he has raised up advocates to his cause who have 
openly declared that our system of State Educa- 
tion, on which our government rests, is a failure;* 
he has spared no age, no sex, no portion of our 
country, but has, with his ignominious minions, 
afflicted the North and the South, the East and the 
West, the rich and the poor, the black and the 
white; an enemy alike to the people of every sec- 
tion of the government, from Maine to California, 
from Minnesota to Louisiana. Such an inexora- 
ble enemy to government and the domestic tran- 
quility of all good citizens deserves the oppro- 
brium due only to the Prince of Darkness, against 
whom eternal war should be waged ; and for the 
support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on 
the protection of Divine Providence, we should, as 
did our fathers, mutually pledge to each other, 
as citizens of the free States of America, our lives, 
our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

We have thus far considered the State school 
system in some of its organic elements, and the 
nature, tendency, and neceseary union of these 
elements; first in States, and finally for the forma- 
tion of a more perfect union, that they may be 
united ia one national organization under the con- 
trol of one sovereign will. The mode in which 
these unorganized elements shall come into union 
and harmony with themselves, and constitute the 
true inner life and soul of the American Union, is 
left for the consideration of those whose special 
duty it is to devote their best energies to the pro- 
motion of the welfare of the Nation, and by 
.statesman-like forethought provide for the domes- 
tic, social, civil, intellectual, and industrial pro- 
gress of the rapidly accumulating millions who 

'Richard Grant White in North American Kevicw 



176 



UTAl'E EDUCATION. 



are soon to swarm upou tbo American continent. 
We see truly that 

"The rudiments of empire here 
Are plastic yet and warm; 
The ehaos nf a miyhty world 
Is rounding into form! 

"Each rude and jostling fragment sof)n 
Its fitting plaee shall find— 
The raw material of a State, 
Its muscle and its mind." 

But we must be allowed, in a word, to state the 
results which we hope to see accomplished^ before 
the jostling fragments which are yet plastic and 
warm, shall have attained a temperament not 
easily fused and "rounded" into one homogenous 
national system, rising in the several States from 
the kindergarten to the University, and from the 
State Universities through all orders of specialties 
demanded by the widening industries and growing 
demands of a progressive age. And in this direc- 



tion we cannot fail to see that the national govern- 
ment must so mould its intellectual systems that 
the State and national curricula shall be uniform 
throughout the States and territories, so that a 
class standing of every pupil, jji'operly certified, 
shall be equally good for a like class standing in 
every portion of the government to which he may 
desire to remove. America will then be ready to 
celebrate her liual indejjendeuce, the inalienable 
right of American youth, as ha\'ing a standing 
limited by law in her State and national systems 
of education, entitling them to rank everywhere 
with associates and compeers on the same plain; 
when in no case, shall these rights be denied or 
abridged by the United States, or by any State 
or authority thereof, on account of race, color, 
or previous condition of scholarship, secular or 
secfarian, till the same shall forever find'the most 
ample protection under the broad banner of 
NATIONAL and NATURAL rights, common alike to 
all in the ever widening uia-unLic of i.eiters. 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

SIOUX MASSACRE OF 1862. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

LO0IS HEN • ■spin's visit TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI 
IN 1680 • -CAPTAIN JONATHAN CABVEE VISITS THE 

COUNTRY TS 1766 THE NAMES OF THE TRIBES 

TREATIES WITH SIOUX INDIANS FROM 1812 TO 
1859 THEIR RESERVATIONS CIVILIZATION EF- 
FORTS — SETTLEMENTS OF THE WHITES CONTIGU- 
OUS TO THE RESERVATIONS. 

The first authentic knowledge of the country 
upon the waters of the Upper Mississippi and its 
tributaries, was given to the world by Louis Hen- 
nepin, a native of France. In 1680 he visited the 
FaUs of St. Anthony, and gave them the name of 
his patron saint, the name they still bear. 

Hennepin foimd the country occupied by wild 
tribes of Indians, by whom he and his compan- 
ions were detained as prisoners, but kindly treated, 
and finally released. 

In 1766, this same country was again visited by 
a white man, this time by Jonathan Carver, a 
British subject, and an officer in the British army. 
Jonathan Carver spent some three -years among 
different tribes of Indians in the Upper Missis- 
sippi country. He knew the Sioux or Dakota 
Indians as the Naudowessies, who were then occu- 
pying the country along the Mississippi, from 
Iowa to the Falls of St. .'Vntliony, and along the 
Minnesota river, then called St. Peter's, from its 
6ource to its mouth at Mendota. To the north of 
these tribes the country was then occupied by the 
Ojibwas, commonly called Chippewas, the heredi- 
tary enemies of the Sioux. 

Carver found these Indian nations at war, and 
by Ms commanding influence finally succeeded in 
making peace between them. As a reward for his 
good offices in this regard, it is claimed that two 
chiefs of the Naudowessies, acting for their nation, 
at a council held with Carver, at the great cave, 

12 



now in the corporate limits of St. Paul, deeded to 
Carver a vast tract of land on the Mississippi 
river, extending from the FaUs of St. Anthony to 
the foot of Lake Pepin, on the Mississippi; thence 
east one hundred English miles; thence north one 
hundred and twenty miles; thence west to the 
place of beginning. But this pretended grant has 
been examined by our government and entirely 
ignored as a pure invention of parties in interest, 
after Carver's death, to profit by his Indian ser- 
vice in Minnesota. 

There can be no doubt that these same Indians, 
known to Captain Carver as the Naudowessies, in 
1767, were the same who inhabited the country 
upon the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries 
when the treaty of Traverse des Sioux was made, 
in 1851, between the United States and the Sisse- 
'ton and Wapaton bands of Dakota or Sioux Indi- 
ans. The name Sioux is said to have been bestowed 
upon these tribes by the French; and that it is a 
corruption of the last syllable of their more an- 
cient name, which in the peculiar guttural of the 
Dakota tongue, has the sound of the last syllable 
of the old name NaudowesszVs, Sioux. 

The tribes inhabiting the Territory of Minne- 
sota at the date of the massacre, 1862, were the 
following: Medawakontons (or VUlage of the 
Spirit Lake); WajDatons (or Village of the 
Leaves); Sissetons (or Village of the Marsh); 
and Wajjakutas (or Leaf Shooters). All these 
were Sioux Indians, connected intimately with 
other wild bands scattered over a vast region of 
country, including Dakota Territory, and the 
country west of the Missouri, even to the base of 
the Eocky Mountains. Over all this vast region 
roamed these wild bands of Dakotas, a powerful 
and warlike nation, holding by their tenure the 
country north to the British Possessions. 

(177) 



178 



UISTORY OF THE STOUX M.iSSACliE. 



The Sissetons had a hereditary chief, Ta-tanka 
Mazin, or Standing Bufialo; and at the date of 
the massacre his father, "Star Face," or the "Or- 
phan," was yet aUve, but superannuated, and all 
the duties of the chief were vested in the sou. 
Standing Buffalo, who remained friendly to the 
whites and took no part in the terrible massiicre 
on our border in 1862. 

The four tribes named, the Medawakontons, Wa- 
patons, Sissetons and Wapakutas, comprised the 
entire "annuity Sioux" of Miune-ota; and in 18C2 
these tribes numbered about six thousand and two 
hundred persons. All these Indians had from 
time to time, from the 19th day of July, 1815, to 
the date of the massacre of 1SC2, received pres- 
ents from the Government, by virtue of various 
treaties of amity and friendship between us and 
their accredited chiefs and heads of tribes. 

Soon after the close of the last war with Great 
Britain, on the first day of June, 1816, a treaty 
was concluded at St. Louis between the United 
States and the chiefs and warriors representing 
eight bands of the Sioux, composing the three 
tribes then called the "Sioux of the Leaf," the 
"Sioux of the Broad Leaf," and the "Sioux who 
Shoot in the Pine Tops," by the terms of which 
these tribes confirmed to the United States all 
cessions or grants of lands previously made by 
them to the British, French, or Spanish govern- 
ments, within the limits of the United States or 
its Territories. For these cessions no annuities 
were paid, for the reason that they were mere con- 
firmations of grants made by them to powers 
from whom we had acquired the territory. 

From the treaty of St. Louis, in 1816, to the 
treaty ratified by the United States Senate in 1859, 
these tribes liad remained friendly to the whites, 
and had by treaty stipulations parted with all the 
lands to which they claimed title in Iowa; all on 
the east side of the Mississippi river, and all on 
the Minnesota river, in Minnesota Territory, ex- 
cept certain reservations. One of these reserva- 
tions lay upon both sides of the Minnesota, ten 
miles on either side of that stream, from Hawk 
river on the north, and Yellow Medicine river on 
the south side, thence westerly to the head of Big 
Stone Lake and Lake Traverse, a distance of 
about one hundred miles. Another of these reser- 
vations commenced at Little Kock river on the 
east, and a line running due south from opjjosite 
its mouth, and extending up tlie river westerly to 
the easterly line of the first-named reservation, at 



the Hawk and Yellow Medicine rivers. This last 
resers-ation had also a width of ten miles on each 
side of the Minnesota river. 

The Indians west of the Missouri, in referring 
to those of their nation east of the river, called 
them Isanties, which seems to have been applied 
to them from the fact that, at some remote period, 
they had lived at Isantamde, or "Knife Lake," 
one of the Mille Lacs, in Minnesota. 

These Indian treaties inaugurated and contrib- 
uted greatly to strengthen a custom of granting, 
to the pretended owners of lands occupied for 
purposes of hunting the wild game thereon, and 
living upon the natural products thereof, a con- 
sideration for the cession of their lands to the 
Government of the United States. This custom 
culminated ia a vast annuity fund, in the aggre- 
gate to over three million dollars, owing to these 
tribes, before named, in Minnesota. This annuity 
system was one of the causes of the massacre of 
1862. 

Indian Litb. — Before the whites came in con- 
tact with the natives, they dressed in the skins o' 
animals which they killed for food, such as the 
buffalo, wolf, elk, deer, beaver, otter, as well as the 
small fur-bearing animals, which they trapped on 
lakes and streams. In later years, as the settle- 
ments of the white race approached their borders, 
they exchanged these peltries and furs for blankets, 
cloths, iind other articles of necessity or ornament. 
The Sioux of the plains, those who inhabited the 
Cuteau and beyond, and, indeed, some of the 
Sisseton tribes, dress in skins to this day. Even 
among those who are now called "civilized," the 
style of costume is often unique. It is no picture 
of the imagination to portray to the reader a "stal- 
WAKT Indian" in breech-cloth and leggins, with 
y. calico shirt, all "fluttering in the wind," and hia 
head surmouuted with a stove-pipe hat of most 
surprising altitude, carrying in his hand a pipe of 
exquisite workmanship, on a stem not unlike a 
cane, sported as an ornament by some city dandy. 
His appearance is somewhat varied, as the seas(ms 
come and go. He may be seen in summer or in 
winter dressed in a heavy cloth coat of poarse fab- 
ric, often turned inside out with all his civilized 
and savage toggery, from head to foot, in the most 
bewildering juxtaposition. On beholding him, 
the dullest imagination cannot refrain from the 
poetic exclamtion of Alexander Pope, 

"Lol the poor Indian, whose untutored mind>" 



EFFORTS OF CfVILTZATION. 



179 



Efforts to Civilize these Ankuity Indians. 
— The treaty of 1858, made at Washingtou, elabo- 
rated a scheme for the civihzation of these annnity 
Indians. A civilization fund was proxdded, to be 
taken from their annuities, and expended in im- 
provements on the lands of such of them as should 
abandon their tribal relations, and ;:dopt the habits 
and modes of life of the -n-hite race. To aU such, 
- lands were to be assigned in severalty, eighty 
acres to each head of a family. On these farms 
were to be erected the necessary farm-buildings, 
and farming implements and cattle were to be 
furnished them. 

In addition to these favors the government 
offered them pay for such labors of value as were 
performed, in addition to the crops they raised. 
Indian farmers now augmented rapidily, until the 
appalling outbreak in 1862, at which time about 
one hundred and sixty had taken advantage of the 
munificent provisions of the treaty. A number of 
farms, some 160, had good, snug brick houses 
erected upon them. Among these cisj7z>cfZ savages 
was Little Crow, and many of these farmer- Indians 
belonged to his own band. 

The Indians disliked the idea of taking any por- 
tion of the general fund belonging to the tribe for 
the purpose of carrying out the civilization scheme- 
Thos6 Indians who retained the "blanket," and 
hence called "blanket Indians," denounced the 
measure as a fraud upon their rights. The chase 
was then a God-given right; this scheme forfeited 
that ancient natural right, as it pointed unmistaka- 
bly to the destruction of the chase. 

But to the friends of Indian races, the course 
inaugurated seemed to be, step by step, lifting 
these rude children of the plains to a higher level. 
This scheme, however, was to a great degree 
thwarted by the helpless. condition of the "blanket 
Indians" during a great portion of the year, and 
their persistent determination to remain followers 
of the chase, and a desire to continue on the war- 
path. 

When the chase fails, the "blanket Indians" re- 
sort to their relatives, the farmers, pitch their 
tepees around their houses, and then commence 
the process of eating them out of house and home. 
When the ruin is complete, the farmer Indians, 
driven by the law of self-preservation, with their 
wives and children, leave their homes to seek such 
subsistence as the uncertain fortunes of the chase 
may yield. 



In the absence of the family from the house and 
fields, thu5 deserted, the wandering "blanket In- 
dians" commit whatever destruction of fences or 
tenements their desires or necessities may suggest. 
This perennial process go2s on; so that in the 
spring Allien the disheartened farmer Indian re- 
turns to his desolate home, to prepare again for 
another crop, he looks forward with no different 
results for the coming winter. 

It will be seen, from this one illustration, drawn 
from the actual results of the civilizing process, 
how hopeless was the prospect of elevf/ting one 
class of related savages without at the same time 
protecting them from the incursions of their own 
relatives, against whom the class attempted to be 
favored, had no redress. In this attempt to civil- 
ize these Dakota Indians the forty years, less or 
more, of missionary and other efforts have been 
measurably lost, and the money spent in that di- 
rection, if not wasted, sadly misapplied. 

The treaty of 1858 lu-d opened for settlement a 
vast frontier country of the most attractive char- 
acter, in the Valley of the Minnesota, and the 
streams putting into the Minnesota, on either side, 
such as Beaver creek. Sacred Heart, Hawk and 
Chippewa rivers and some other small streams, 
were flourishing settlemelits of white families. 
Within this ceded tract, ten miles wide, were the 
scattered settlements of Birch Coolie, Patterson 
Eapids, on the Sacred Heart, and others as far up 
as the Upper Agency at Yellow Medicine, in Een- 
ville county. The county of Brown adjoined the 
reservation, and was, at the time of which we are 
now writing, settled mostly by Germans. In this 
county was the flourishing town of New Ulm, and 
a thriving settlement on the Big Cottonwood and 
Watonwan, consisting of German and American 
pioneers, who had -selected this lovely and fertUe 
valley for their future homes. 

Other counties. Blue Earth, Nicollet, Sibley, 
Meeker, McLeod, Kandiyohi, Monongalia and 
Murray, were all situated in the finest portions of 
the state. Some of the valleys along the streams, 
such as Butternut valley and others of similar 
character, were lovely as Wyoming and as fertile 
as the Gardaa of Edeu. These counties, with 
others somewhat removed from the direct attack of 
the Indians in the massacre, as Wright, Stearns 
and Jackson, and even reaching on the north to 
Fort Abercrombie, thus extending from Iowa to 
the Valley of the Bed Eiver of the North, were 
severally involved in the consequences of the war- 



180 



HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



fare of 18G2. This extended area had at the time 
a population of over fifty thousand people, princi- 
pally in the pursuit of agriculture; and although 
the settlements were in their infancy, the people 
were happy and contented, and as prosperous as 
any similar community in any new country on the 
American continent, since the landing of the Pil- 
grim Fathers. 

We have in short, traced the Dakota tribes of 
Minnesota from an early day, when the white man 
first visited and explored these then unknown re- 
gions, to the time of the massacre. We have also 
given a synopsis of all the most important treaties 
between them and the government, with an allu- 
sion to the country adjacent to the reservations, 
and the probable number of people residing in the 
portions of the state ravaged by the savages. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



COMPLAINTS OP THE INDIANS — TKEATIES OF TEA- 

VEKSE DBS SIOUX AND MENDOTA OBJECTIONS TO 

THE MODE OP PAYMENT INKPADUTA MASSACRE 

AT SPIKIT LAKE PUOOP OP CONSPIKAOV IN- 
DIAN OOTJNCILS. 

In a former chapter the reader has had some 
account of the location of the several bands of 

Sioux Indians in Minnesota, and their relation 
to the white settlements on the western border of 
the state. It is now proposed to state in brief 
some of the antecedents of the massacre. 

PBOMINENT CAUSES. 

1. By the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, dated 
July 23, 1851, between the United States and the 
Sissetons and Wapatons, $275,000 were to be paid 
their chiefs, and a further sum of .§30,000 was to 
be expended for their benefit in Indian improve- 
ments. By the treaty of Mendota, dated August 
5, 1851, the Medawakantons and Wapakutas were 
to receive the sum of $200,000, to be paid to their 
chief, and for an improvement fund the further 
sum of $30,000. These several sums, amounting 
in the aggregate to .$555,000, these Indians, to 
whom they were payable, claim they were never 
paid, except, perhaps, a small portion expended in 
improvements on the reservations. Thej became 
dissatisfied, and expressed theii- views in councO 
freely with the agent of the govei'nment. 

In 1857, the Indian department at Washington 
sent out Major Kintzing Prichette, a man of great 
experience, to inquire into the cause of this disaf- 



fection towards the government. In his report of 
that year, made to the Indian department, JNIajor 
Prichette says: 

"The complaint which runs through all their coun- 
cils points to the imperfect performance, or non-ful 
fillment of treaty stipulations. Whether these 
were well or ill founded, it is not my promise tc 
discuss. That such a behcf prevails among them, 
uupairing their coufideuce and good faith in the 
government, cannot be questioned." 

In one of these councils Jagmani said : "The 
Indians sold their lands at Traverse des Sioux. 1 
say what we were told. For fifty years they were 
to be paid 850,000 per annum. We were also 
promised $300,000, and that we have not seen." 

Mapipa Wicasta (Cloud Man), second chief of 
Jagmani's baud, said: 

"At the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, $275,000 
were to be paid them when they came upon their 
reservation; they desired to know what had be- 
come of it. Every white man knows that they 
have been five years upon their reservation, and 
have yet heard nothing of it." 

In this abridged form we can only refer in brief 
to these complaints; but the history would seem 
to lack completeness without the presentation of 
this feature. As the fact of the dissatisfaction ex- 
isted, the government thought it worth while to 
appoint Judge Yoimg to investigate the charges 
made against the governor, of the then Minnesota 
territory, then acting, ex-officio, as superintendent 
of Indian affairs for that locahty. Some short 
extracts from Judge Young's report are here pre- 
sented : 

"The governor is next charged -n-ith having paid 
over the greater part of the money, appropriated 
under the fourth article of the treaty of July 23 
and August 5, 1851, to one Hugh Tyler, for pay- 
ment or distribution to the 'traders' and 'half- 
breeds,' contrary to the wishes and remonstrances 
of the Indians, and in violation of law and the 
stipulations contained in said treaties; and also 
in violation of his own solemn pledges, personally 
made to them, in regard to said payments. 

"Of $275,000 stipulated to be paid under the 
first clause of the fourth article of the treaty of 
Traverse des Sioux, of July 24, 1851, the sum of 
.§250,000, was dcUvered over to Hugh Tyler, by 
the governor, for distribution omong the 'traders" 
and 'half-breeds,' according to the arrangement 
made by the schedule of the Traders^ Papr.r, dated 
at Traverse des Sioux, July 23, 1851." 



CAUSES OF IRRITATION. 



181 



" For this large sum of money, Hugh Tyler ex- 
ecuted two receipts to the Governor, as the attor- 
ney for the 'traders' and 'halt breeds;' the one for 
$210,000 on account of the 'traders,' and the other 
for .^40,000 on account of the 'half-breeds;' the 
first dated at St. Paul, December 8, 1852, and the 
second at Meudota, December 11, 1852." 

"And of the sum of $110,000, stipulated to be 
paid to the Medawakantons, under the fourth ar- 
ticle of the treaty of August 5, 1851, the sum of 
$70,000 was in like manner paid over to the said 
Tyler, on a power of attorney executed to him by 
the traders and claimants, under the said treaty, 
on December 11, 1852. The receipts of the said 
Tyler to the Governor for this money, $70,000, is 
dated at St. Paul, December 13, 1852, making to- 
gether the sum of $320,000. This has been shown 
to have been contrary to the wishes and remon- 
strances of a large majority of the Indians." And 
Judge Young adds: "It is also believed to be in 
violation of the treaty stipulations, as well as the 
law making the appropriations under them." 

These several sums of money were to be paid to 
these Indians in open council, and soon after they 
were on their reservations provided tor them by 
the treaties. In these matters the report shows 
they were not consulted at all, in open coimcil; 
but on the contrary, that arbitrary divisions and 
distributions were made of the entire fund, and 
their right denied to direct the manner in which 
they should be appropriated. See Ads of Con- 
gress, August 30, 1852. 

The Indians claimed, also, that the third section 
of the act was violated, as by that section the ap- 
propriations therein referred to, should, in every 
instance, be paid directly to the Indians them- 
selves, to whom it should be due, or to the tribe, 
or part of the tribe, per capita, " unless otherwise 
the imperious interest of the Indians or some 
treaty stipulation should require the payment to 
be made otherwise, under the direction of the 
president." This money was never so paid. The 
report further states that a large sum, " $55,000, 
was deducted by Hugh Tyler by way of discount 
and percentage on gross amount of payments, 
and that these exactions were made both from tra- 
ders and half-breeds, without any previous agree- 
ment, in many instances, and in such a way, in 
some, as to make the impression that unless they 
were submitted to, no payments would be made to 
such claimants at all." 

And, finally the report says, that from the testi- 



mony it was evident that the money was not paid 
to the chiefs, either to the Sisseton, Wapaton, or 
Medawakanton bands, as they in open council re- 
quested; but that they were compelled to submit 
to this mode of payment to the traders, otherwise 
no payment would be made, and the money would 
be returned to Washington; so that in violation of 
law they were compelled to comply with the Gov- 
ernor's terms of payment, according to Hugh Ty- 
ler's power of attorney. 

The examination of this complaint, on the part 
of the Indians, by the Senate of the United States, 
resulted in exculpating the Governor of "Minnesota 
(Governor Ramsey) from any censure, yet the In- 
dians "were not satisfied with the treatment they 
had received in this matter by the accredited agents 
of the Government. 

2. Another cause of irritation among these In- 
dians arose out of the massacre of 1857, at Spirit 
Lake, known as the Inkpaduta massacre. Inkpa- 
data was an outlaw of the Wapakuta band of 
Sioux Indians, and his acts in the murders at 
Spirit Lake were entirely disclaimed by the "annu- 
ity Sioux." He had slain Tasagi, a Wapakuta 
chief, and several of his relatives, some twenty 
years previous, and had thereafter led a wandering 
and marauding life about the head waters of the 
Des Moines river. 

Inkpaduta was connected with several of the 
bands of annuity Sioux Indians, and similar rela- 
tions with other bands existed among his followers. 
These ties extended even to the Yanktons west of 
the James river, and even over the Missouri. He 
was himself an outlaw for the murder of Tasagi 
and others as stated, and followed a predatory and 
lawless life iu the neighborhood of his related 
tribes, for which the Sioux were themselves blamed. 

The depredations of these Indians becoming in- 
suCferable, and the settlers finding themselves suf- 
ficiently strong, deprived them of their gims and 
drove them from the neighborhood. Eecovering 
some of their guns, or, by other accounts, digging 
up a few old ones which they had buried, they 
proceeded to the settlement of Spirit Lake and 
demanded food. This appears to have been given 
to a portion of the band which had first arrived, 
to the extent of the means of those applied to. 
Soon after, Inkpaduta, with the remainder of his 
followers, who, in all, numbered twelve men and 
two boys, with some women who had hngered be- 
hind, came in and demanded food also. The set- 
tler gave him to understand that he had no more 



182 



niSrORT OF THE SIOVX MASSACRE. 



to give; wbereupon Inkpaduta Bpoke to his eldest 
Bon to the effect that it was disgracerul to ask 
these people for food which they ought to take 
themselves, and not to have it thrown to them like 
dogs. Thus assured, the son immediately shot the 
man, and the murder of the whole family fol- 
lowed. From thence they proceeded from house, 
to house, until every family in the settlement, 
without warning of those previously slain, were 
all massacred, except four women, whom they bore 
away prisoners, and afterward violated, with cir- 
cumstances of brutality so abhorrent as to find uo 
parallel in the annals of savage barbarity, unless 
we except the massacre of 1862, whicli occurred a 
few years later. 

From Spirit Lake the murderers proceeded to 
Springfield, at the outlet of Shetek, or Pelican 
lake, near the head waters of the Des Moines 
river; where they remained encamped for some 
days, trading with Mr. William Wood from Man- 
kato, and his brothers. Here .tbey succeeded in 
killing seventeen, including the Woods, making, 
in all, forty-seven persons, when the men rallied, 
and tiring upon them, tbey retreated and deserted 
that part of the country. Of tba four women 
taken captives by Inkpaduta, Mrs. Stevens and 
Mrs. Noble were killed by the Indians, and Mrs. 
Marble and Miss Gardner were rescued by the 
Wapaton Sioux, under a promisa of reward from 
the Government, and for which the three Indians 
who brought in these captives received each one 
thousand dollars. 

The Government liad required of the Sioux the 
delivery of Inkpaduta and bis band as the condi- 
tion for the payment of their annuities. This was 
regarded by certain of the bauds as a great wrong 
visited upon the innocent for the crimes of the 
guilty. One of their speakers (Mazakuti Mani), 
in a council held with the Sissetons and Wapatous, 
August 10, 1S57, at Yellow Medicine, said: 

"The soldiers have appointed me to speak for 
them. The men who killed the white people did 
not belong to us, and we did not expect to be called 
upon to account for the deeds of another band. 
We have always tried to do as our Great Father 
tells us. One of our young men brought in a 
captive woman. I went out and brought in the 
other. The soldiers came up here and our men 
assisted to Jdll one of Inkpaduta's sons at this 
place. The lower Indians did not get ujd the war- 
party for you; it was our Indians, the Wapatons 
and Sissetons. The soldiers here say that they 



were told by you that a thousand dollars would 
be paid for killing each of the murderers. We, 
with the men who went out, want to be paid for 
what we have done. Three men were killed, as 
we know. ***** AH of us want our 
money very much. A man of another band has 
done wrong, and we are to suffer for it. Our old 
women and children are hungry for this. I have 
seen S10,000 sent here to pay for our going out. 
I wish our soldiers were paid for it. I suppo.se 
our Great Father has more money than this." 

Major PritcUette, the special government agent, 
thought it necessary to answer some points made 
by Mazakuti Mani, and spoke, in council, as fol- 
lows: 

"Your Great Father has sent me to see Suppr- 
intendent Cullen, and to say to him he was well 
satisfied with bis conduct, because he had acted ac- 
cording to his instructions. Your Great Father 
bad heard that some of his white children had been 
cruelly and brutally murdered by some of the 
Sioux nation. The news was sent on the wings of 
the lightning, from the extreme north to the land 
of eternal summer, throughout which his children 
dwell. His young men wished to make war on 
the whole Sioux nation, and revenge the deaths of 
their brethren. But your Great Father is a just 
father and wishes to treat all his children alike 
Avith justice. He wants no innocent man punished 
for the guilty. He punishes the guilty alone. Ho 
expects that those missionaries who have been here 
teac! iag you the laws of the Great Spirit had 
taught you this. Whenever a Sioux is injured by 
a wliite man your Great Father will punish him, 
and expecis from the chiefs and warriors of the 
gi'eat Sioux nation that they will punish those In- 
dians who injure the whites. He considers the 
Si mx as a part of his family; and as friends and 
brothers he expeots them to do as the whites do to 
tham. He kuow.s that the Sioux nation is divided 
into bands; but he knows also how they can all 
band together for common protection. Ho expects 
the nation to punish these m;irJerers, or to deliver 
them up. He expects this because they are his 
friends. As long as these murderers remain un- 
punished or not delivered up, they are not acting 
as friends of their Great Father. It is for this 
reason that ho has witheld the annuity. Y''our 
(i.eat Father will have his white children p.o- 
teoted; <ind all who have told you that your Great 
Father is not able to punish those who injure them 
will find themselves bitterly mistaken. Your 



REPORT OF SPECIAL AGENT. 



183 



Great Father desires to do good to all lais children 
and will do all in his power to accomplish it; but 
he is firmly resolved to punish all who do wrong." 

After this, another similar council, SejDtember 1, 
1857, was held with the Sisseton and Wapaton 
band of Upper Sioux at Yellow Medicine. Agent 
Flandran, in the meantime, had succeeded in or- 
ganizing a band of warriors, made up of all the 
"annuity" bands, under Little Crow. This expe- 
dition numbered altogether one hundred and six, 
besides four half-breeds. This party went out af- 
ter Inkpaduta on the 22d of July, 1857, starting 
from Yellow Medicine. 

Oa the 5th of August Major Pritchette reported 
to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, "That the 
party of Indians, rejiresenting the entire Sioux na- 
tion, under the nominal head of Little Crow, re- 
turned yesterday from the expedition in search of 
Inkpaduta and his band," after an absence of thir- 
teen days. 

As this outlaw, Inkpaduta, has achieved an im- 
mortality of infamy, it may be allowable in the 
historian to record the names of his followers. In- 
kpaduta (Scarlet Point) heads the hst, and the 
names of the eleven men are given by the wife of 
Tateyahe, who was killed by the party of Sioux 
under Little Crow, thus: Tateyahe (Shifting 
Wind); Makpeahoteman (Roaring Cloud), son of 
Inkpaduta, killed at Yellow Medicine; Makpiope- 
ta (Fire Cloud), twin brother of Makpeohotoman; 
Tawachshawakan (His Mysterious Feather), killed 
in the late expedition; Bahata (Old Man); Kech- 
omon (Putting on as He Walks); Huhsan (One 
Leg); Kahadai (Rattling), son-in-law of Inkpa- 
duta; I'etoa-tanka (Big Face); Tatelidashinksha- 
mani (One who Makes Crooked Wind as He 
Walks); Tachanchegahota (His Great Gun), and 
the two boys, children of Inkpaduta, not named. 

After the band had been pursued by Little 
Crow into Lake Chouptijatanka (Big Dry Wood), 
distant twenty miles in a northwestern direction 
from Skuuk Lake, and three of them killed out- 
right, wounding one, taking two women and a 
little child prisoners, the Indians argued that they 
had done sufficient to merit the payment of their 
annuities; and on the 18th of August, 1854, Maj. 
Cullen telegraphed the following to the Hon. J. 
W. Denver, commissioner of Indian affaire: 

"If the department concurs, I am of the opinion 
that the Sioux of the Mississippi, having done all 
in their power to punish or surrender Inkpaduta 
and his band, their annuities may with propriety 



be paid, as a signal to the military movements 
from Ports Ridgely and Randall. The special 
agent from the department waits an answer to 
this dispatch at Dunleith, and for instructions in 
the premises." 

In this opinion Major Pritchette, in a letter of 
the same date, concurred, for reasons therein 
stated, and transmitted to, the department. In 
this letter, among other things, the wi-iter says : 

"No encouragement was given to them that 
such a request would be granted. It is the 
opinion, however, of Superintendent Cullen, the 
late agent. Judge Flandrau, Governor Medary, 
and the general intelligent sentiment, that the an- 
nuities may now with propriety, be paid, without 
a violation of the spirit of the expressed deter- 
mination of the department to withhold them until 
the murderers of Spirit Lake should be surren- 
dered or punished. It is argued that the present 
friendly disposition of the Indians is manifest, and 
should not be endangered by subjecting them to 
the wants incident to their condition during the 
coming winter, and the consequent temptation to 
depredation, to which the withholding their 
money would leave them exposed." 

The major yielded this point for the reasons 
stated, yet he continued: 

"If not improper for me to express an opinion, I 
am satisfied that, without chastising the whole 
Sioux nation, it is impossible to enforce the sur- 
render of Inkpaduta and the remainder of his 
band." * * •* "Nothing less than the entire 
extirpation of Inkpaduta's murderous outlaws will 
satisfy the justice and dignity of the government, 
and vindicate outraged humanity." 

We here leave the Inkjoaduta massacre, remark- 
ing only that the government paid the Indians 
their annuities, and made no further effort to bring 
to condign punishment the remnant who had 
escaped -alive from the piirsuit of Little Crow and 
his soldiers. This was a great error on the part 
of our government. The Indians construed it 
either as an evidence of weakness, or that tie 
whites were afraid to pursue the matter further, 
lest it might terminate in still more disastrous re- 
sults to the infant settlement of the state border- 
ing upon the Indian country. The resiUt was, 
the Indians became more insolent than ever be- 
fore. Little Crow and his adherents had found 
capital out of which to foment future difficulties 
in which the two races should become involved. 
And it is now believed, and subsequent circum- 



184 



niSTOBT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



stances have greatly strengthened that belief, that 
Little Crow, from the time the government ceased 
its efforts to punish Inkpaduta, began to agitate 
his great scheme of driving the whites from the 
state of Minnesota; a scheme which finally cul- 
minated in the ever-to-be-remembcred massacre of 
August, A. D. 1862. 

The antecedent exciting causes of this massacre 
are numerous. The displaced agents and traders 
find the cause in the erroneous action of the Gov- 
ernment, resulting in their removal from office. 
The statesman and the pbilosopber may unite in 
tracing the cause to improper theories as to the 
mode of acquiring the right to Indian lands. 
The former may locate the evil in our system of 
treaties, and the latter in our theories of goveru- 
meut. The philanthropist may find the cause in 
the absence of justice which we exhibit in all our 
intercourse with the Indian races. The poet and 
the lovers of romance in human character find the 
true cause, as they believe, in the total absence of 
all appreciation of the noble, generous, confiding 
traits peculiar to the native Indian. The Chris- 
tian teacher finds apologies for acts of Indian 
atrocities in the deficient systems of mental and 
moral culture. Each of these different classes 
are satisfied that the great massacre of August, 
1862, had its origin in some way intimately con- 
nected with his favorite theory. 

Let us, for a moment, look at the facts, in rela- 
tion to the two races who had come into close con- 
tact with each other, and in the light ot these 
facts, judge of the probable cause of this fearful 
collision. The white race, some two hundred 
years ago, had entered upon the material conquest 
of the American continent, armed with all the ap- 
pliances for its complete subjugation. On the 
shores of this prolific continent these new ele- 
ments came in contact with a race ot savages with 
many of the traits peculiar to a common human- 
ity, yet, with these, exhibiting all, or nearly all, 
the vices of the most barbarous of savage races. 
The period of occupancy of this broad, fertile 
land was lost in the depths of a remote antiquity. 
The culture of the soil, if ever understood, had 
been long neglected by this race, and the chase 
was their principal mode of gaining a scanty subi- 
sistence. It had lost all that ennobled man, and 
was alive only to all his degradations. The white 
man was at once acknowledged, the Indian being 
judge, superior to the savage race with which he 
had come in contact. 



Here, then, is the first cause, in accordance with 
a universal principle, in which the conflict of the 
two races had its origin. It was a conflict of 
knowledge with ignorance, of right with wrong. 
If this conflict were only mental, and the weapons 
of death had never been resorted to in a single 
instance, the result would have been the same. 
The inferior race must either recede before the su- 
perior, or sink into the common mass, and, like the 
raindrops falling upon the bosom of the ocean, 
lose all traces of distinction. This warfare takes 
place the world over, on the principle of mental 
and material progress. The presence ot the supe- 
rior light eclipses the inferior, and cau.ses it to 
retire. Mind makes aggression upon mind, and 
the superior, sooner or later, overwhelms the infe- 
rior. This process may go on, with or without 
the conlliot of physical organisms. The final 
result will be the same. 

Again, we come to the great law of right. The 
white race stood upon this undeveloped continent 
ready and willing to execute the Divine injunc- 
tion, to replenish the earth and subdue it. On the 
one side stood the white race armed with his law ; 
ou the other the savage, resisting the execution of 
that law. The result could not be evaded by any 
human device. In the case before us, the Indian 
races were in the wrongful possession of a conti- 
nent required by the superior right of the white 
man. This right, founded in the wisdom of God, 
eliminated by the ever-operative laws of progress, 
will continue to assert its dominion, with varying 
success, contingent on the use of means employed, 
until all opposition is hushed in the perfect reign 
of the superior aggressive principle. 

With these seemingly necessary reflections, we 
introduce the remarks of the Sioux agent touching 
the antecedents oE the great massacre, unparalleltd 
in the history of the conflict of the races. The 
agent gives his peculiar views, and they are worthy 
of careful consideration. 

Major Thomas Galbraith, Sioux Agent, says: 

"The radical, moving cause ot the outbreak is, 
I am satisfied, the ingrained and fixed hostility of 
the savage barbarian to reform and civilization. 
As in aU barbarous communities, in the history of 
the world, the same people have, for the most part, 
resisted the encroachments of civilization upon 
their ancient customs; so it is in the case before 
us. Nor does it matter materially in what shape 
civilization makes its attack. Hostile, opposing 
forces meet in conflict, and a war of social elements 



VIEWS OF MAJOR OALBliAITH. 



18S 



is the result — civilization is aggressive, and bar- 
barism stubbornly resistant. Sometimes, indeed, 
civilization has achieved a bloodless victory, but 
generally it has been otherwise. Christianity, it- 
self, the trae basis of civilization, has, in most in- 
stances, •waded to success through seas of blood. 
* * * Having stated thus much, I state as a 
settled fact in my mind, that the encroachments of 
Christianity, and its handmaid, civilization, uj^on 
the habits and customs of the Sioux Indians, is 
the cause of the late terrible Sioux outbreak. There 
were, it is true, many immediate inciting causes, 
which will be alluded to and stated hereafter, but 
they are subsidiary to, and developments of, or 
incident to, the great cause set forth. * * * 
But that the recent Sioux outbreak would have 
happened at any rate, as a result, a fair conse- 
quence of the cause here stated, I have no more 
doubt than I doubt that the great rebellion to 
overthrow our Government would have occurred 
had Mr. Lincoln never been elected President of 
the United States. 

" Now as to the existing or immediate causes of 
the outbreak: By my predecessor a new and 
radical system was inaugurated, practically, and, 
in its inauguration, he was aided by the Christian 
missionaries and by the Government. The treaties 
of 1858 were ostensibly made to carry this new 
system into effect. The theory, in substance, 'wss 
to break up the community -system which prevailed 
among the Sioux; weaken and destroy their 
tribal relations, and individualize tliem, by giving 
them each a separate home. * * * On the 
1st day of June, A. D. 1861, when I entered upon 
the duties of my office, I found that the system 
had just been inaugurated. Some hundred fami- 
lies of the Annuity Sioux had become novitiates, 
and their relatives and friends seemed to be favor- 
ably disposed to the new order of things. But I 
also found that, against these, were arrayed over 
live thousand "Annuity Sioux," besides at least 
three thousand Tanktonais, all inflamed by the 
most bitter, relentless, and devilish hostility. 

" I saw, to some extent, the difficulty of the 
situation, but I determined to continue, if in my 
power, the civilization system. To favor it, to aid 
and build it up by every fair means, I advised, 
encouraged, and assisted the farmer novitiates; in 
short, I sustained the poUoy inaugurated by my 
predecessor, and sustained and recommended by the 
Government. I soon discovered tliat the system 
could not be successful without a sufficient force 



to protect the "farmer" from the hostility of the 
"blanket Indians." 

"During my term, and up to the time of the out- 
break, about one hundred and seventy-five had 
their hair cut and had adopted the habits and cus- 
toms of white men. 

" For a time, indeed, my hopes were strong that 
civilization would soon be in the ascendant. But 
the increase of the civilization party and their evi- 
dent prosperity, only tended to exasperate the In- 
dians of the 'ancient customs,' and to widen the 
breach. But while these are to be enumerated, it 
may be permitted me to hope that the radical 
cause will not be forgotten or overlooked; and I 
am bold to express this desire, because, ever since 
the outbreak, the public journals of the country, 
religious and secular, have teemed with editorials 
by and communications from 'reliable individuals,' 
politicians, philanthropists, philosophers and hired 
'penny-a-liners,' mostly mistaken and sometimes 
willfully and grossly false, giving the cause of the 
Indian raid." 

Major Galbraith enumerates a variety of other 
exciting causes of the massacre, which our limit 
will not allow us to insert in this volume. Among 
other causes, * * that the United States was 
itself at war, and that Washington was taken by 
the negroes. * * But none of these were, in 
his opinion, the cause of the outbreak. 

The Major then adds: 

"Grievances such as have been related, and 
numberless others akin to them, were spoken of, 
recited, and chanted at their councils, dances, and 
feasts, to such an extent that, in their excitement, 
in June, 1862, a secret organization known as the 
' Soldier's Lodge,' was founded by the young 
men and soldiers of the Lower Sioux, with the 
object, as far as I was able to learn through spies 
and informers, of preventing the 'traders' from 
going to the pay-tables, as had been their custom. 
Since the outbreak I have become satisfied that 
the real object of this 'Lodge' was to adopt 
measures to 'clean out' all the white people at the 
end Qf the payment." 

Whatever may have been the cause of the fear- 
ful and bloody tragedy, it is certain that the man- 
ner of the execution of the infernal deed was a 
deep-laid conspiracy, long cherished by Little 
Crow, taking form under the guise of the " Sol- 
diers' Lodge," and matured in secret Indian coun- 
cils. In all these secret movements Little Crow 
was the moving spirit. 



186 



IIISTORT OF TUB SIOUX ilASSACllE. 



Now the (ipjiortune moment seemed to have 
come. Only tliirty soldiers were stationed at Fort 
Ridgely. Some thirty were all that Fort Ripley 
could muster, and at Fort Abercrombie one com- 
pany, under Captain Van Der Hork, was all the 
whites could depend upon to repel any attack iu 
that quarter. The whole effective force for th;- 
defense of the entire frontier, from Pembina to the 
Iowa line, djd not exceed two hundred men. The 
annuity money was daily expected, and no troops 
except about one hundred men at Yellow Medi- 
cine, had been detailed, as usual, to attend the an- 
ticipated payment. Here was a glittering prize to 
be paraded before the minds of the excited sav- 
ages. The whites were weak; they were engaged 
in a terrible war among themselves; their atten- 
tion was now directed toward the great struggle 
in the Soiitli. At such a time, offering so many 
chances for rapine and plunder, it would be easj' 
to unite, at least, all the annuity Indians in one 
common movement. Little Crow knew full well 
that the Indians could easily be made to believe 
that now was a favorable time to make a grand 
attack upon the border settlements. In view of all 
the favorable auspices now concurring, a famous 
Indian coimcil was called, which was fully attended 
by the " Soldiers' Lodge." Rev. S. R. Riggs, iu 
his late work, 1880, ("Mary. and I"); referring to 
the outbrejik, says: 

"On \ug\ist 17th, the outbreak was commenced 
in the border whits settlements at Acton, Minne- 
sota. Tliat night the news was carried to the 
Lower Sioux Agency, and a council of war was 
called." * * * "Sometliing of the kind had 
been meditated and talked of, and prepared for 
undoubtedly. Some time before this, they had 
formed tlie Tce-yo-tee-pee, or Soldiers' Lodge." 

A memorable council, convened at Little Crow's 
village, near the Lower Agency, on Sunday night 
previous to the attack on Fort Ridgely, and pre- 
cisely two weeks before the first massacres at Ac- 
ton. Little Crow was at this council, and he was 
not wanting in ability to meet the greatness of 
the occasion. The proceedings of this council, of 
course, were secret. Some of the results arrived 
at, however, have since come to the writer of these 
pages. The council matured the details of a con- 
spiracy, which for atrocity has hitherto never 
found a place in recorded history, not excepting 
that of Cawnpore. 

The evidence of that conspiracy comes to us, in 
part, from the relation of one who was present at 



the infamous council. Comparing the statement 
of the narrative with the known occurrences of 
the times, that council preceded the attack on the 
Government stores at the Upper Agency, and waB 
convened on Sunday night; the attack on the 
Upper Agency took place the next day, Monday, 
the 4th of August; and on the same day, an at- 
tempt was made to take Fort Ridgely by strategy. 
Not the slightest danger was anticipated. Only 
thirty soldiers occupied the post at Fort Ridgelv 
and this was deemed iimply sufficient in times of 
peace. But we will not longer detain the reader 
from the denouement of this horrible plot. 

Our informant states the evidences of the de- . 
crees of the council of the 3d of August, thus: 

"I was looking toward the Agency and saw a 
large body of men Coming toward the fort, and 
supposed them soldiers returning from the pay- 
ment at Yellow Medicine. On a second look, I 
observed they were mounted, and knowing, at this 
time, that they must be Indians, was surprised at 
seeing so large a body, as they were not expected. 
I resolved to go into the garrison to see what it 
meant, having, at the time, not the least suspicion 
that the Indians intended any hostile demonstr i- 
tion. When I arrived at the garrison, I toui.d 
Sergeant Jones at the entrance with a mounted 
howitzer, charged with shell and canister-shot, 
pointed towards the Indians, who were removed 
but a short distance from the guard house. I 
inquired of the sergeant what it meant? whether 
any danger was apprehended? He replied indif- 
ferentlj-, "No, but that he thought it a good rule 
tT observe that a soldier should always be ready 
for any emergency." 

These Indians had requested the privilege to 
dance in the inclosure surrounding the fort. On 
this occasion that request was refused them. But 
I saw that, about sixty yards west of the guard 
house, the Indians were m:iking the necessary 
preparations for a dance. I thought nothing of it 
as they had frequently done the same thing, but a 
little further removed from the fort, under some- 
what different circumstances. I considered it a 
singular exhibition of Indian foolishness, and, at 
the solicitation of a few ladies, went out and wr.s 
myself a spectator of the dance. 

"When the dance was concluded, the Indians 
.sought aud obtained permission to encamp on 
some rising ground about a quarter of a mile west 
of the trrirrison. To this ground they soon re- 
[laired, and encamped for the night. The next 



EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRAGY. 



187 



mo.-uing, by 10 o'clock, all had left the vicinity of 
the garrison, departing in the direction of the 
Lower Agency. This whole matter of the dance 
was so conducted as to lead most, if not all, the 
residents of the garrison to believe that the In- 
dians had paid them that visit for the purpose of 
dancing and obtaining provisions for a feast. 

"Some things were observable that were unu- 
sual. The visitors were all warriors, ninety-six in 
number, all in undress, except a very few who wore 
calico shirts; and, in addition to this, they all car- 
ried arms, guns and tomahawks, with ammunition 
pouches suspended around their shoulders. Pre- 
vious to the dance, the war implements were de- 
posited some two hundred yards distant, where 
they had left -their ponies. But even this circum- 
Bi'ance, so far as it was tben known, excited no 
suspicion of danger or hostilities in the minds of 
the residents of the garrison. These residents 
were thiity-five men; thirty soldiers and five citi- 
zens, with a few women and children. The guard 
that day consisted of three soldiers; one waswalk- 
uig leisurely to and fro in front of the guard- 
h;mse; the other two were off duty, passing about 
an "■ taking their rest; and all entirely without aji- 
prehcnsion of danger from Indians or any other 
foe. As the Indians left the garrison without do- 
ing any mischief, most of us supposed that no evil 
was meditated by them. But there was one man 
who acted on the supposition that there was al- 
v.ays danger surrounding a garrison when visited 
by savages; that man was Sergeant Jones. From 
t':e time he took his position at the gun he never 
left it, but acted as he said he believed it best to 
do, that was to be always ready. He not only re- 
mained at the gun himself, but retained tw'o other 
men, whom he had previously trained as assistants 
to work the piece. 

"Shortly before dark, without disclosing his in- 
tentions. Sergeant Jones said to his wife: 'I have 
a little business to attend to to-night; at bed-time 
I wish you to retire, and not to wait for me.' As 
he had frequently done this before, to discharge 
some official duty at the quartermaster's office, she 
thought it not singular, but did as he had re- 
quested, and retired at the usual hour. On awak- 
ening in the morning, however, she was surprised 
at finding that he was not there, and had not been 
in bed. In truth, this faithful soldier had stood 
by bis gun throughout the entire night, ready to 
fire, if occasion required, at any moment during 
that time; nor could he be per ,uaded to leave that 



gun until all this party of Indians had entirely 
disappeared from the vicinity of the garrison. 

"Some two weeks after this time, those same In- 
dians, with others, attacked Fort Ridgely and, af- 
ter some ten days' siege, the gnrrison was relieved 
by the arrival of soldiers under Colonel H. H Sib- 
ley. The second day after Colonel Sibley arrived, 
a Frenchman of pure or mixed blood appeared 
before Sergeant Jones, in a very agitated manner, 
and intimated that he had some disclosures to 
make to him; but no sooner Lad he made this in- 
timation than he became extremely and violently 
agitated, and seemed to be in a perfect agony of 
mental perturbation. Sergeant Jones said to him, 
'If you have anything to disclose, you ought, at 
once, to make it known.' The man repeated that 
he had disclosures to make, but that he did not 
dare to make them; and although Sergeant Jones 
urged him by every oonside}ation in his power to 
tell what he knew, the man seemed to be so com- 
pl( tely under the dominion of terror, that he was 
rmable to divulge the great secret. 'Why,' said 
he, 'they will kill me; they will kill my wife and 
children.' Saying which he turned and w;il . 
away. 

"Shortly after the first interview, this man i 
turned to Sergeant Jones, when again the S. 
geant urged him to disclose what he knew; ai. 
promised him that if he would do so, he would 
keep his name a j^rofound secret forever; that if 
the information which he should disclose should 
lead to the detection and punishment of the giulfy 
the name of the informant should n, ver be mi.de 
known. Being thus assured, the Frenchman soon 
became more calm. Hesitating a moment, he in- 
quired of Sergeant Jones if he remembered that, 
some two weeks ago, a party of Indians came 
down to the fort to have a dance? Sergeant 
Jones replied that he did. 'Why,' said the French- 
man, 'do you know that these Indians were aU 
warriors of Little Crow, or some of the other lower 
bands ? Sir, these Indians had all been selected 
for the purpose, and came down to Fort Eidgel> 
by the express command of Little Crow and thi. 
other chiefs, to get permission to dance; and when 
all suspicion should be completely lulled, in the 
midst of the dance, to seize their weapons, kill 
every person in the fort, seize the big guns, open 
the magazine, and secure the ammuuifion, when 
they should be joined by all the remaining war- 
riors of the lower bands. Thus armed, and in- 
creased by numbers, they were to proceed together 



188 



HISTOHr OF TUB SIOUX MASSACRE. 



down the valley of the Minnesota. With this 
force and these weapons they were assured they 
could drive every white man beyond the Missis- 
sippi.' 

"All this, the Frenchman informed Sergeant 
Jones, he had learned by being present at a coun- 
cU, and from conversations had with other Indians, 
who bad told him that they had gone to the gar- 
rison for that very purpose. When he had con- 
cluded this revelation, Sergeant Jones inquired, 
'Why did they not execute their purpose? Why 
did they not take the fort?' The Frenchman re- 
phed: -Because they saw, during all their dance, 
and then stay at the fort, that big gun constantly 
pointed at them.' " 

Interpreter Quinn, now dead, told the narrator 
of the foregoing incidents that Little Crow had 
said, repeatedly, in their councils, that the Indians 
could kiU all the white men in the Minnesota Val- 
ley. In this way, he said, we can get all our lands 
back; that the whites would again want these lands, 
and that they could get double annuities. Some 
of the councils at which these suggestions of Lit- 
tle Crow were made, dated, he said, as far back as 
the summer of 1857, immediately after the Ink- 
paduta war. 

On the 17th day of August, 1862, Little Crow, 
Inkpaduta, and Little Priest, the latter one of the 
Winnebago chiefs, attended church at the Lower 
Agency, and seemed to listen attentively to the 
services, conducted by the Eev. J. D. Hinman. 
On the afternoon ot that day Little Crow invited 
these Indians to his house, a short distance above 
the Agency. On the same day an Indian council 
was held at Eice Creek, sixteen miles above the 
Lower Agency, attended by the Soldiers' Lodge. 
Inkpaduta, it ia believed, and Little Priest, with 
some thirteen Winnebago warriors, attended this 
council. Why this council was held, and what 
was its object, can easily be imagined. The de- 
crees of the one held two weeks before had not been 
executed. The reason why the fort was not taken 
has been narrated. The other part of the same 
sclieme, the taking of the agency at the Yellow 
Medicine, on the same day the fort was to have 
fallen, will be alluded to in another chapter. It 
then became necessary for the conspirators to hold 
another council, to devise new plans for the exe- 
cution of their nefarious designs upon the whites. 

The Acton tragedy, forty miles distant, had taken 
place but a few hours before this council was con- 
vened. On Monday, the 18th of August, these 



Acton murderers were seen at the miU on Crow 
river, six miles from Hutchinson, with the team 
taken from Acton; so that these Indians did not 
go to the Lower Agency, but remained in th( 
country about Hutchinson. One of the number 
only returned to the Agency by the next morning 
after the council at Rice Creek had been held. 
AU that followed in the bloody drama, originated 
at this council of Death, over which Little Crow 
presided, on Sunday afternoon, the 17th day of 
August, 1862, on the evening of the same day of 
the Acton murders. The general massacre of all 
white men was by order ot this council, to com- 
mence at the Agency, on the morning of the 18th, 
and at as many other points, simultaneously, as 
could be reached by the dawn of day, radiating 
from that point as a center. The advantage 
gained by the suddenness of the attack, and the 
known panic that would result, was to be followed 
up until every settlement was massacred, Fort 
Ridgely taken, both Agencies burned. New Ulm, 
Mankato, St. Peter, and all the towns on the river 
destroyed, the whole country plundered and devas- 
tated, and as many of the inhabitants as were left 
alive were to be driven beyond the Mississippi 
river. The decree of this savage council, matured 
on a Christian Sabbath, by Indians, who were sup- 
posed to be civilized, so immediately after atten- 
tively listening to the gospel of peace, filled the 
measure of the long-cherished conspiracy matured 
by Little Crow, until it was full of the most hope- 
ful results to his polluted and brutal nature. 
"Once an Indian, always an Indian," seems in this 
instance to have been horribly demonstrated. 



CHAPTER XSXn. 



Change of Indian officials — patsient of 1861 — 
bepokt or agent galbbaith — tjppeb and 
lower bands — supplies attack on the ware- 
house renville kangeks return to fort 

EIDGELT. 

The change in the administration of the Grov- 
ernment in 1861, resulting, as it did, in a general 
change in the minor offices throughout the coun- 
try, carried into retirement Major William J. Cul- 
len. Superintendent ot Indian Affairs for the 
Northern Superintendency, and Major Joseph K. 
Brown, Agent for the Sioux, whose places were 
filled respectively by Colonel Clark W. Thomp- 
son and Major Thomas J. Galbraith. Colonel 



MAJOR GALBRAITWS REPORT. 



189 



Thompson entered upon the duties of his office in 
May of that year, and Major Galbraith on the 
first day of June. In that month the new agent 
and many of the new employes, with their fami- 
lies, took up their residence on the reservations. 

These employes, save a few young men who 
were employed as laborers, were, with two excep- 
tions, men of families, it being the policy of the 
agent to employ among the Indians as few un- 
married men as possible. 

During that year nothing occurred on the res- 
ervations of an unusual character more than the 
trouble with which the Agents had always to deal 
at every semi-annual gathering at the Agencies. 
We say "semi-annual," because they came in the 
summer to draw their annuities, and again in the 
autumn tor their winter supply of goods. 

It has been usual at the payment of annuities 
to have a small force of troops to guard against 
any xintoward event which might otherwise occur. 
The payment to the lower bands, in 1861, was 
made in the latter part of June, and to the upper 
bands about the middle of July. These pay- 
ments were made by Superintendent Thompson 
in person. 

The Sisseton bands came down to the Agency 
at a very early day, as had always been their 
habit, long before the arrival of the money, 
bringing with them a large body of Yanktonais 
(not annuity Sioux), who always came to the 
payments, claiming a right to a share of the an 
nuities issued to the Indians, 

These wild hunters of the plains were an un- 
failing element of trouble at the payments to the 
upper bands. At this last payment they were in 
force, and by their troublesome conduct, caused a 
delay of some days in the making of the payments. 
Tlus was, however, no unusual occurrence, as they 
always came with a budget of grievances, upon 
which they were wont to dilate in council. This 
remark is equally true of the annuity Indians. 
Indeed, it would be very strange if a payment 
could be made without a demand, on the part of 
the "yoimg men," for three or four times the 
amount of their annual dues. 

These demands were usually accompanied by 
overt acts of violence; yet the j^aymentwas made; 
and this time, after the payment, all departed to 
their village at Big Stone Laka They came 
again in the fall, drew their supply of goods, and 
went quietly away. 

It so turned out, however, that the new agent, 



Galbraith, came into office too late to insure a large 
crop that year. He says: 

"The autumn of 1861 closed upon us rather un- 
favorably. The crojjs were light; especially was 
this the case with the Upper Sioux ; they had little 
or nothing. As heretofore communicated to the 
Department, the cut-worms destroyed aU the 
Sisetons, and greatly injured the crop of the 
Wapatons, Medawakantons, Wapakutas. For 
these latter I purchased on credit, in anticipation 
of the Agricultural and Civilization Funds, large 
quantities of pork and flour, ut current rates, to 
support them during the winter. 

"Early in the autumn, in view of the necessitous 
situation of the Sisetons, I made a requisition on 
the department for the sum of $5,000, out of the 
special fund for the relief of 'poor and destitute 
Indians;' and, in anticipation of receiving this 
money, made arrangements to fe:d the old and in- 
firm men, and the women and children of these 
people. I directed the Rev. S. R. Riggs to make 
the selection, and furnish me a list. 

"He carefully did this, and we fed, in an econ- 
omical, yea, even parsimonious way, about 1,500 
of these people from the middle of December until 
nearly the first of April. We had hoped to get 
them off on their spring hunt earlier, but a tre- 
mendous and unprecedented snow-storm during 
the last days of February prevented. 

"In response to my requisition, I received 
$3,000, and expended very nearly $5,000, leaving 
a deficiency not properly chargable to the regular 
funds, of about $2,000. ' 

"These people, it is believed, must have per- 
ished had it not been for this scanty assistance. 
In addition to this, the regular issues were made 

to the farmer Indians in payment for their labor. 
**** * m ^ * Hi 

"In the month of August, 1861, the superinten- 
dents of farms were directed to have ploughed 'in 
the fall,' in the old public and neglected private 
fields, a sufficient quantity of land to provide 
'plantings' for such Indians as could not be pro- 
vided with oxen and implements. In jmrsuance 
of this direction, there were ploughed, at rates 
ranging from $1.50 to $2,00 per acre, ac- 
cording to the nature of the work, by teams and 
men hired for the purpose, for the Lower Sioux, 
about 500 acres, and for the Upper Sioux, about 
475 acres. There were, also, at the same time, 
ploughed by the farmer Indians and the depart- 
ment teams, about 250 acres for the Lower, and 



190 



BI STORY OF rUE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



nbout 325 acres for the Upper Sioux. This fall 
ploughing was continued until the frost prevented 
its further prosecution. It was done to facilitate 
the work of the agrionltural department, and to 
kill the worms which had proved so injurious the 
previous year. * * * 

"The carp?nter-shops at both Agencies were 
Bupphed with lumber for the manufacture and re- 
pair of sleds, wagons, and other farming utensils. 
Sheds were erected for the ])rotectioii of the cattle 
and utensils of the depertment, and the farmer 
Indians, assisted by the department carpenters, 
erected stables, pens, and out-houses for the pro- 
tection of their catt-'e, hoi-ses and utensils. * '' 
Hay, grain, and other supplies were provided, 
and, in short, every thing was done which the 
means at command of the agent would justify. 

"The work of the autiunn bc>ing thus closed, I 
set about making preparations for the work of the 
next spring and summer, and in du'ectiug the 
work of the winter. I made calculations to erect, 
during the summer and autumn of 1862, at least 
lit'ty dwelling-houses for Indian families, at an 
estimated average cost of S'300 each; and also to 
aid the farmer Indians in erecting as many ad- 
ditional dwellings as possible, not to exceed thirty 
or forty; and to have planted for the Lower 
Sioux, at least 1,200 acres, and for the Upper 
Sioux, at least 1 ,300 acres of crops, and to have 
all the land planted, exsept that at Big Stone 
L;ike, inclosed by a fence. 

"To carry out these calculations, early in the 
the winter the superintendents of farms, the black- 
smiths, the carpenters, and the superintendents of 
schools wore directed to furnish estimates for the 
amount of agricultural implem^nt^, hor.ses, oxen, 
wagons, carts, bnilJiug material, iron, steel, tools, 
and supplies needed to carry on successfully their 
several departments for one year from the open- 
ing of navigation in the sjiring of 1SG2. 

"These estimates were prepared and furnished 
me about the 1st of February. In accordance 
with these estimates, I proceeded to purchase, in 
open market, the articles and supplies recommend- 
ed. 

"I made the estimates for one year, and pur- 
chases accordingly, in order to secure the benefit 
of transportation by water in the spring, and thus 
avoid the delays, vexations, and extra expense of 
transportation by land in the fall. Tlie bulk of 
purchases were made with the distinct undenstand- 
ind that payment would be made out of the funds 



belonging to the quarter in which the goods, im- 
plements, or supplies, were expended." 

"Thus it will be seen that, in the spring of 1862, 
there was on hand supplies and material sufficient 
to carry us through the coming year. * * * 
Thu."!, to all appearance, the spring season opened 
propitiously. * * * To carry out my original 
design of having as much as possible planted for 
the Indians at Big Stone Lake and Lac qui Parle 
as early in the month of May, 1862, as the condi- 
tion of the swollen streams would permit, I visited 
Lac qui Parle and Big Stone Lake, going as far 
as North Island, in Lake Traverse, having with 
me Antoine Freniere, United States Interpreter, 
Dr. J. L. Wakefield, physician of the Upper Sio>ix, 
and Nelson Givens, assistant Agent. At Lac qui 
Parle I found the Indians wiDing and anxious to 
plant. I inquired into their condition and wants, 
and made arrangements to have them supplied 
with seeds and imj)lements, and directed Amos W. 
Huggins, the school teacher there, to aid and in- 
struct them in their work, and to make proper 
distribulion of the seeds and implements furnished, 
and placed at his disposal an ox-team and wagon 
and two breaking-teams, with instructions to de- 
vote his whole time and attention to the superin- 
tendence and instruction of the resident Indians 
during the planting season, and until the crops 
were cultivated and safely harvested. 

"I also found the Indians at Big Stone Lake and 
Lake Traverse very anxious to plant, but without 
any means whatever so to do. I looked over their 
tields in order to see what coiild be done. After 
having inquired into the whole matter, I instructed 
Mr. Givens to remain at Big Stone Lake and su- 
perintend and direct the agricultural operations 
of the season, and to remain there imtil it was too 
late to plant any more. I placed at his di'>posal 
ten double plough teams, with men to operate 
them, and ordered forward at once one hundred 
Ijushels of seed corn and five hundred bushels of 
seed potatoes, with pumpkin, squash, turnip, and 
other seeds, in reasonable proportion, together 
with a sufficient supply of ploughs, hoes, and 
other imj)lemcuts for the Indians, and a black- 
smith to repair breakages; and directed him to 
see tha* every Indian, and every Indian horse or 
pony, did as much work as was poesible. * * 
' "On my way down to the agency, I visited the 
plantings of Tahampih'da, (Rattling Moccasin), 
Alazasha, (Bed Iron), Mahpiya Wicasta, (Cloud 
xMan), and Battling Cloud, and found that the 



MAJOR GALDEAITWa REPORT. 



191 



Superintendent of Farms for the Upper Sioux had, 
in accordance with my instructions, been faithfully 
attending to the ivants of these bands. He had 
supplied them with implements and seeds, and I 
left them at work. On my arrival at the Agency, 
I found that the farmer Indians residing there- 
abouts had, in my absence, been industriously at 
«ork, and had not only completed their plowing, 
but had planted very extensively. The next day 
after my arrival at the Agency, I visited each 
farmer Indian at the Yellow Medicine, and con- 
gratulated him on his prosjject for a good crop, 
and spoke to him such words of encouragement 
■IS occurred to me. 

"The next day I proceeded to the Lower Agency, 
and then taking with me Mr. A. H. Wagner, the 
Suiwrintendent of Farms for the Lower Sioux, I 
weut around each planting, and, for the second 
time, visited each farmer Indian, and found that, 
in general, my instructions had been carried out. 
The plowing was generally completed in good 
order, and the planting neai'ly all done, and many 
of the farmer Indians were engaged in repairing 
old and making new fences. I was pleased and 
gratified, and so told the Indians — the prospect 
was so encouraging. 

"About the first of July I visited gll the plant- 
ings of both the Upper and Lower Sioux, except 
those at Big Stone Lake, and found, in nearly 
every instance, the prospects for good crops very 
hoj^eful indeed. The superintendents of farms, 
the male school teachers, and all the employes 
assisting them, had done their duty. About this ■ 
time Mr. Givens returned from Big Stone Lake, 
and reports 1 to me his success there. From all I 
knew and aU I thus learned, I was led to believe 
that we would have no 'starving Indians' to feed 
the next winter, and little did I dream of the un- 
fortunate and terrible outbreak which, m a short 
time, biirst upon us, * * * 

"In the fall of 1861, a good and substantial 
school- room and dwelling, a store-house and black- 
smith-shop, were completed at Lac qui Parle, and, 
about the first of November, Mr. Amos W. Hug- 
gins and his family occupied the dwelling, and, 
assisted by Miss Julia LaFrambois, prepared the 
school-room, and devoted their whole time to 
teaching such Indian children as they could in- 
duce to attend the school. 

"The storehouse was supplied with provisions, 
which Mr. Huggins was instructed to issue to the 
fhildren and their parents at his discretion. Here 



it may be permitted me to remark to Mr. Hug- 
gins, who was born and raised among the Sioux, 
and Miss LaFrambois, who was a Sioux mixed- 
blood, were two persons entirely capable and in 
every respect qualified for the discharge of the 
duties of their situation, than whom the Indians 
had no more devoted friends. They lived amor,; 
the Indians of choice, because they thought they 
could be beneficial to them. Mr. Huggins exer- 
cised nothing but kindness toward them. He fed 
them when hungry, clothed them when naked, 
attended them when sick, and advised and cheered 
them in all their difficulties. He was intelligent, 
entrgetic, industrious, and good, and yet he was 
one of the first 'victims of the outbreak, shot down 
like a dog by the very Indians whom he had so 
long and so well served. * ^ * * * * * 
"In the month of June, 1862, being well aware 
of the influence exerted by Little Crow over the 
blanket Indians, and, by his plausibility, led to 
believe that he intended to act in good faith, I 
promised to build him a good brick house pro- 
vided that he would agree to aid me in bringing 
around the idle young men to habits of industry 
and civilization, and that he would abandon the 
leader.-hip of the blanket Indians and become a 
'wliite man.' 

"This being well understood, as I thought, I 
directed Mr. Nairn, the carpenter of the Lower 
Sioux, to make out the plan and estimates for 
Crow's house, and to jjroceed at once to make the 
window and door frames, and to prepare the lum- 
ber necessary for the building, and ordered the 
teamsters to deliver the necessary amount of brick 
as soon ;.s possible. Little Crow agreed to dig 
the cellar and haul the necessary lumber, both of 
which he had commenced. The carpenter had 
nearly completed his part of the work, and the 
brick was being promjatly delivered at the time 
of the outbreak. 

"On the 15th of August, only three days pre- 
vious to the outbreak, I had an interview with 
Little Crow, and he seemed to be well pleased and 
satisfied. Little indeed did I susj^ect, at that 
time, that he would be the leader in the terrible 
outbreak of the 18th." 

There were planted, according to the statement 
of Agent Galbraith in his report, on the lower 
reservation, one thousand and twenty-five acres of 
corn, two hundred and sixty acres of potatoes, 
sixty acres of turnips and ruta-bagas, and twelve 
acres of wheat, besides a large quantity of field 



192 



HISTORY OF TUE SIOUX MAS8A0US. 



and garden vegetables. These crops, at a low 
estimate, would have hai-vested, in the fall, 74,865 
bushels. There were, on the lower reservation, 
less than three thousand Indians, all told. This 
crop, therefore, would have yielded full twenty- 
tive bushels to each man, woman and child, in- 
cluding the blanket as weU as the farmer Indians 

There were, also, of growing crops, in fitne con- 
dition, on the upper reservation, one thousand one 
hundred and ten acres of com, three hundred 
acres of potatoes, ninety acres of turnips and 
nita-bagas, and twelve acres of wheat, and field 
and garden vegetables in due proportion. These, 
at a low estimate, would have harvested 85,740 
bushels. There were, on the upper reservation, a 
little over four thousand annuity Sioux. This 
crop, therefore, would have harvested them about 
twenty-one bushels for each man, woman and 
child, including, also, the blanket Indians. 

Thus, under the beneficent workings of the hu- 
mane policy of the Government inaugurated in 
1858, they were fast becoming an independent 
people. Let it be borne ia mmd, however, that 
these results, so beneficial to the Indian, were ac- 
complished only through the sleepless vigilance 
and untiring energy of those who had the welfare 
of these rude, savage beings in their care. 

Major Galbraith, after giving these statistics of 
the crops on the reservations, and the arrange- 
ments made for gathering hay, by the Indians, 
for their winter's use, says: 

"I need hardly say tliat our Lopes were high at 
the prospects before us, nor need I relate my 
chagrin and mortification when, in a moment, I 
found these high hopes blasted forever." 

Such, then, was the condition, present and pros- 
pective, of the "Annuity Sioux Indians," in the 
summer of 1862. No equal number of pioneer 
settlers on the border could, at that time, make a 
better showing than was exhibited on these reser- 
vations. They had in fair prospect a surplus over 
and above the wants of the entire tribes for the 
coming year. This had never before occurred in 
their history. 

The sagacity and wise forethought of their 
agent, and the unusually favorable season, had 
amply provided against the possibility of recurring 
want. The coming winter would have found their 
granaries full to overflowing. Add to this the 
fact that they had a large cash annuity coming to 
them from the Government, as well as large 
amounts of goods, consisting of blankets, cloths. 



groceries, flour and meats, powder, shot, lead, etc., 
and we confidently submit to the enlightened 
reader the whole question of their alleged griev- 
ances, confident that there can be but one verdict 
at their hands, and that the paternal care of the 
Government over them was good and just; nay, 
generous, and that those having the immediate su- 
pervision of their interests were perfornung their 
whole duty, honestly and nobly. 

The hopes of the philanthropist and Christian 
beat high. They believed the day was not far 
distant when it could be said that the Sioux Indi- 
ans, as a race, not only could be civilized, but that 
here were whole tribes who tccrc civilized, and had 
abandoned the chase and the war-jjuth for the cul- 
tivation of the soil and the arts of peace, and that 
the juggleries and sorcery of the medicine-men 
had been abandoned ior the milder teachings of 
the missionaries of the Cross. 

How these high hopes were dashed to the earth, 
extinguished in an ocean of blood, and their own 
bright prospects utterly destroyed, by their horri- 
ble and monstrous perfidy and unheard of atroci- 
ties, it will be our work, in these pages, to sliow. 

We are now rapidly approaching the fatal and 
bloody denouement, the terrible 18th of August, 
the memory of which will linger in the minds of 
the survivors of its tragic scenes, and the succeed- 
ing days and weeks of horror and blood, till rea- 
son kindly ceases to perform its oifice, and blots 
out the fearfiil record in the oblivion of the grave. 

Again we quote from the able report of Major 
Galbraith : 

"About the 25th of June, 1862, a number of the 
chiefs and head men of the Sissetons and Wapa- 
tons visited the Agency and inquired about the 
payments; whether they were going to get any 
( as they had been told, as they alleged, that they 
would not be paid,) and if so, how much, and 
when? I answered them that they woiild cer- 
tainly be paid; exactly how much I could not 
say, but that it would be nearly, it not quite, ;i 
full payment; that I did not know when the pay- 
ment would be made, but that I felt sure it could 
not be made befoi-e the 20th of July. I advised 
them to go home, and admonished them not to come 
back again until I sent for them. I issued pro- 
visions, powder and shot and tobacco to them, and 
they departed. 

" In a few days after I went to the Lower Agency, 
and sjjoke to the lower Indians in regard to their 
payments. As thev all lived within a few miks of 



ATTACK ON UPPEB AGE NOT. 



193 



the Agency, little was said, as, when the money 
came, (liey could be called together in a day. I 
remained about one week there, visiting the farms 
and plantings, and issued to the Indians a good 
supply of pork, flour, powder, shot, and tobacco, 
and urged upon them the necessity of cutting and 
securing hay for the winter, and of watching and 
keeping the birds from their corn. 

" I left them apparently satisfied, and arrived at 
Yellow Medicine on the 14th of July, and found, 
to my surprise, that nearly all the Upper Indians 
had arrived, and were encamped about the Agency. 
I inquired of them why they had come, and they 
answered, that they were afraid something was 
wrong; they feared they would not get their 
money, because white men had been telling them so. 
"Being in daily expectation of the arrival of 
the money, I determined to make the best of it^ 
and notified the Sujjerintendent of Indian Affairs 
accordingly. 

"How were over 4,000 Annuity, and over 1,000 
Tanktonais Sioux, with nothing to eat, and entirely 
dependent on me for supplies, to be provided for? 
I supplied them as best I could. Our stock was 
nearly used iip, and still, on the 1st day of Au- 
gust, no money had come. 

" The Indians complained of starvation. I held 
back, in order to save the provisions to the last 
moment. On the 4th of August, early in the 
morning, the young men and soldiers, to the num- 
ber of not less than four hundred mounted, and 
one hundred and fifty on foot, surprised and de- 
ceived the commander of the troops on guard, 
and surrounded the camp, and proceeded to 
the warehouse in a boisterous manner, and in 
sight of, and within one hundred and fifty 
yards of one hundred armed men, with two 
twelve-pound mountain howitzers, out down the 
door of the warehouse, shot down the American 
flag, and entered the building, and before they 
could be stopped had carried over one himdred 
sacks of flour from the warehouse, and were evi- 
dently bent on a general 'clearing out.' 

"The soldiers, now recovered from their panic, 
came gallantly to our aid, entered the warehouse 
and took possession. The Indians all stood around 
with their guns loaded, cooked and leveled. I 
spoke to them, and they consented to a talk. The 
result was, that they agreed, if I would give them 
plenty of pork and flour, and issue to them the 
annuity yoods the next day, they would go .away. 
I told them to go away with enough to eat for two 

13 



days, and to send the chiefs and head men for a 
council the nest day, unarmed and peaceably and 
I would answer them. They assented and went 
to their camp. In the meantime I had sent for 
Captain Blar.sh, the commandant of Fort Eidgely, 
who promptly arrived early in the morning of the 
next day. 

"I laid the whole case before him, and stated 
my plan. He agreed with me, and, in the after- 
noon, the Indians, unarmed, and apparently 
peaceably disposed, came in, and we had a 'talk,' 
and, in the presence of Captain Marsh, Eev. Mr. 
Eiggs and others, I agreed to issue the annuity 
goods and a Qxed amount of provisions, provided 
the Indians would go home and watch their corn, 
and wait for the payment until they were sent for. 
They assented. I made, on the 6th, 7th and 8th 
of August the issues as agreed upon, assisted by 
Captain Marsh, and, on the 9th of August the In- 
dians were all gone, and on the 12th I had defi- 
nite information that the Sissetons, who had started 
on the 7th, had all arrived at Big Stone Lake, and 
that the men were preparing to go on a buffalo 
hunt, and that the women and children were to 
stay and guard the crops. Thus this threatening 
and disagreeable event passed off, but, as usual, 
without the punishment of a single Indian who 
had been engaged in the attack on the warehouse. 
They should have been punished, but they were 
not, and simply because we had not the power to 
punish them. And hence we had to adopt the 
same 'sugar-plum' policy which had been so often 
adopted before with the Indians, and especially at 
the time of the Spirit Lake massacre, in 1857." 

On the 12th day of August, thirty men enlisted 
at Yellow Medicine; and, on the 13th, accompa- 
nied by the agent, proceeded to the Lower Agency, 
where, on the 14th, they were joined by twenty 
more, making about fifty in all. On the afternoon 
of the 15th they proceeded to Fort Kidgely, where 
they remained imtil the morning of the 17tb, 
when, having been furnished by Captain Marsh 
with transportation, accompanied by Lieutenant 
N. K. Culver, Sergeant McGrew, and four men of 
Company B, Fifth Minnesota Volunteers,- they 
started for Fort Snelling by the way of New Ulm 
and St. Peter, little dreaming of the terrible mes- 
sage, the news of which would reach them at the 
latter place next day, and turn them back to the 
defense of that jaost and the border. 

On Monday morning, the 18th, at about 8 
o'clock, they left New Ulm, and reached St. Peter 



194 



iiii^rony OF THE aioux massacre. 



at about 4 o'clock P. M. About 6 o'clock, Mr. J. 
C. Dickinson arrived from the Lower Agency, 
bringing the startling news that the Lidians Lad 
broken out, and, before he left, had conunenced 
murdering the whites. 

They at once set about making preparations to 
return. There were in St. Peter some fifty old 
Harper's Ferry muskets ; these they obtained, and, 
])rocuring ammunition, set about preparing cart- 
ridges, at which many of them worked all night, 
and, at sunrise on Tuesday morning were on their 
way back, with heavy hearts and dark forebodings, 
toward the scene of trouble. 

In the night Sergeant Sturgis, of Captain 
Marsh's company, had arrived, on his way to St. 
Paul, with dispatches to Governor Ramsey, from 
Lieutenant Thomas Gere, then in command of 
Fort Ridgely, bringing the sad news of the des- 
truction of Captain Marsh and the most of his 
command at the ferry, at the Lower Agency, on 
Monday afternoon. Tbey had but a slender 
chance of reaching the fort in safety, and still less 
of saving it from destruction, for they knew that 
there were not over twentj--five men left in it, 
Lieutenant Sheehan, with his company, having 
left for Fort Eipley on the 17th, at the same time 
that the "Kenville Rangers" (the company from 
the Agencies) left for Fort Snelling. Their friends, 
too, were in the very heart of the Indian country. 
Some of them had left their wives and little ones 
at Yellow Medicine, midway between the Lower 
Agency and the wild bands of the Sissetons and 
Yanktonais, who made the attack upon the ware- 
house at that Agency only two weeks before. 
Their hearts almost died within them as they 
thought of the dreadful fate awaiting them at the 
hands of those savage and blood-thirsty monstera. 
But they turned their faces toward the West, de- 
termined, if Fort Ridgely was yet imtaken, to enter 
it, or die in the attempt, and at about siuidown 
entered the fort, and found all within it as yet 
safe. 

A messenger had been sent to Lieutenant Shee- 
han, who immediately turned back and had enter- 
ed the fort a few hours before Dhem. There were 
in the fort, on their arrival, over two hundred and 
fifty refugees, principally women and children, 
and they continued to come in, until there were 
nearly three hundred. 

Here they remained on duty, night and day, 
uutil the morning of the 28th, when reinforce- 



ments, under Colonel McPhail and Captain Anson 
Northrup and R. H. Chittenden arrived. 

The annuity money by Superintendent Thomp- 
son had been dispatched to the Agency in charge 
of his clerk, accompanied by E. A. C. Hatch, J. 
C. Ramsey, M. A. Daily, and two or three others. 

On their arrival at the fort, on Tuesday night. 
Major Galbraith found these gentlemen there, 
they having arrived at the post Monday noon, the 
very day of the outbreak. Had they been one day 
sooner they would have been at the Lower Agency, 
and their names would have been added, in all 
probability, to the long roll of the victims, at that 
devoted point of Indian barbarity, and about 
$10,000 in gold would have fallen into the hands 
of the savages. 

These gentlemen were in the fort during the 
siege which followed, and were among the bravest 
of its brave defenders. Major Hatch, afterwards 
of "Hatcli's Battalion" (cavalry), was particu- 
lary conspicuous for his cool courage and undaunt- 
ed bravery. 

Thus it will be seen how utterly false was the 
information which the Indians said they had re- 
ceived that they were to get no money. 

And notwithstanding all that has been said as 
to the cause of the outbreak, it may be remarked 
that the removal of the agent from Yellow Medi- 
cine, with the troops raised by him for the South- 
ern Rebellion, at the critical period when the In- 
dians were exasperated and excited, and ready at 
any moment to arm for warfare upon the whites, 
was one of the causes acting directly upon the In- 
dians to precipitate the blow that afterwards fell 
upon the border settlements of Minnesota on the 
18th of August, 1862. Had he remained with his 
family at Yellow Medicine, as did the Winnebago 
agent, with his family, at the agency, the strong 
probability is that the attack at Yellow Medicine 
might have been delayed, if not entirely pre- 
vented. 



CHAPTER XXXin. 

MUBDEB AT AOTON MASSACRE AT THE LOWEB 

AGENCY CAPTURE OF MATTIE WILLIAMS, MARY 

ANDERSON AND MAUY SCHWANDT MURDER OP 

GEORGE OLEASON — CAPTURE OF MES. WAKEFIELD 
AND CHILDREN. 

We come now to the massacre itself, the terrible 
blow which fell, like a thunderbolt from a clear 
sky, with such appalling force and suddenness, 



MURDEI18 AT ACTON. 



195 



upon the unarmed and defenceless border, crim- 
soning its fair iielda with the blood of its murdered 
people, and lighting up the midnight sky with 
the lurid blaze of burning dwellings, by the light 
of which the affrighted survivors fled from the 
nameless terrors that beset their path, before the 
advancing gleam of the uplifted tomahawk, many 
of them only to fall victims to the Indian bullet, 
while vainly seeking a place of security. 

The first blow fell upon the town of Acton, 
thirty-five miles north-east of the Lower Sioux 
agency, in the county of Meeker. -On Sunday, 
August 17, 18C2, at 1 o'clock P. M., six Sioux In- 
dians, said to be of Shakopee's band of Lower An- 
nuity Sioux, came to the house of Jones and de- 
manded food. It was refused them, as Mrs. Jones 
was away from home, at the house of Mr. Howard 
Baker, a son-in-law, three fourths of a mile dis- 
tant. They became angry and boisterous, and 
fearing violence at their hands, Mr. Jones took 
his children, a boy and a girl, and went himself to 
Baker's, leaving at the house a girl from fourteen 
to sixteen years of age, and a boy of twelve — 
brother and sister — who lived with him. The In- 
dians soon followed on to Baker's. At Howard 
Baker's were a Mr. Webster and his wife. Baker 
and wife and infant child, and Jones and his wife 
and two children. 

Soon after reaching the house, the Indians pro- 
posed to the three men to join them in target- 
shooting. They consented, and all discharged 
their guns at the target. Mr. Baker then traded 
guns with an Indian, the savage giving him $3 
as the difference in the value of the guns. Then 
all commenced loading again. The Indians got 
the charges into their guns first, and immediately 
turned and shot Jones. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. 
Baker were standing in the door. When one of 
the savages leveled his gun at Mrs. Baker, her 
husband saw the movement, and sprang between 
them, receiving the bullet intended for his wife 
in his own body. At the same time they shot 
Webster and Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Baker, who had 
her infant in her arms, seeing her husband fall, 
fainted, and fell backward into the cellar (a trap- 
door being open), and thus escaped. Mrs. Web- 
ster was lying in their wagon, from which the 
goods were not yet unloaded, and escaped unhurt. 
The children of Mr. Jones were in the house, and 
were not molested. They then returned to the 
house of Mr. Jones, and killed and scalped the girl. 
The boy was lying ou the bed and was undiscov- 



ered, but was a silent witness of the tragic fate of 
his sister. 

After killing the girl the savages left without 
disturbing anything, and going directly to the 
hoiise of a settler, took from his stable a span of 
horses already in the harness, and while the fam- 
ily was at dinner, hitched them to a wagon stand- 
ing near, and without molesting any one, drove 
off in the direction of Beaver Creek settlement and 
the Lower Agency, leaving Acton at about 3 
o'clock in the afternoon. This span of horses, har- 
ness and wagon were the only property taken from 
the neighborhood by them. 

The boy at Jones's who escaped massacre at 
their hands, and who was at the house during the 
entire time that they were there, avers that they 
obtained no liquor there that day, but even that 
when they came back and murdered his sister, the 
bottles upon the shelf were untouched by them. 
They had obtained none on their first visit before 
going over to Baker's. It would seem, therefore, 
that the very general belief that these first mur- 
ders at Acton, on the 17th, were the result of 
drunkenness, is a mistake. 

Mrs. Baker, who was unhurt by the fall, re- 
mained in the cellar until after the Indians were 
gone, when, taking the children, she started for a 
neighboring settlement, to give the alarm. Before 
she left, an Irishman, calling himself Cox, came 
to the house, whom she asked to go with her, and 
carry her child. Cox laughed, saying, "the men 
were not dead, but drunk, and that, falling down, 
they had hurt their noses and made them bleed," 
and refusing to go with Mrs. Baker, went off in 
the direction taken by the Indians. This man 
Cox had frequently been seen at the Lower Agen- 
cy, and was generally supposed to be an insane 
man, wanderiQg friendless over the country. It 
has been supposed by many that he was in league 
with the Indians. We have only to say, if he was, 
he coimterfeited insanity remarkably well. 

Mrs. Baker reached the settlement in safety, and 
on the next day (Monday) a company of citizens 
of Forest City, the county seat of Meeker county, 
went out to Acton to bury the dead. Forest City 
is twelve mUes north of that place. The party 
who went out on Monday saw Indians on horse- 
back, and chased them, but failed to get near 
enough to get a shot, and they escaped. 

As related in -a preceding chapter, a council was 
held at Kice Creek on Sunday, at which it was de- 
cided that the fearful tragedy should commence 



196 



mSTORr OF THE SIOUX MAiiSAORE. 



on the next morning. It is doubtful whether the 
Acton murders were then known to these con- 
spirators, as this council assembled in the after- 
noon, and the savages who committed those mur- 
ders had some forty miles to travel, after 3 o'clock 
in the afternoon, to reach the place of this coun- 
cil. It would seem, therefore, that those murders 
could have had no influence in precif>itating this 
council, as they could not, at that time, have been 
known to Little Crow and his conspirators. 

The final decision of these fiends must luive been 
made as early as sundown; for by early dawn al- 
most the entu'e force of warriors, of the Lower 
tribes, were ready for the work of slaughter. They 
were already armed and painted, and dispersed 
through the scattered settlements, over a region at 
least forty miles in extent, and were rapidly gath- 
ering in the vicinity of the Lower Agency, until 
some 250 were collected at that point, and sur- 
rounded the houses and stores of the traders, 
while yet the inmates were at their morning meal, 
or asleep in their beds in fancied security, all un- 
conscious of the dreadful fate that awaited them. 
The action was concerted, and the time fixed. 
The blow was unexpected, and unparalleled! In 
the language af Adjutent-General Malniros: 

"Since the formation of our general Govern- 
ment, no State or Territory of the Republic has 
received so severe a blow at the hands of the sav- 
ages, or witnessed within its borders a parallel 
scene of murder, butchery, and rapine." 

Philander Presoott, the aged Government In- 
terpreter at that Agency, who had resided among 
the Sioux for forty-five years, having a wife and 
children alhed to them by ties of blood, and who 
knew their language and spoke it better than any 
man of their own race, and who seemed to under- 
stand every Indian impulse, had not the sUghtest 
intimation or conception of such a catastrophe as 
was about to fall upon the country. The Kev. S. 
R. Riggs, in a letter to a St. Paul paper, under 
date of August 13, writes that "all is quiet and 
orderly at the place of the forthcoming payment." 
This gentleman had been a missionary among 
these people for over a quarter of a century. His, 
intimate acquaintance with their character and 
language were of such a nature as to enable him 
to know and detect the first symptoms of any in- 
tention of committing any depredations upon the 
whites, and had not the greatest secrecy been ob- 
served by them, the knowledge of their designs 
would undoubtedly have been communicated to 



either Mr. Prosoott, Mr. Riggs, or Dr. Williamson, 
who had also been among them almost thirty 
years. Such was the position of these gentlemen 
that, had they discovered or suspected any lurking 
signs of a conspiracy, such as after developments 
satisfy us actually existed, and had failed to com- 
municate it to the authorities and the jjeople, they 
would have laid themselves open to the horrible 
charge of complicity with the murderers. But 
whatever may be the public judgement upon the 
course afterward pursued by the two last-named 
gentlemen, in their etTorts to shield the guilty 
wretches from that punishment their awful crimes 
so justly merited, no one who knows them would 
for a moment harbor a belief that they had any 
suspicion of the coming storm until it burst upon 
them. 

A still stronger proof of the feeling of security 
of these upon the reservation, and the belief thai 
the recent demonstrations were only such as wer4> 
of yearly occurrence, and that all danger was 
passed, is to be found in the fact that, as late au, 
the 15th of August, the substance of a dispatcb. 
was published in the daily papers of St. Paul, 
from Major Galbraith, agreeing fully with thy 
views of Mr. Riggs, as to the quiet and orderlj^ 
conduct of the Indians. This opinion is accom. 
panied by the very highest evidence of humau 
sincerity. Under the belief of their peaceabli, 
disposition, he had, on the 16th day of August, 
sent his wife and children from Fort Ridgely tj- 
Yellow Medicine, where they arrived on Sunday, 
the 17th, the very day of the murda/o at Acton,, 
and on the very day, also, that the o^inncil at Rico 
Creek had decided that the white ioce in Minn&- 
sota must either perish or be drivfcu back east o/ 
the Mississippi. But early on tiis fatal Monday 
morning Mr. Prescott and Re/. J. D. Hinmaw 
learned from Little Crow that the storm of ss.vagt( 
wrath was gathering, and abowt to break upoj, 
their devoted heads, and that their only safety 
was in instant flight. 

The first crack of the Indian, guns that fell o/. 

his ear, a moment afterward, round Presoott auU 

Hinman, and his household fleeing for their hves, 

"While on the billowy bosom jf the air 
Rolled the dread notes of anguish and despair." 

Mrs. Hinman was, fortunately, then at Fari- 
bault. All the other members of the family es- 
caped with Mr. Hinman co Fort Ridgely. The 
slaughter at the Agency now commenced. John 
Lamb, a teamster, was shot down, near the house 



MASSACRE AT LOWER AGENCY. 



197 



of Mr. Hinman, just as that gentleman and his 
family were starting on their perilous journey of 
escape. At the same time some Indians entered 
the stable, and were taking therefrom the horses 
belonging to the Government. Mr. A. H. Wag- 
ner, Superintendent oE Farms at that Agency, en- 
tered the stable to prevent them, and was, by order 
of Little Crow, instantly shot down. Mr. Hin- 
man waited to see and hear no more, but fled 
toward the ferry, and soon put the Minnesota river 
between himself and the terrible tragedy enact- 
ing behind him. 

At about the same time, Mr. J. C. Dickinson, 
who kept the Government boarding-house, with 
all his family, including several girls who were 
working for him, also succeeded in crossing the 
river with a span of horses and a wagon; these, 
with some others, mostly women and children, who 
had reached the ferry, escaped to the fort. 

Very soon after. Dr. Philander P. Humphrey, 
physician to the Lower Sioux, with his sick 
wife, and three children, also succeeded in 
crossing the river, but never reached the fort. 
All but one, the eldest, a boy of about twelve 
years of age, were killed upon the road. They 
had gone about four miles, when Mrs. Humphrey 
became so much exhausted as to be unable to pro- 
ceed further, and they went into the house of a 
Mr. Magner, deserted by its inmates. Mrs. Hum- 
phrey was placed on the bed; the son was sent to 
the spring for water for his mother. * * The 
boy heard the wild war-whoop of the savage 
break upon the stillness of the air, and, in the 
nest moment, the ominous crack of their guns, 
which told the fate of his family, and left him its 
sole survivor. Fleeing hastily toward Fort Eidge- 
ly, about eight miles distant, he met the com- 
mand of Captain Marsh on their way toward the 
Agency. The young hero turned back with them 
to the ferry. As they passed Magner's house, 
they saw the Doctor lying near the door, dead, 
but the house itself was a heap of smouldering 
ruins; and this brave boy was thus compelled to 
look upon the funeral pyre of his mother, and his 
little brother and sister. A burial party afterward 
found their charred remains amid the blackened 
ruins, and gave them Christian sepulture. In the 
charred hands of the little girl was foimd her china 
doU, with which she refused to part even in death. 
The boy went on to the ferry, and in that disas- 
trous conflict escaped unharmed, and finally made 
liis way into the fort. 



In the mean time the work of death went on. 
The whites, taken by surprise, were utterly de- 
fenseless, and so great had been the feeling of se- 
curity, that many of them were actually unai-med, 
although living in the very midst of the savages. 
At the store of Nathan Myrick, Hon. James W. 
Lynd, formerly a member of the State Senate, 
Andrew J. Myrick, and G. W. Divoll were among 
the first victims. * * * In the store of Wil- 
liam H. Forbes were some five or six persons, 
among them Mr. George H. Spencer, jr. Hearing 
the yelling of the savages outside, these men ran 
to the door to ascertain its cause, when they were 
instantly fired upon, kilUng four of their number, 
and severely wounding Mr. Spencer. Spencer and 
his uninjured companion hastily sought a tempo- 
rary place of safety in the chamber of the build- 
ing. 

Mr. Spencer, in giving an accoiint of this open- 
ing scene of the awful tragedy, says: 

" When I reached the foot of the stairs, I turned 
and beheld the store filling with Indians. One 
had followed me nearly to the stairs, when he took 
deliberate aim at my body, but, providentially, 
both barrels of his gun missed fire, and I succeeded 
in getting above without further injury. Not ex- 
pecting to live a great while, I threw myself upon 
a bed, and, while lying there, could hear them 
opening cases of goods, and carrying them out, 
and threatening to burn the building. I did not 
relish the idea of being burned to death very well, 
so I arose very quietly, and taking a bed-cord, I 
made fast one end to the bed-post, and carried the 
other to a window, which I raised. I intended, in 
case they fired the building, to let myself down 
from the window, and take the chances of being 
shot again, rather than to remain where I was and 
bum. The man who went up-stairs with me, see- 
ing good opportunity to escape, rushed down 
through the crowd and ran for life; he was fired 
upon, and two charges of buckshot struck him, 
but he succeeded in making his escape. I had 
been up-stairs probably an hour, when I heard the 
voice of an Indian inquiring for me. I recognized 
his voice, and felt that I was safe. Upon being 
told that I was up-stairs, he rushed up, followed by 
ten or a dozen others, and approaching my bed, 
asked if I was mortally wounded. I told him that 
I did not know, but that I was badly hurt. Some 
of the others came up and took me by the hand, 
and appeared to be sorry that I had been hurt. 
! Ih&s then asked me where the guns were. I 



198 



niSTORT OF THE SIOUX M.iSSACIiE. 



pointed to them, when my comrade assisted me in 
getting down stairs. 

" The name of this Indian is Wakinyatawa, or, 
in English, 'His Thunder.' He was, up to the time 
of the outbreak, the head soldier of Little Crow, 
and, some four or five years ago, went to Wash- 
ington with that chief to see their Great Father. 
He is a fine-looking Indian, and has always* been 
noted for his bravery in fighting the Chippewas. 
When we reached the foot of the stairs, some of 
the Indians cried out, 'Kill him!' 'Spare no 
Americans!' 'Show mercy to none!' My friend, 
who was unarmed, seized a hatchet that was lying 
near by, and declared that he would cut down the 
first one that should attempt to do me any further 
harm. Said he, 'If you had killed him before I 
saw him, it would have been all right; bu"; we have 
been friends and comrades for ten years, and now 
that I have seen him, I will protect him or die with 
him.' They then made way for us, and we passed 
out; he procured a wagon, and gave me over to a 
couple of squaws to take me to his lodge. On the 
■way we were stopped two or three times by armed 
Indians on horseback, who inquired of the squaws 
'What that meant?' Upon being answered that 
' This is Wakinyatawa's friend, and he has saved 
his life,' they suffered us to pass on. His lodge 
was about four miles above the Agency, at Little 
Crow's village. My friend soon came home and 
washed me, and dressed my wounds with roots. 
Some few white men succeeded in making their 
escape to the fort. There were no other white 
men taken prisoners." 

The relation of "comrade," which existed be- 
tween Mr. Spencer and this Indian, is a species 
of Freemasonry which is in existence among the 
Sioux, and is jDrobably also common to other In- 
dian tribes. 

The store of Louis Robert was, in like manner, 
attacked. Patrick McClellan, one of the clerks in 
charge of the store, was killed, There were at the 
store several other persons; some of them were 
killed and some made their escape. Mr. John 
Nairn, the Government carpenter at the Lower 
Sioux Agency, seeing the attack upon the stores 
and other places, seized his children, four in num- 
ber, and, with his wife, started out on the prairie, 
making their way toward the fort. They were 
accompanied by Mr. Alexander Hunter, an at- 
tached personal friend, and his young wife. Mr. 
Nairn had been among them in the employ of the 
Government, some eight years, and had, by his 



urbane manners and strict attention to their in- 
terests, secured the personal friendship of many 
of the tribe. Mr. Nairn and his family reached 
the fort in safety that artemoon. Mr. Hunter had, 
some years before, frozen his feet so badly as to 
lose the toes, and, being lame, walked with great 
difficulty. When near an Indian village below the 
Agency, they were met by an Indian, who urged 
Hunter to go to the village, promising to get them 
a horse and wagon with which to make their es- 
cape. Mr. Hunter and his wife went to the Indian 
village, believing their Indian friend would re- 
deem his promises, but from inabiUty, or some 
other reason, he did not do so. They went to the 
woods, where they remained all night, and in the 
morning started for Fort Ridgely on foot. They 
had gone but a short distance, however, when they 
met an Indian, who, without a word of warning, 
shot poor Hunter dead, and led his distracted 
young wife away into captivity. 

We now return once more to the scene of blood 
and conflagration at the Agency. The white- 
haired interpreter, Philander Prescott (now verg- 
ing upon seventy years of age), hastily left his 
house soon after his meeting with Little Crow, and 
fled toward Fort Eidgely. The other members of 
his family remained behind, knowing that their 
relation to the tribe would save them. Mr. Pres- 
cott had gone several miles, when he was overtaken. 
His murderers came and talked with him. He 
reasoned with them, saying: "I am an old man: 
I have lived with you now forty-tive years, almost 
half a century. My wife and children are among 
you, of your own blood; I have never done you 
any harm, and have been your true friend in all 
your troubles; why should you wish to kill me?" 
Their only reply was: "We would save your life 
if we could, but the white manmust die; we cannot 
spare your life; our orders are to kill all white 
men; we cannot spare you." 

Seeing that all remonstrance was vain and hope- 
less, and that his time had come, the aged man 
with a firm step and noble bearing, sadly turned 
away from the deaf ear and iron heart of the sav- 
age, and with dignity and composure received the 
fatal messenger. 

Thus perished Philander Prescott, the true, tried, 
and faithful friend of the Indian, by the hands of 
that perfidious race, whom he had so long and so 
faithfully labored to benefit to so little purpose. 

The number of persons who reached Fort Ridge- 
ly from the agency was forty-one. Some are 



AT It ED WOOD lilVER. 



199 



known to have reached other places of safety. All 
suffered incredible hardships; many hiding by day 
in the tall prairie grass, in bogs and sloughs, or 
under the trunks of prostrate trees, crawling 
stealthily by night to avoid the lurking and wily 
foe, who, with the keen scent of the blood-hound 
and ferocity of the tiger, followed on their trail, 
thirsting for blood. 

Among those who escaped into the fort were 
BIr. J. O. Whipple, of Faribault; Mr. Charles B. 
Hewitt, of New Jersey. The services of Mr. 
Whipple were recognized and rewarded by the 
Government with a first lieutenant's commis- 
sion in the volunteer artillery service. 

James Powell, a young man residing at St. 
Peter, was at the Agency herding cattle. He had 
just turned the cattle out of the yard, saddled and 
mounted his mule, as the work of death com- 
menced. Seeing Lamb and Wagner shot down 
near him he turned to flee, when Lamb called to 
him for help; but, at that moment two shots were 
fired at him, and, putting spurs to his mule he 
turned toward the ferry, passing close to an In- 
dian who leveled his gun to fire at him ; biit the 
caps exploded, when the savage, evidently sur- 
prised that he had failed to kill him, waved his 
hand toward the river, and exclaimed, "Packachee! 
Puckachee!" Pcwell did not wait for a second 
warning, which might come in a more unwelcome 
form, but slipped at once from the back of his an- 
imal, dashed down the bluff through the brush, 
and I'eached the ferry just as the boat was leaving 
the shore. Looking over his shoulder as he ran, 
he saw an Indian in full pursuit on the very mule 
he had a moment before abandoned. 

All that day the work of sack and plunder went 
on; and when the stores and dwellings and the 
warehouses of the Government had been emptied 
of their contents, the torch was applied to the var- 
ious buddings, and the little village was soon a 
heap of smouldering ruins. 

The bodies of their slain victims were left to fes- 
ter in the sun where they fell, or were consumed 
in the buildings from which they had been unable 
to effect their escape. 

So complete was the surprise, and so sudden 
and unexpected the terrible blow, that not a sin- 
gle one of all that host of naked savages was slain. 
In thirty minutes from the time the first gun was 
fired, not a white person was left alive. All were 
either weltering in their gore or had fled in fear 
and terror from that place of death. 



BEDWOOD BrVEE. 

At the Bedwood river, ten miles above the 
Agency, on the road to Yellow Medicine, resided 
Mr. Joseph B. Reynolds, in the employment of 
the Government as a teacher. His house was 
within one mile of Shakopee's village. His family 
consisted of his wife, a niece — Miss Mattie Wil- 
liams, of Painesville, Ohio — Mary Anderson and 
Mary Sohwandt, hired girls. William Landmeier, 
a hired man, and Legrand Davis, a yoimg man 
from Shakopee, was also stoppmg with them tem- 
porarily. 

On the morning of the 18th of August, at about 
6 o'clock, John Moore, a half-breed trader, resid- 
ing near them, came to the house and informed 
them that there was an outbreak among the In- 
dians, and that they had better leave at once. Mr. 
Reynolds immediately got out his buggy, and, 
taking his wife, started off across the prairie in 
such a direction as to avoid the Agency. At the 
same time Davis and the three girls got into the 
wagon of a Mr. Patoile, a trader at Yellow Medi- 
cine, who had just arrived there on his way to New 
Ulm, and they also started out on the prairie. 
WiUiam, the hired man, would not leave until he 
had been twice warned by Moore that his life was 
in danger. He then went down to the river bot- 
tom, and following the Minnesota river, started for 
the fort. When some distance on his way he 
came ujDon some Indians who were gathering up 
cattle. They saw him and there was no way of 
escape. They came to him and told him that if 
he would assist them in driving the cattle they 
would not kiU him. Making a merit of necessity 
he complied, and went on with them tUl they were 
near the Lower Agency, when the Indians, hear- 
ing the firing at the ferry, suddenly left him and 
hastened on to take part in the battle then pro- 
gressing between Captain Marsh and their friends. 
William fled in an opposite direction, and that 
night entered Fort Ridgely. 

We return now to Patoile and his party. 
After crossing the Redwaod near its mouth, he 
drove some distance up that stream, and, turning 
to the left, struck across the prairie toward New 
Ulm, keeping behind a swell in the prairie which 
ran parallel with the Minnesota, some three miles 
south of that stream. 

They had, unpursued, and apparently unob- 
served, reached a point within about ten miles of 
New Uhn, and nearly opposite Fort Ridgely, when 
they were suddenly assailed by Indians, who 



200 



niSTORT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



killed Patoile and Davis, and severely wounded 
Mary Anderson. Miss Williams and Mary 
Sehwandt were captured unhurt, aud were taken 
back to Waucouta's village. 

The poor, injured young woman survived her 
■wounds and the brutal and fiendish violation of 
her person to which she was subjected by these 
dej)ils incarnate, but a few days, when death, in 
mercy, came to her relief and ended her sufferings 
in the quiet of the grave! 

Mattie Williams and Mary Sehwandt were af- 
terwards restored to their friends by General Sib- 
ley's expedition, at Camp Eelease. We say, res- 
stored to their friends; this was hardly true of 
Mary Sehwandt, who, when release came, found 
alive, of all her father's family, only one, a little 
brother; and he had witnessed the fiendish slaugh- 
ter of all the rest, accompanied by circumstances 
of infernal barbarity, without a parallel in the his- 
tory of savage brutality. 

On Sunday, the 17th, George Gleason, Govern- 
ment stoie-keeper at the Lower Agency, accomjsa- 
nied by the family of Agent Galbraith, to Yellow 
Medicine, and on Monday afternoon, ignorant of 
the terrible tragedy enacted below, started to re- 
turn. He had with him the wife and two children 
of Dr. J. S. Wakefield, physician to the Upper 
Sioux. When about two miles above the mouth 
of the Eedwood, they met two armed Indians on 
the road. Gleason greeted them with the usual 
salutation of "Ho !" accompanied with the inquiry, 
in Sioux, as he passed, "Where are you going ?" 
They returned the salutation, but Gleason had 
gone but a very short distance, when the sharp 
crack of a gun behind him bore to his ear the first 
iutimntion of the death in store for him. The 
bullet passed through his body and he fell to the 
ground. At the same moment Chaska, the Indian 
who had not fired, sprang into the wagon, by the 
side of Mrs. Wakefield, and driving a short dis- 
tance, returned. Poor Gleason was lying upon 
the groimd, still alive, writhing in mortal agony, 
when the savage moniter completed his hellish 
work, by placing his gun at his breast, and shoot- 
ing him again. Such was the sad end of the life 
of George Gleason; gay, jocund, genial and gen- 
erous, he was the life of every circle. His pleas- 
ant face was seen, and his mellow voice was heard 
in song, at almost every social gathering on that 
rude frontier. He had a smile and pleasant woi-d 
for all; and yet he fell, in his manly strength, by 
the hands of these bloody monsters, whom he had 



never wronged in word or deed. Some weeks af- 
terward, his mutilated remains were found by the 
troops imder Colonel Sibley, and buried where he 
fell. They were subsequently removed by hia 
friends to Shakopee, where they received the rites 
of Christian sepulture. 

Mrs. Wakefield and children were held as pris- 
oners, and were reclaimed with the other captives 
at Camp Eelease. 



CHAPTEB XXXIV. 

JU.SSACBE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE MINNESOTA 

BUIINING OF MKS. HENDERSON AND TWO CHILDREN 
ESCAPE OF J. W. EARLE AND OTHERS^ — THE SET- 
TLERS ENDEAVOR TO ESCAPE MCIiDER OF THE 

SCHWANDT FAMTLT WHOLESALE MASSACRE UP- 
PER AGENCY THE PEOPLE WARNED BY JOSEPH 

LAFKAMBOIS AND OTHER DAT — ESCAPE OF THE 

WHITES FROM YELLOW MEDICINE SETTLEMENT 

ON THE CHIPPEWA MURDER OF JAMES W, LIND- 
SAY AND HIS COMRADE. 

Early on the morning of the 18th, the settlers 
on the north side of the Minnesota river, adjoining 
the reservation, were surprised to see a large num- 
ber of Indians in their immediate neighborhood. 
They were seen soon after the people arose, simul- 
taneously, all along the river from Birch Coolie to 
Beaver Creek, and beyond, on the west, apparent- 
ly intent on gathering up the horses and cattle. 
When interrogated, they said they were after 
Chippewas. At about 6 or 7 o'clock they sudden- 
ly began to repair to the various houses of the set- 
tlers, and then the flight of the inhabitants and 
the work of death began. 

In the immediate vicinity of Beaver Creek, the 
neighbors, to the number of about twenty-eight, 
men, women, and children, assembled at the house 
of Jonathan W. Earle, and, with several teams, 
started for Fort Ridgely, having with them the 
sick wife of S. K. Henderson, her children, and 
the family of N. D. White, and the wife and two 
children of James Carrothers. 

There were, also, David Carrothers and family, 
Earle and family, Henderson, and a German named 
Wedge, besides four sons of White and Earle; the 
rest were women and children. They had gone 
but a short distance when they were surrounded 
by Indians. When asked, by some of the party 
who could speak their language, what they wanted, 
the Indians answered, "We are going to kiU you." 



MASSACRE AT OERMAN SETTLEMENT. 



201 



When asked why they were to be killed, the In- 
dians consented to let them go, with one team and 
the buggy with Mrs. Henderson, on giving up the 
rest. They had gone but a short distance when 
they were again stopped by the savages, and the 
remaining team taken. Again they moved on, 
drawing the buggy and the sick woman by hand 
but had gone but a few rods further, when the In- 
dians began to fire upon them. The men were 
with the buggy ; the women and children had gone 
on ahead, as well as the boys and Carrothers. 

Mr. Earle, seeing the savages were determined 
to kill them, and knowing that they could not now 
save Mrs. Henderson, hastened on and came up 
with the fleeing fugitives ahead. Mr. Henderson 
waved a white cloth as a flag of truce, when they 
shot off his fingers, and, at the same time, killed 
Wedge. Henderson then ran, seeing that he could 
not save his wife and children, and made his es- 
cape. They came up with his buggy, and, taking 
out the helpless woman and children, threw them 
on the prairie, and placing the bed over them, set 
it on fire, and hastened on after the fleeing fugi- 
tives. 

The burned and blackened remains of both the 
mother and her two children were afterward found 
by a burial party, and interred. 

Coming up with the escaping women and chil- 
dren, they were all captured but two children of 
David Carrothers. These they had shot in the 
chase after Carrothers, Earle, and the sons of Earle 
and White. They killed, also, during this chase 
and running fight, Eugene White, a son of N. D. 
AVhite, and Eadner, son of Jonathan W. Earle. 

Carrothers escaped to Crow Kiver, and thence to 
St. Paul. Mr. Earle and two of his sons, and one 
son of Mr. White, after incredible hardships, es- 
caped to Cedar City, and subsequently made their 
way back to St. Peter and Fort Ridgely. All the 
captives taken at this time were carried to Crow's 
village, and, with the exception of Mrs. James 
Carrothers and her children, were recovered at 
Camp Eelease. 

After they had captured the women and children, 
they returned to the houses of the settlers, and 
plundered them of their contents, carrying off 
what they could, and breaking up and destroying 
the balance. They then gathered up the stock 
and drove it to their village, taking their captives 
with them. 

Some two or three miles above the neighborhood 
of Earle and White was a settlement of German 



emigrants, numbering some forty persons, quiet, 
industrious, and enterprising. Early on the 
morning of the 18th these had all assembled al 
the house of John Meyer. Very soon after they 
had assembled here, some fifty Indians, led by 
Shakopee, appeared in sight. The people all fled, 
except Meyer and his family, going into the grass 
and bushes. Peter Bjorkman ran toward his own 
house. Shakopee, whom he knew, saw him, and 
exclaimed, "There is Bjorkman; kill him!" but, 
keeping the building between him and the sav- 
ages, he plunged into a slough and concealed 
himself, even removing his shirt, fearing it might 
be the means of revealing his whereabouts to the 
lurking savages. Here he lay from early morning 
until the darkness of night enabled him to leave 
with safety — suffering unutterable torments, mos- 
quitoes literally swarming upon his naked person, 
and the hot sim scorching him to the bone. 

They immediately attacked the house of Meyer, 
killing his wife and all his children. Seeing his 
family butchered, and having no means of de- 
tense, Meyer effected his escape, and reached Fort 
Eidgely. In the meantime the affrighted people 
had got together again at the house of a Mr. 
Sitzton, near Bjorkman's, to the number of about 
thirty, men, women, and children. In the after- 
noon the savages returned to the house of Sitzton, 
kiUing every person there but one woman, Mrs. 
Wilhelmina Eindeutield, and her child. These 
ware captured, and afterward found at Camp Ee- 
lease, but the husband and father was among the 
slain. From his place of concealment Mr. Bjork- 
man witnessed this attack and wholesale massacre 
of almost an entire neighborhood. After dark he 
came out of the slough, and, going to his house, 
obtained some food and a bundle of clothing, as 
his house was not yet plundered; fed his dog and 
calf, and jvent over to the house of Meyer; here 
he foimd the windows all broken in, but did not 
enter the house. He then went to the house of 
Sitzton ; his nerves were not equal to the task of 
entering that charnel-house of death. As he 
passed the yard, he turned out some cattle that the 
Indians had not taken away, and hastened toward 
Fort Ridgely. On the road he overtook a woman 
and two children, one an infant of six months, the 
wife and children of John Sateau, who had 
been killed. Taking one of the children in his 
arms, these companions in misfortune and suffer- 
ing hurried on together. Mrs. Sateau was nearly 
naked, and without either shoes or stockings. 



2oa 



niHTOItT OF THE SIOUX MASSACME. 



The rough prairie grass lacerated her naked feet 
and limbs terribly, and she was about giWng out 
in despair. Bjorkman took from his bundle a 
shirt, and tearing it in parts, she woimd it about 
her feet, and proceeded on. 

At daylight they came in sight of the house of 
Maguer, eight miles above the fort. Here they 
saw some eight or ten Indians, and, turning aside 
from the road, dropped down into the grass, where 
they remained until noon, when the Indians disap- 
peared. They again moved toward the fort, but 
slowly and cautiously, as they did not reach it 
until about midnight. Upon reaching the fort 
Mrs. Sateau found two sons, aged ten and twelve 
years respectively, who had efl'ected their escape 
and reached there before her. 

Mrs. Mary, widow of Patrick Hay den, who re- 
sided about one and a half miles from the house 
of J. W. Earle, near Beaver Creek, in Kenville 
county, says : 

"On the morning of the 18th of August, Mr. 
Hayden started to go over to the house of Mr. J. 
B. Keynolds, at the Redwood river, on the reser- 
vation, and met Thomas Kobinson, a half-breed, 
who told him to go home, get his family, and 
leave as soon as possible, for the Indians were 
coming over to kill all the whites. He came im- 
mediately home, and we commenced to make 
preparations to leave, but in a few minutes we 
saw some three or four Indians coming on horse- 
back. We then went over to the house of a 
neighbor, Benedict June, and found them all 
ready to leave. I started off with June's people, 
and my husband went back home, still thinking 
the Indians would not kiU any one, and intending 
to give them some provisions if they wanted them. 
I never saw him again. 

"We had gone about four miles, when jje saw a 
man lying dead in the road and his faithful dog 
watching by his side. 

"We drove on tiU we came to the house of David 
Faribault, at the foot of the hill, about one and a 
half miles from the Agency ferry. When we got 
here two Indians came out of Faribault's house, 
and stopping the teams, shot Mr. Zimmerman, 
who was driving, and his two boys. I sprang out 
of the wagon, and, with my child, one year old, in 
my arms, ran into the bushes, and went up the 
hill toward the fort. When I came near the house 
of Mr. ISIaguer, I saw Indians throwing furniture 
out of the door, and I went down into the bushes 



again, on the lower side of the road, and staid 
there until sundown. 

"While I lay here concealed, I saw the Indians 
taking the roof off the warehouse, and saw the 
buildings burning at the Agency. I also heard 
the firing during the battle at the ferry, when 
Marsh and his men were killed. 

"I then went up near the fort road, and sitting 
down under a tree, waited till dark, and then 
started for Fort Ridgely, carrying my child all the 
way. I arrived at the fort at about 1 o'clock A. 
M. The distance from our place to Eidgley was 
seventeen miles. 

"On Tuesday morning I saw John Magner, who 
told me that, when the soldiers went up to the Agen- 
cy the day before, he taw my husband lying in the 
road, near David Faribault's house, dead. John 
Hayden, his brother, who lived with us, was found 
dead near La Croix creek. They had got up the 
oxen, and were bringing the family of Mr. Eisen- 
rich to the fort, when they were overtaken by In- 
dians. Eisenrich was killed and his wife and five 
children were taken prisoners. 

"Mrs. Zimmerman, who was blind, and her re- 
maining children, and Mrs. Jime and her children, 
five in number, were captured and taken to the 
house of David Faribault, where they were kept 
till night, the savages torturing them by teUing 
them that they were going to fasten them in the 
house and bum them alive, but for some inexpli- 
cable reason let them go, and they, too, reached 
the fort in safety. Mr. Jime, who with one of his 
boys, eleven years old, remained behind to drive 
in his cattle, was met by them on the road and 
killed. The boy was captured, and, with the other 
prisoners, recovered at Camp Release." 

The neighborhoods in the vicinity of La Croix 
creek, and between that and Fort Ridgely, were 
visited on Monday forenoon, and the people either 
massacred, driven away or made prisoners. Ed- 
ward Magner, living eight miles above the fort, 
was killed. His wife and children had gone to 
the fort. He had returned to look after his cat- 
tle when he was shot. Patrick Kelley and David 
O'Coimor, both single men, were killed near Mag- 
nor's. 

Kearn Horan makes the followbig statement. 

"I lived four miles from the Lower Sioux 
Agency, on the fort road. On the 18th of August 
Patrick Horan, my brother, came early from the 
Agency and told us that the Indians were murder- 
ing the whites. He had escaped alone and crossed 



STATEMENT OF KEARN KORAN. 



203 



the ferry, and with some Frenchmen was on bis 
waj to the fort. My brothers and Wilham and 
Thomas Smith went with me. We saw Indians in 
the road near Magner's. Thomas Smith went to 
them, thinking they were white men, and I saw 
them kill him. We then turned to flee, and saw 
men escaping with teams along the road. All fled 
towards the fort together, the Indians firing ujjon 
us as we ran. The teams were oxen, and the In- 
dians were gaining upon us, when one of men in 
his excitement dropped his gun. The savages 
came up to it and picked it up. All stopped to 
examine it, and the men in the wagons whipped 
the oxen into a run. This delay enabled us to 
elude them. 

"As we passed the house of Ole Sampson, Mrs. 
Sampson was crying at the door for help. Her 
three children were with her. We told her to go 
into the bush and hide, for we could not help 
her. We ran into a ravine and hid in the grass. 
After the Indians had hunted some time for us, 
they came along the side of the ravine, and called 
to us in good English, saying, 'Come out, boys; 
what are you afraid of? We don't want to hurt 
you.' After they left us we crawled out and made 
our way to the fort, where we arrived at about 4 
o'clock P. M. My family had gone there before 
me. Mrs. Sampson did not go to the bush, but 
hid in the wagon from which they had_ recently 
come from Waseca county. It was what we call a 
prairie schooner, covered with cloth, a genuine 
emigrant wagon. They took her babe from her, 
and throwing it down upon the grass, put hay im- 
der the wagon, set fire to it and went away. Mrs. 
Sampson got out of the wagon, badly burned, and 
taking her infant from the ground made he, w y 
to the fort. Two of her children were burned to 
death in the wagon. Mr. Sampson had been pre- 
viously killed about eighty rods from the house. 

In the neighborhood of La Croix creek, or Birch 

CooUe, Peter Pereau, Frederick Closen, 

Piguar, Andrew Bahlke, Henry Keartner, old Mr. 
Closen and Mrs. WiUiam Vitt, and several others 
were killed. Mrs. Maria Frorip, an aged Ger-v 
man woman, was wounded fom- different times 
with small shot, but escaped to the fort. The wife 
of Henry Keartner also escajied and reached the 
fort. The wife and child of a Mr. Cardenelle 
were taken prisoners, as were also the wife and 
child of Frederick Closen. 

William Vitt came into Fort Kidgely, but not 



until he had, with his own hands, buried his mur- 
dered wife and also a Mr. Piguar. 

A flourishing German settlement had sprung up 
near Patterson's Eapids, on the Sacred Heart, 
twelve miles below YeUow Medicine. 

Word came to this neighborhood about sun- 
down of the 18th, that the Indians were murder- 
ing the whites. This news was brought to them 
by two men who had started from the Lower 
Agency, and had seen the lifeless and mutilated 
remains of the murdered victims lying upon the 
road and in their plundered dwellings towards 
Beaver Creek. The whole neighborhood, with the 
exception of one family, that of Mr. Schwandt, 
soon assembled at the house of Paul Kitzman, with 
their oxen and wagons, and prejjared to start for 
Fort Eidgely. 

A messenger was sent to the house of Schwandt 
but the Indian rifle and the tomahawk had done 
their fearful work. Of all that family but two 
sui-vived; one a boy, a witness of the awful scene 
of butchery, and he then on his way, covered with 
blood, towards Fort Kidgely. The other, a young 
girl of about seventeen years of age, then residing 
at Redwood, who was captured as previously 
stated. 

This boy saw his sister, a young married wo- 
man, ripped open, while ahve, and her unborn 
babe taken, yet struggling, from her person and 
nailed to a tree before the eyes of the dying 
mother. 

This party started in the evening to make their 
escape, going so as to avoid the settlements and 
the traveled roads, striking across the country to- 
ward the head of Beaver creek. 

They traveled this way all night, and in the 
morning changed their course towards Fort Eidge- 
ly. They continued in this direction until the 
sun was some two hours high, when they were met 
by eight Sioux Indians, who told them that the 
murders were committed by Chippewas, and that 
they had come over to protect them and punish 
the murderers; and thus induced them to turn 
back toward their homes. One of the savages 
spoke Enghsh well. He was acquainted with some 
of the company, having often hunted with Paul 
Kitzman. He kissed Kitzman, telling him he was 
a good man; and they shook hands with all of the 
party. The simple hearted Germans believed 
them, gave them food, distributed money among 
them, and, gratefully receiving their assurances of 
friendship and j)rot€Ction, turned back. 



201 



uisronr of tub sioux massacre. 



They traveled on toward their deserted homes 
till noon, when they again halted, and gave their 
pretended protectors food. The Indians went 
away by themselves to eat. The suspicions of the 
fugitives were now somewhat aroused, but they 
felt that they were, to a great extent, in the power 
of the wretches. They soon came back, and or- 
dered them to go on, taking their position on each 
side of the train. Soon after t)i ey went on and 
disappeared. The train kept on toward home; 
and when within a few rods of u house, where they 
thought they could defend themselves, as they had 
guns with them, they were suddenly surrounded 
by fourteen Indians, who instf ntly fired upon them, 
killing eight (all but three of the men) at the first 
discharge. At the next fire tJiey killed two of the 
remaining men and six of the women, leaving only 
one man, Frederick Kreiger, alive. His wife was 
also, as yet, unliurt. They soon dispatched Kreiger, 
and, at the same time, began boating out the brains 
of the screaming children \\ith the butts of their 
guns. Mrs. Kreiger was standing in the wagon, 
and, when her husband fell, attempted to spring 
from it to the grouisd, but was shot from behind, 
and fell back in the wagon-box, although not dead, 
or tntirely unconscious. She was roughly seized 
and dragged to the ground, and the teams were 
driven off. She now became insensible. A few of 
the children, during this awful scene, escaped to 
the timber near by ; and a few also, maimed and 
mangled by these horrible monsters, and left for 
dead, survived, and, after enduring incredible 
hardships, got to Fort Ridgely. Mrs. Zable, and 
five children, were horribly mangled, and almost 
naked, entered the fort eleven days afterward- 
Mrs. Kreiger also survived her unheard-of suffer- 
ings. 

Some forty odd bodies were afterward found and 
buried on that fatal field of slaughter. Thus per- 
ished, by the hands of these terrible scourges of 
the border, almost an entire neighborhood. Quiet, 
sober, and industrious, they had come hither from 
the vine-clad hills of their fatherland, by the green 
shores and gliding waters of the enchanting 
Rhine, and had built for themselves homes, where 
they had fondly hoped, in peace and quiet, to 
spend yet long years, under the fair, bluo sky, and 
in the sunny clirae of Miimosota, when suddenly, 
and in one short hour, by the hand of the savage, 
they were doomed to one common annihilation. 

During all the fatal 18th of August, the people 
at the Upper Agency pursued their usual avoca- 



tions. As night approached, however, an unusual 
gathering of Indians was observed on the hill just 
wejit of the Agency, and between it and the house 
of John Other Day. Judge Givens and Charles 
Crawford, then acting as interpreters in the ab- 
sence of Freniere, went out to them, and sought 
to learn why they were there in coimcil, but coidd 
get no satisfactory reply. Soon after this. Other 
Day came to them witli the news of the outbreak 
below, as did also Joseph Laframbois, a half- 
breed Sious. The families there were soon all 
gathered together in the warehouse and dwelling 
of the agent, who resided in the same building, 
and with the guns they had, prepared themselves 
as best they could, and awaited the attack, deter- 
mined to sell their lives as dearly as possible. 
There were gathered here sixty-two persons, men, 
women, and children. 

Other Day, and several other Indians, who came 
to them, told them they would stand by them to 
the last. These men visited the council outside, 
several times during the night; but when they 
were most needed, one only, the noble and heroic 
Other Day, remained faithful. AH the others dis- 
appeared, one after another, during the night. 
About one or two o'clock in the morning, Stewart 
B. Garvie, connected with the traders' store, known 
as Myrick's, came to the warehouse, and was ad- 
mitted, badly wounded, a charge of buckshot hav- 
ing entered his bowels. Garvie was standing in 
the door or his store when he was fired upon and 
wounded. He ran up stairs, and jumping from 
the window into the garden, crawled away, and 
reached the Agency without further molestation. 
At about this time Joseph Laframbois went to the 
store of Daily & Pratt, and awakened the two men 
in charge there, Duncan R. Kennedy and J, D. 
Boardman, and told them to flee for their lives. 
They hastily dressed and left the store, but had 
not gone ten rods when they saw in the path be- 
fore them three Indians. They stepped down 
from the jiath, which ran along the edge of a rise 
in the ground of some feet, and crouching in the 
grass, the Indians passed within eight feet of 
them. Kennedy went on toward Fort Ridgely, 
determined to reach that post if possible, and 
Boardman went to the warehouse. At the store of 
William H. Forbes, Constans, book-keeper, a na- 
tive of France, was killed. At the store of Pa- 
toile, Peter Patoile, clerk, and a nephew of the 
proprietor, was shot just outside the store, the ball 
entering at the back and coming ont near the nip- 



WHITES RESCUED Br OTUER DAT. 



205 



pie, passing througli bis lungs. An Indian came 
to him after be fell, turned bim over, and saying, 
"He is dead," left bim. 

Tbey then turned their attention to the stores. 
The clerlis in the store of Louis Koliert had effect- 
ed their escape, so that there were now no white 
men left, and when they had become absorbed in 
the work of plunder, Patoile crawled off into the 
bushes on the banks of the Yellow Medicine, and 
secreted himself. Here he remained all day. 
After dark he got up and started for a place of 
safety; ascending the bluflf, outof the YeUow Med- 
icine bottom, he dragged himself a mile and a 
haK further, to the Minnesota, at the mouth of 
the Yellow Medicine. Wading the Minnesota, be 
entered the house of Louis Labelle, on the oppo- 
site side, at the ford. It was deserted. Finding a 
bed in the house he lay down upon it and was soon 
fast asleejj, and did not awake until morning. 
Joseph Laframbois and Narces Freniere, and an 
Indian, Makacago, entered the house, and finding 
him there, awoke him, telUng bim there were hos- 
tile Indians about; that he must bide. They gave 
him a blanket to disguise himself, and going with 
him to the ravine, concealed bim in the grass and 
left him, promising to return, as soon as it was 
safe to do so, to bring him food, and guide him 
away to the prairie. He lay in this ravine until 
toward night, when his friends, true to their 
promise, returned, bringing some crackers, tripe, 
and onions. They went with him some distance 
out on the prairie, and enjoined upon him not to 
attempt to go to Fort Ridgely, and giving him the 
best directions they could as to the course he 
should take, shook hands with him and left him. 
Their names should be inscribed upon tablets more 
enduring than brass. That night he slept on the 
prairie, and the nest day resumed his wanderings, 
over an unknown region, without an inhabitant. 
After wandering for days without food or drink, 
bis little stock of crackers and tripe being exhaust- 
ed, he came to a deserted bouse, which he did not 
know. Here he remained all night, and obtained 
two raw potatoes and three ears of green corn. 
These he ate raw. It was all the food he had for 
eight days. Wandering, and unknowing whither 
to go, on the twelfth day out from Labelle's house, 
he heard the barking of dogs, and creeping nearer 
to them, still fearing there might be Indians about, 
he was overjoyed at seeing white men. Soon 
making himself and his condition known, he was 
h'keu and kindly cared for by these men, who had 



some days before deserted their farms, and had 
now returned to look after their crops and cattle. 
He now learned for the first time where he was. 
He bad struck a settlement far up the Sauk Val- 
ley, some forty miles above St. Cloud. He must 
have wandered, in these twelve days of sufifering, 
not less than two hundred miles, including devia- 
tions from a direct course. 

He was taken by these men, in a wagon, to St. 
Cloud, where his wound was dressed for the first 
time. From St. Cloud the stage took bim to St. 
Anthony, where he took the cars to St. Paul. A 
case of equal suffering and equal endurance is 
scarcely to be found on record. With a bullet 
wound through the lungs, he walked twelve days, 
not over a smooth and easy road, but across a 
trackless prairie, covered with rank grass, wading 
sleighs and streams on his way, almost without 
food, and for days without water, before he saw the 
face of a man; and traveled by wagon, stage, 
and cars, over one hundred miles. 

His recovery was rapid, and he soon enlisted in 
the First Regiment Minnesota Mounted Rangers 
under General Sibley, in the expedition against 
the Siovix. Patoile was in the battles on the Mis- 
souri in the summer of 1863, where his company, 
that of Captain Joseph Anderson, is mentioned as 
having fought with great bravery. 

We now return to the warehouse at Yellow Med- 
icine, which we left to follow the strange fortunes 
of young Patoile. Matters began to wear a seri- 
ous aspect, when Garvie came to them mortally 
wounded. Other Day was constantly on the watch 
outside, and reported the progress of aifairs to 
those within. Toward daylight every friendly 
Indian had deserted save Other Day; the yells of 
the savages came distinctly to their ears from the 
trading-post, half a mile distant. They were ab- 
sorbed in the work of plunder. The chances of 
escape were sadly against them, yet they decided 
to make the attempt. Other Day knew every foot 
of the country over which they must pass, and 
would be their guide. 

The wagons were driven to the door. A bed 
was placed in one of them; Garvie was laid upon 
it. The women and children provided a few loaves 
of bread, and just as day dawned, the cortege 
started on its perilous way. This party consisted 
of the family of Major Galbraith, wife and three 
children; Nelson Givens, wife, and wife's mother, 
and three children ; Noah Sinks, wife, and two chil- 
dren; Henry EscheUe, wife, and five children; John 



206 



HISTORY OP TUB SIOUX MASSACRE. 



Fadden, wife, and three cliildren; Mr. German and 
wife; Frederick Patoile, wife, and two children; 
Mrs. Jane K. Murch, Miss IMaiy Charles, Miss 
Lizzie Sawyer, Miss Mary Daly, Miss Mary Hays, 
Mrs. Eleanor Warner, Mrs. John Other Day and 
one child, Mrs. Haurahan, N. A. Miller, Edward 
Cramsie, 'Zi. Hawkins, Oscar Canfil, Mr. Hill, an 
artist from St. Paul, J. D. Boardman, Parker 
Pierce, Dr. J. L. Wakefield, and several others. 

They crossed the Minnesota at Labelle's farm, 
and soon turned into the timber on the Hawk 
river, crossed that stream at some distance above 
its mouth, and ascended from the narrow valley 
through which it runs to the open prairie beyond, 
and followed down the Minnesota, keeping back 
on the prairie as far as the farm of Major J. K. 
Bro^^■n, eight miles below the Yellow Medicine. 
Mr. Fadden and Other Day visited the house and 
found it deserted. A consultation th'en took place, 
for the purpose of deciding where they should go. 
Some of them wished to go to Fort Kidgely; oth- 
ers to some town away from the frontier. Other 
Day told them that if they attempted to go to the 
fort they would all be killed, as the Indians would 
either be lying in ambush on that road for them, 
or would follow them, believing they would at- 
tempt to go there. His counsel prevailed, and 
they turned to the left, across the prairie, in the 
direction of Kandiyohi Lakes and Glencoe. At 
night one of the pnrty mounted a horse and rode 
forward, and found a house about a mile ahead. 
They hastened forward and reached it in time to 
escape a furious storm. They were kindly re- 
ceived by the only person about the premises, a 
man, whose family were away. The next morn- 
ing, soon after crossing Hawk river, they were 
joined by Louis Labelle and Gertong, his son-in- 
law, who remained with them all that day. 

On Wednesday morning they left the house of 
the friendly settler, and that night reached Cedar 
City, eleven miles from Hutchinson, in the county 
of McLeod. The inhabitants had deserted the 
town, and gone to an island, in Cedar Lake, and 
had erected a rude shelter. From the main land 
the island was reached through shallow water. 
Through this water our escaping party drove, 
guided by one of the citizens of Cedar City, and 
were cordially welcomed by the people assembled 
there. 

That night it rained, and all were drenched to 
the skin. Poor Garvie was laid under a rude 
shed, upon his bed, and all was done for him that 



man could do; but, in the morning, it was evident 
that he could go no further, and he was taken to 
the house of a Mr. Peek, and left. He died there, 
a day or two afterward. Some of the company, 
who were so worn out as to be unable to go on be- 
yond Hutchinson, returned to Cedar City and saw 
that he was decently interred. 

On Thursday they went on, by way of Hutchin- 
son and Glencoe, to Carver, and thence to Shako- 
pee and St. Paul. Major Galbraith, in a report to 
the department, says of this escape: 

"Led by the Noble Other Day, they struck out 
on the naked prairie, literally placing their lives 
in this faithful creature's hands, and guided by 
him, and him alone. After intense suffering and 
jirivation, they reached Shakopee, on Friday, the 
22d of August, Other Day never leaving them for 
an instant; and thia Other Day is a pure, full- 
blooded Indian, and was, not long since, one of the 
wildest and fiercest of his race. Poor, nolile fel- 
low! must he, too, be ostracized for the sins of his 
nation ? i commend him to the care of a just God 
and a Uberal government ; and not only him, but 
all others who did Ukewise." 

[Government gave John Other Day a farm in 
Minnesota. He died several years since univer- 
sally esteemed by the white people.] 

After a knowledge of the designs of the Indians 
reached the people at the Agency, it was impossi- 
ble for them to more than merely communicate 
with the two families at the saw-miU, three miles 
above, and with the families at the Mission. They 
were, therefore, reluctantly left to their fate. 
Early in the evening of Monday, two civilized In- 
dians, Chaskada and Tankanxaceye, went to the 
house of Dr. Williamson, and warned them of their 
danger, informing them of what had occurred be- 
low; and two halt-breeds, Michael and Gabriel 
Renville, and two Christian Indians, Paul Maxa- 
kuta Mani and Simon Anaga Mani, went to the 
house of Mr. Kiggs, the missionary, at Hazel- 
wood, and gave them warning of the danger im- 
pending over them. 

There were at this place, at that time, the family 
of the Eev. Stephen R. Eiggs, Mr. H. D. Cun- 
ningham and family, Mr. D. W. Moore and his 
wife (who reside in New Jersey), and Jonas Petti- 
john and family. Mr. Pettijohn and wife were 
in charge of the Government school at Red Iron's 
village, and were now at Mr. Eiggs'. They got 
up a team, and these friendly Indians went with 
them to an Island in the Minnesota, about tliree 



ESCAPE OF REV. S. li. RIGGS AJfD OTHERS. 



207 



miles from the Mission. Here they remained till 
Tuesday evening. In the afternoon of Tuesday, 
Andrew Hunter, a son-in-law of Dr. Williamsou, 
came to him with the information that the family 
of himself and the Doctor were secreted below. 
The families at the saw-mill had been informed by 
the Eenvilles, and were with the party of Dr. Wil- 
liamson. At night they formed a junction on the 
north side of the Minnesota, and commenced their 
perilous journey. A thunder-storm effectually ob- 
Uterated their tracks, so that the savages could not 
follow them. They started out on the prairie in a 
northeasterly direction, and, on Wednesday morn- 
ing, changed their course south-easterly, till they 
struck the Lac qui Parle road, and then made di- 
rectly for Fort Eidgely. On Wednesday they 
were joined by three Germans, who had escaped 
from YeUow Medicine. On Wednesday night tliey 
found themselves in the vicinity of the Upper 
Agency, and turned to the north again, keeping 
out on the prairie. On Friday they were in the 
neighborhood of Beaver Creek, when Dr. Wil- 
liamson, who, with his wife and sister, had re- 
mained behind, overtook them in an ox-cart, hav- 
ing left about twenty -four hours later. They now 
determined to go to Fort Bidgelj. When within 
a few miles of that post, just at night, they were 
discovered by two Indians on horseback, who rode 
along parallel with the train for awhile, and then 
turned and galloped away, and the fugitives has- 
tened on, momentarily expecting an attack. Near 
the Three-Mile creek they passed a dead body 
lying by the road-side. They drove on, passing 
the creek, and, turning to the left, passed out on 
to the prairie, and halted a mile and a half from 
the fort. It was now late at night; they had 
heard firing, and had seen Indians in the vicinity. 
They were in doubt what to do. It was at length 
decided that Andrew Hunter should endeavor to 
enter the fort and ascertain its condition, and 
learn, if possible, whether they could get in. 
Hunter went, and, although it was well-nigh sur- 
rounded by savages (they had been besieging it 
all the afternoon), succeeded in crawling by on his 
hands and knees. He was told that it would be 
impossible for so large a party, forty-odd, to get 
through the Indian lines, and that he had better 
return and tell them to push on toward the to\vns 
below. He left as he had entered, crawling out 
into the prairie, and reached his friends in safety. 
It seemed very hard, to be so near a place of fan- 
cied security, and obliged to turn away from it, 



and, weary and hungry, press on. Perils beset 
their path on every hand; dangers, seen and un- 
seen, were around them ; but commending them- 
selves to the care of Him who "suffereth not a 
sparrow to fall to the ground without His notice," 
they resumed their weary march. They knew 
that all around them the work of death and deso- 
lation was going on, for the midnight sky, on 
every side, was red with the lurid flame of burn- 
ing habitations. They heard fiom out the gloom 
the tramp of horses' feet, hurrying past them in 
the darkness; but they still pressed on. Soon 
their wearied animals gave out, and again they 
encamped for the night. With the early dawn 
they were upon the move, some eight miles from 
the fort, in the direction of Henderson. Here, 
four men, the three Germans who had joined them 
on AVeJuesday, and a young man named Gilligan, 
left them, and went off in the direction of New 
Ulm. The bodies of these unfortunate men were 
afterward found, scarcely a mile from the place 
where they had left the guidance of Other Day. 

They traveled on in the direction of Henderson, 
slowly and painfully, for their teams, as well as 
themselves, were nearly exhausted. That day the 
savages were beleaguering New Ulm, and the 
sounds of the conflict were borne faintly to their 
ears upon the breeze. They had flour with them, 
but no means of cooking it, and were, consequently, 
much of the time without proper food. On the 
afternoon of this day they came to a deserted 
house, on the road from Fort Ridgley to Hender- 
son, the house of Michael Cummings, where they 
found a stove, cooking utensils, and a jar of cream. 
Obtaining some ears of corn from the field or gar- 
den near by, and " confiscating" the cream, they 
prepared themselves the first good meal they had 
had since leaving their homes so hastily on Mon- 
day night. 

After refreshing themselves and their worn ani- 
mals at tliis place for some hours, their journey 
was again resumed. That night they slept in a 
forsaken house on the prairie, and, on Sabbath 
morning early, were again on their way. As they 
proceeded, they met some of the settlers returning 
to their deserted farms, and calh'ng a halt at a de- 
serted house, where they found a large company of 
jjeople, they concluded to remain until Monday, 
and recuperate themselves and teams, as well as to 
observe in a proper manner the holy Sabbath. On 
Monday morning they separated, part going to 
Henderson and part to St. Peter, all feeling thai 



208 



HISTORY OF THE SIOUX SI ASS AG RE. 



the All-seeing Eye that never slumbers or sleeps 
had watched over them, and that the loving hand 
of God had guided them siifely through the dan- 
gers, seen and unseen, that had beset their path. 

In the region of the State above the Upper 
Agency there were but few white inhabitants. Of 
all those residing on the Cliippewa river, near its 
mouth, we can hear of but one who escaped, and 
he was wounded, while his comrade, who lived with 
him was killed. This man joined the party of the 
missionaries, and got away with them. 

On the Yellow Medicine, above the Agency about 
twelve mUes, was a settler named James W. 
Lindsay. He was unmarried, and another single 
man was "baching it" with liim. They were both 
killed. Their nearest white neighbors were at 
the Agency, and they could not be warned of their 
danger, and knew nothing of it until the savages 
were upon them. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

LEOPOLD WOHIiER AND WIPE^LEAVENWORTH 

STATEMENT OF MRS. MAKY 3. COVIl,Ij STOKY OF 

MRS. LAURA WHTTON MILFORD — NICOLLET COUN- 
TY WEST NEWTON LAFAYETTE — OOUETLAUD 

SWAN LAKE PARTIAL LIST OF THE KILLED IN 

NICOLLET COUNTY INDIANS SCOURING THE COUN- 
TRY — A SCOUTING PARTY SEEN AT ST. PETER. 

The news of the murders below reached Leo- 
pold Wohler at the "lime-kUn," three miles be- 
low Yellow Medicine, on Monday afternoon. 
Taking his wife, he crossed the Minnesota river, 
and went to the house of Major Joseph E. Brown. 

Major Brown's family consisted of his wife and 
nine children; Angus Brown and wife, and Charles 
Blair, a son-in-law, his wife, and two children. 
The Major himself was away from home. Includ- 
ing Wohler and his wife, there were then at their 
house, on the evening of the 18th of August, 
eighteen persons. 

They started, early on the morning of the 19th, 
to make their escape, with one or two others of 
their neighbors, Charles Holmes, a single man, re- 
siding on the claim above them, being of the party. 
They were overtaken near Beaver Creek by Indi- 
ans, and all of the Browns, Mr. Blair and family, 
and Mrs. Wohler, were captured, and taken at 
once to Little Crow's village. Messrs. Wohler and 
Holmes escaped. Major Brown's family were of 
mixed Indian blood. This fact, probably, accounts 



for their saving the lite of Blair, who was a 
white man. 

Crow told him to go away, as his young men 
were going to kill him ; and he made his escape to 
Fort Kidgely, being out some five days and nights 
without food. Mr. Blair was in poor health. The 
hardships he endured were too much for his al- 
ready shattered constitution; and although he es- 
caped the tomahawk and scalping-knife, he was 
soon numbered among the victims of the massacre. 

J. H. Ingalls, a Scotchman, who resided in this 
neighborhood, and his wife, were killed, and their 
four children were taken into captivity. Two of 
them, young girls, aged twelve and fourteen years, 
were rescued at Camp Release, and the two httle 
boys were taken away by Little Crow. Poor httle 
fellows! their fate is still shrouded in mystery. 
A Mr. Frace, residing near Brown's place, was also 
killed. His wife and two children were foimd at 
Camp Release. 

The town of Leavenworth was situated on the 
Cottonwood, in the county of Brown. Word was 
brought to some of the settlers in that town, on 
Monday afternoon, that the Indians had broken 
out and were killing the inhabitants on the Min- 
nesota. They immediately began to make prepa- 
rations to leave. Mr. Wilham Carroll started at 
once for New Ulm alone, to learn the facts of the 
rumored outbreak. The most of the inhal)itants, 
alarmed by these rumors, fled that night toward 
New Ulm. Some of them reached that town in 
safety, and others were waylaid and massa:Ted 
upon the road. 

The family of a Mr. Blum, a worthy German 
citizen, were all, except a small boy, killed while 
endeavoring to escape. On Tuesday morning, 
Mr. Philetus Jackson was killed, while on the way 
to town with his wife and son. Mrs. Jackson and 
the young man escaped. 

We insert here the statements of two ladies, who 
escaped from this neighborhood, as they detail 
very fully the events of several days in that local- 
ity. Mrs. Mary J. Covill, wife of George W. 
OoviU, says: 

"On Monday, the 18th of August, messengers 
came to the house of Luther Whiton, from both 
above and below, with a rejjort of an outbreak of 
the Indians. My husband was at Mr. Wliiton's, 
stacking grain. He came home about four o'clock 
P. M., and t;)ld me about it, and then went back 
to Whiton" s, about half a mile away, to get a Mr. 
Biaut, who had recently come there from the State 



STATEMENT OP MRS. COVILL. 



209 



of Maine, to take his team aud esnap^. I packed 
a triiuk with clothing, and hid it in the grass, and 
then went myself to Whitou's, as I was afraid to 
remain at home. Mr. Kiant got up his team, 
and taking bis two trunks — one of them 
containing over two thousand dollars in gold 
— took us all with him. There was a family at 
Mr. Whiton's from Tennessee, and a young child 
of theirs had died that day. The poor woman 
took her dead, child in her arms, and we all started 
across the prairie, avoiding the road, for Mankato. 
We camped that night about three miles from 
home, on the prairie; and seeing no fires, as of 
burning buildings, returned to the house of our 
neighbor, Van Guilder, and found that tlie settlers 
had nearly all left. Mr. Van Guilder and family, 
Edward Allen and wife, Charles Smith and family 
and Mrs. Carroll, were all we knew of that re- 
mained. 

" We started on, thinking that we would over- 
take the Leavenworth party, who had J;)een gone 
about an hour. We had gone about two and a 
half miles, when we saw, ahead of us, a team, with 
two men in the wagon, who drove toward us until 
they got into a hollow, and then got out and went 
behind a knoU. We drove quite near them, when 
Mr. Covin discovered -them to be Indians. Kiant 
turned his horses round and fled, when they jumped 
up out of the grass, whooped, and fired at us. 
They then jumped into their wagon and followed. 
Mr. Covin had the only gun in the party that 
could be used, and kept it pjinted at the Indians 
as we retreated. They fired at us some half-dozen 
times, but, fortunately, without injuring any one. 
" We drove hastily back to the house of Van 
Guilder, and entered it as quickly as possible, the 
savages firing upon us all the time. Mr. Van 
Guilder had just started away, with bis family, as 
we came back, and returned to the house with us. 
A shot from the Indians broke the arm of his mo- 
ther, an aged lady, soon after we got into the 
house, as she was passing a window. In our haste, 
we had not stopped to hitch the horses, and they 
soon started off, aud the Indians followed. As 
they were going over a hill near the house, they 
shook a white cloth at us, and, whooping, disap- 
peared. There were in this comj^any — after Riant 
was gone, who left us, and hid in a slough — fifteen 
persons. We immediately started out on the prai- 
rie again. We had now only the ox-team of Van 
Guilder, and the most of us were compelled to 
ivalk. His mother, some small children, and some 



trunks, made a wagon-load. The dead child, 
which the mother had brought back to the h<juse 
with her, was left lying upon the table. It was 
afterward found, with Us head severed from its body 
by the fiends. S. L. Wait and Luther Whiton, 
who had concealed themselves in the grass when 
they saw the Indians coming, joined us. Mrs. A. 
B. Hough and infant child were with the family ot 
Van Guilder. These made our number up to fif- 
teen. We traveled across the prairie all day with- 
. out seeing any Indians, and, at night, camped on 
the Little Cottonwood. We waded the stream, 
and made our 'camp on the opposite side, in the 
tall grass and reeds. We reached this spot on 
Tuesday night, aud remained there till Friday af- 
ternoon, without food, save a little raw flour, which 
we did not dare to cook, for fear the smoke would 
reveal our whereaboTits to the savages, when a 
company from New Uhn rescued us. 

"On Wednesday night, ^ter dark, CoviU and 
Wait started for New Ulm, to get a party to come 
out to our aid, saying they would be back the 
next day. That night, and nearly all the next 
day, it rained. At about daylight the next day, 
when just across the Big Cottonwood, five miles 
from New Ulm, they heard an Indian whooping in 
their rear, and turned aside into some hazel-bushes, 
where they lay aU day. At the place where they 
crossed the river they found a fish-rack in the 
water, and in it caught a fish. Part of this they 
ate raw that day. It was now Thursday, and 
they had eaten nothing since Monday noon. They 
started again at dark for New Ulm. When near 
the graveyard, two miles from the town, an Indian, 
with grass tied about his head, arose from the 
ground and attempted to bead them off. They 
succeeded in evading him, aud got in about ten 
o'clock. When about entering the place, they 
were fired upon by the pickets, which alarmed the 
town, and when they got in, all was in commo- 
tion, to meet an expected attack. 

" The next morning, one hundred and fifty men, 
under Captain Tousley, of Le Sueur, and S. A. 
Buell, of St. Peter, started to our relief, reachin"' 
our place of coucealmsnt about two o'clock. They 
brought us food, of which our famished party 
eagerly partook. They were accompanied by Dr. 
A. W. Daniels, of St. Peter, and Dr. Mayo, of 
Le Sueur. They went on toward Leavenworth, 
intending to remain there all night, bury 
the dead, should any be found, the next 
day, reseu3 any who might remain alive, 



14 



210 



HISTORY OP THE SIOUX 31 ASS AC lib:. 



and then return. They buried the Blum fam- 
ily of six persons that afternoon, and then con- 
cluded to return that night. We reached New 
Ulm before midnight. Mr. Van Guilder's mother 
died soon after we got into town from the effects 
of her wound and the exposure to which she had 
. been subjected. 

"At about the same time that we returned to the 
house of Mr. Van Guilder, on Tuesday, Charles 
Smith and family, Edward Allen and wife, and 
Mrs. Carroll had left it, and reached New Ulm 
without seeing Indians, about halt an hour before 
the place was attacked. The same day, William 
Carroll, with a party of men, came to the house 
for us, found Mr. Riant, who was concealed in a 
slough, and started back toward New Ulm. But 
few of them reached the town alive." 

An account of the adventures of this company, 
and its fate, will be found elsewhere, in the state- 
ment of Ralph Thomas, one of the party. 

On Monday, the 18th of August, two women, 
Mrs. Harrington and Mrs. Hill, residing on the 
Cottonwood, below Leavenworth, heard of the out- 
break, and prevailed upon a Mr. Henshaw, a sin- 
gle man, living near them, to harness up his team 
and take them away, as their husbands were away 
from home. Mr.s. Harrington had two childnm ; 
Mrs. Hill none. They had gone but a short dis- 
tance when they were overtaken by Indians. Mr. 
Henshaw was killed, and Mrs. Harrington was 
badly woimded, the ball passing through her 
shoulder. She had just sprung to the ground 
with her youngest child in her arms; one of its 
arms was thrown over her shoulder, and the ball 
passed through its little hand, lacerating it dread- 
fully. The Indians were intent upon securing the 
team, and the women were not followed, and es- 
caped. Securing the horses, they drove away in 
an opposite direction. 

Mrs. Harrington soon became faint from the loss 
of blood; and Mrs. Hill, concealing her near a 
slough, took the eldest child and started for New 
Ulm. Before reaching that place she met John 
Jackson and William Carroll, who resided on the 
Cottonwood, above them; and, telling them what 
had happened, they put her on one of their horses 
and turned back with her to the town. 

On the next day, Tuesday, Mr. Jackson was one 
of the party with Carrcll, heretofore mentioned, 
that wont out to Leavenworth, and visited the 
house of Van Guilder, in search of their families. 
When that party turned back to New Ulm, Jack- 



son did not go with them, but went to his own 
house to look for his wife, who had already left. 
He visited the houses of most of his neighbors, and 
finding no one, started back alone. When near 
the house of Mr. Hill, between Leavenworth and 
New Ulm, on the river, he saw what he supposed 
were white men at the house, but when within a 
tew rods of them, discovered they were Indians. 
The moment he made this discovery he turned to 
flee to the woods near by. They filed upon him, 
and gave chase, but he outran them, and reached 
the timber unharmed. Here he remained concealed 
until late at night, when he made his way back to 
town, where he found his wife, who, with others of 
their neighbors, had fled on the first alarm, and 
reached the village in safety. Mrs. Laura Whiton, 
widow of Elijah Whiton, of Leavenworth, Brown 
county, m ikes the following statement: 

"We had resided on our claim, at Leavenworth, 
a little over four years. There were in our family, 
on the 18th of August, 1862, four persons — Mr. 
Whiton, myself, and two children — a son of sixteen 
ye:irs, and a daughter nine years of age. On Mon- 
day evening, the 18th of August, a neighbor, Mr. 
Jackson, and his son, a yoimg boy, who resided 
three miles from our place, cr-me to our house in 
search of their horses, and told us that the Indians 
had murdered a family on the Minnesota river, and 
went away. We saw no one, and heard nothing 
more until Thursday afternoon following, about 4 
o'clock, when about a dozen Indians were seen 
coming from the direction of the house of a neigh- 
bor namsd Heydriek, whom they were chasing. 
Hoydrick jumped off a bridge across a ravine, and, 
raaniug down tlie ravine, concealed himself under 
a log. wliere he remained until 8 o'clock, when 
he came out, and made his escape into New Ulm. 

'•The savages had already slain all his family, 
cousi.sting of his wife and two children. Mr. 
Whiton, who was at work near the door at the 
time, came into tlie house, but even then did not 
believe there was any thing serious, supposing 
H3ydrick was unnecessarily frightened. But when 
he saw them leveling their gims at him, he came 
tj the conclusion that we had better leave. He 
loaded his double-barreled gun, and we aU started 
for the timber. After reaching the woods, Mr. 
Whiton left us to go to the house of his brother, 
Luther, a single man, to see what had become of 
him, telling us to remain wliere we were until he 
came back. We never saw him again. After he 
bft us, not daring to remain where wo were, we 



STATEMENT OF MBS. WIIITON: 



211 



forded the river (Cottonwood), and hid in the tim- 
ber, on the opposite side, where we remained 
until about 8 o'clock, when we started for New Uhn. 

" While we lay concealed in the woods, we heard 
the Indians driving up onr oxen, and yoking them 
up. They hitched them to our wagon, loaded it 
up with our trunks, bedding, etc., and drove away. 
we went out on the prairie, and walked all night 
and all next day, arriving at New Ulm at about 
dark on Friday, the 22d. About midnight, on 
Thursday night, as we were fleeing along the road, 
we passed the bodies of the family of our neigh- 
bor, Bhim, lying dead by the road-side. They had 
started to make their escape to town, but were 
overtaken by the savages upon the road, and all 
but a little boy most brutally murdered. 

" Mr. Whiton returned home, from his visit to 
the house of his brother, which he found deserted, 
and found that our house had already been plun- 
dered. He then went to the woods to search for 
us. He remained in the timber, prosecuting his 
search, until Saturday, without food; and, failing 
to find us, he came to the conclusion that we were 
either dead or in captivity, and then himself start- 
ed for New Ulm. On Saturday night, when trav- 
eling across the prairie, he came suddenly upon a 
camp of Indians, but they did not see him, and he 
beat as hasty a retreat as possible from their vi- 
cinity. 

"When near the Lone Cottonwood Tree, on 
Sirnday morning, he fell in with William J. Duly, 
who had made his escape from Lake Shetek. 
They traveled along together tiU they came to the 
house of Mr. Henry Thomas, six miles from our 
farm, in the town of Milford. This house had evi- 
dently been deserted by the family in great haste, 
for the table was spread for a meal, and the food 
remained untouched upon it. Here they sat down 
to eat, neither of them having had any food for a 
long time. WhOe seated at the table, two Indians 
came to the house; and, as Mr. Whiton arose and 
stepped to the stove for some water, they came into 
the door, one of them saying, '2?a mea iepee.' 
[This is my house.] There was no way of escape, 
and Mr. Whiton, thinking to propitiate him, said 
'Come in' Mr. Duly was sitting partly behind t^ie 
door, and was, probably, unobserved. The savage 
made no answer, but instantly raised his gun, and 
shot him through the heart, they then both went 
into the corn. Duly was unarmed; and, when Mr. 
Whiton was killed, took his gun and ran out of the 
house, and concealed himself in the bushes near by. 



"While lying here he could hear the Indians 
yelling and firing their guns in close proximity to 
his place of concealment. After awhile he ven- 
tured out. Being too much exhausted to carry 
it, he threw away the gun, and that night ar- 
rived at New Ulm, without again encountering 
Indians." 

We now return to Mrs. Harrington, whom, the 
reader wiU remember, we left badly wounded, con- 
cealed near a slough. We regret our inability to 
obtain a full narrative of her wanderings during 
the eight succeeding days and nights she spent 
alone upon the prairie, carrying her wounded 
child. We can only state in general terms, that 
after wandering for eight weary days and nights, 
without food or shelter, unknowing whither, early 
on the morning of Tuesday, the 26th, before day- 
light, she found herself at Crisp's farm, midway 
between New Ulm and Mankato. As she ap- 
proached the pickets she mistook them for In- 
dians, and, when hailed by them, was so fright- 
ened as not to recognize the EngUsh language, 
and intent only on saving her life, told them she 
was a Sioux. Two guns were instantly leveled at 
her, but, providentially, both missed fire, when an 
exclamation from her led them to think she was 
wliite, and a woman, and they went out to her. 
She was taken into camp and all done for her by 
Judge Flandrau and his men that could be done. 
They took her to Mankato, and soon after she was 
joined by her husband, who was below at the time 
of the outbreak, and also found the child which 
Mrs. HiU took with her to New Ulm. 

Six mUes from New Ulm there Uved, on the 
Cottonwood, in the county of Brown, a German 
family of the name of Heyers, consisting of the 
father, mother and two sons, both young men. 
A burial party that went out from New Ulm on 
Friday, the 22d, found them aU murdered, and 
buried them near where they were killed. 

The town of Milford, Brown county, adjoining 
New Ulm on the west and contiguous to the res- 
ervation, was a farming community, composed en- 
tirely of Germans. A quiet, sober, industrious, 
and enterprising class of emigrants had here 
made their homes, and the prairie wilderness 
around them began to "bud and blossom like the 
rose." Industry and thrift had brought their sure 
reward, and peace, contentment and happiness 
filled the hearts of tins' simple-hearted people. 
The noble and classic Ehine and the vine-clad hills 
of Fathei'land were almost forgotten, or, if not 



212 



HISTORY OF THE SIOVX MASSACRE. 



forgotten, were now reniHmbered without regret, 
in these fair prairie homes, beneath the glowing 
and genial sky of Minnesota. 

When the sun arose on the morning of the 18th 
of August, 1862, it looked down upon this scene 
in all its glowing beauty; but its declining rays 
fell upon a field of carnage and horror too fearful 
to describe. The council at Eice Creek, on Sun- 
day night, had decided upon the ' details of the 
work of death, and the warriors of the lower 
bands were early on the trail, thirsting for blood. 
Early in the forenoon of Monday they appeared 
in large numbers in this neighborhood, and the 
work of slaughter began. The first house visited 
was that of Wilson Massipost, a prominent and 
iniiuentiiil citizen, a widower. Mr. Massipost had 
two daughters, intelligent and accomplished. 
These the savages murdered most brutally. The 
head of one of them was afterward found, severed 
from the body, attached to a fish-hook, and hung 
upon a nail. His son, a young man of twenty- 
four years, was also killed. Mr. Massipost and a 
son of eight yeai-s escaped to New Ulm. The 
house of Anton Hanley was likewise visited. Mr. 
Hanley was absent. The children, four in num- 
ber, were beaten with tomahawks on the head and 
person, inflicting fearful wounds. Two of them 
were lulled outright, and one, an infant, recovered; 
the other, a young boy, was taken by the parents, 
at night, to New Ulm, thence to St. Paul, where 
he died of his wounds. After killing these child- 
ren, they proceeded to the field near by, where 
Mrs. Hanley, her father, Anton Mesmer, his wife, 
son Joseph, and daughter, were at work harvesting 
wheat. AU these they instantly shot, except Mrs. 
Hanley, who escaped to the woods and secreted 
herself tUl night, when, her husband coming home, 
they took their two wounded children and 
made their escape. At the house of Agrenatz 
Hanley all the children were kUlcd. The parents 
escaped. 

Bastian Mey, wife, and two children were mas- 
sacred in their house, and three children were ter- 
ribly mutilated, who afterward recovered. 

Adolph Shilling and his daughter were killed; 
his son badly wounded, escaped with his mother. 
Two families, those of a Mr. Zeller and a Mr. Zet- 
tle, were completely annihilated; not a soul was 
left to tell the tale of their sudden destruction. 
Jacob Keck, Max Fink, and a Mr. Belzer were 
also victims of savage barbarity at th's place. Af- 
ter kUUng the inhabitants, they plundered and 



sacked the houses, destroying all the property 
they could not carry away, driving away all the 
horses and cattle, and when night closed over the 
dreadful scene, desolation and death reigned su- 
preme. 

There resided, on the Big Cottonwood, between 
New Ulm and Lake Shetek, a German, named 
Charles Zierke, familiarly kno^vn throughoiit all 
that region as "Dutch Charley." On the same 
road resided an old gentleman, and his son and 
daughter, named Brown. These adventurous pio- 
neers lived many miles from any other human 
habitation, and kept houses of entertainment on 
that lonely road. This last-named house was 
known as "Brown's place." It is not known to us 
when the savages came to those isolated dwell- 
ings. We only know that the mutilated bodies of 
all three of the Brown family were found, and 
buried, some miles from their house. Zierke and 
his family made their escape toward New Ulm, 
and, when near the town, were pursued and over- 
taken by the Indians on the prairie. By sharp 
running, Zierke escaped to the town, but his wife 
and children, together with his team, were taken 
by them. Returning afterward with a jiarty of 
men, the savages aliandoued the captured team, 
woman, and children, and they were recovered 
and all taken into New Ulm in safety. 

The frontier of Nicollet county contiguous to 
the reservation was not generally visited by the 
savages until Tuesday, the 19th, and the succeed- 
ing days of that week. The people had, generally 
in the meantime, sought safety in' flight, and were 
principally in the town of St. Peter. A few, how- 
ever, remained at their homes, in isolated locali- 
ties, where the news of the awful scenes enacting 
aroimd them did not reach them; or, who having 
removed their families to places of safety, returned 
to look after their property. These generally fell 
victims to the rifle and tomahawk of the savages. 
The destruction of life in this county, was, how- 
ever, trifling, compared with her sister counties of 
Brown and Renville; but the loss of projierty was 
immense. The entire west half of the county was, 
of necessity, abandoned and completely desolated. 
The ripened grain crop was much of it imcut, and 
wasted in the field, while horses and cattle and 
sheep and hogs roamed unrestrained at will over 
the unharvested fields. And, to render the ruin 
complete the savage hordes swept over this por- 
tion of the county, gathering up horses and cattle 
shooting swine and sheep, and all other stock that 



DBVj\JSTATION 1M NICOLLET COUNTY. 



213 



they could not catch; liuishing the work of ruin 
by jipplyiug the torch to the stacks of hay and 
grain, and in some instances to the dwelhngs of 
the settlers. 

William Mills kept a public house in the town 
of West Newton, four miles from Fort Kidgely, on 
the St. Peter road. Mr. Mills heard of the out- 
break of the Sioux on Monday, and at once took 
the necessary steps to secure the safety of his fam- 
ily, by sending them across the prairie to a se- 
cluded spot, at a slough some three miles from the 
house. Leaving a span of horses and a wagon 
with them, he instructed them, if it should seem 
necessary to their safety, to drive as rapidly as 
possible to Henderson. He then went to Fort 
Ridgely to possess himself, if possible, of the exact 
state of affairs. At night he visited his house, to 
obtain some articles of clothing for his family, and 
carried them out to their place of concealment, and 
went again to the fort, where he remained until 
Tuesday morning, when he started out to his fam- 
ily, thinking he would send them to Henderson, 
and return and assist in the defense of that post. 
Soon after leaving the fort he met Lieutenant T. J. 
Sheehan and his company, on their way back to 
that post. Sheehan roughly demanded of him 
where he was going. He replied he was going to 
send his family to a place of safety, and return. 
The lieutenant, with an oath, wrested from him his 
gun, the only weapon of defense he had, thus leav- 
ing him defenseless. Left thus unarmed and 
powerless, he took his family and hastened to Hen- 
derson, arriving there that day in safety. 

A few Indians were seen in the neighborhood of 
West Newton on Monday afternoon on horseback, 
but at a distance on the prairie. The most of the 
inhabitants fled to the fort on that day : a few re - 
mained at their homes and some fled to St. Peter 
and Henderson. The town of Lafayette was, in 
like manner, deserted on Monday and Monday 
night, the inhabitants chiefly making for St. Peter. 
Courtland township, lying near New Ulm, caught 
the contagion, and her people too fled — the women 
and children going to St. Peter, while many of her 
brave sons rushed to the defense of New Ulm, and 
in that terrible siege bore a conspicuous and hon- 
orable part. 

As the cortege of panic stricken fugitives poured 
along the various roads leading to the towns be- 
low, or Monday night and Tuesday, indescribable 
terror seized the inhabitants; and the rapidly ac- 
cumulating human tide, gathering force and num- 



bers as it moved across the prairie, rolled an 
overwhelming flood into the towns along the 
river. 

The entire county of Nicollet, outside of St. 
Peter, was depopulated, and their crops and herds 
left by the inhabitants to destruction. 

On the arrival of a force of mounted men, under 
Captains Anson Nortbriip, of Minneapolis, and B. 
H. Chittenden, of the First Wisconsin Cavalry, at 
Henderson, on the way to Fort Eidgely, they met 
Charles Nelson, and, on consultation, decided to go 
to St. Peter, where they were to report to Colonel 
Sibley, by way of Norwegian Grove. Securing 
the services of Nelson, John Fadden, and one or 
two others, familiar to the country, they set out 
for the Grove. 

Captain Chittenden, in a letter to the "New 
Haven Palladium," written soon after, says: 

" The prairie was magnificent, but quite desert- 
ed. Sometimes a dog stared at us as we jjassed; 
but even the bnites seemed conscious of a terrible 
calamity. At 2 o'clock we reached the Grove, 
which surrounded a lake. The farms were in a fine 
state of cultivation; and, strange to say, although 
the houses were in ruins, the grain stacks were un- 
touched. Beapers stood in the field as the men 
had left them. Cows wandered over the israiries 
in search of their masters. Nelson led the way to 
tha spot where he had been overtaken in attempt- 
ing to escape with his wife and children. We 
found his wagon; the ground was strewn with ar- 
ticles of apparel, Ms wife's bonnet, boxes, yarn, in 
fact everything they had hastily gathered up. But 
the wife and boys were gone. Her he had seen 
them murder, but the children had nm into the 
corn-field. He had also secreted a woman and 
child under a hay -stack. We went and turned it 
over; they were gone. I then so arranged the 
troops that, by marching abreast, we made a 
thorough search of the corn-field. No clue to his 
boys could be found. Passing the still bumiag 
embers of his neighbor's dwellings, we came to 
Nelson's own, the only one still standing. * * * 
The heart-broken man closed the gate, and turned 
away without a tear; then simply asked Sergeant 
Thompson when he thought it would be safe to 
return. I must confess that, accustomed as I am 
to scenes of horror, the tears would come." 

The troops, taking Nelson with them, proceeded 
to St. Peter, where he found the dead body of his 
wife, which had been carried there by some of liis 
neighbors, and his children, alive. They had fled 



214 



BISTORT OF rUE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



tbrough the com, and escaped from their savage 
pursuers. 

Jacob Mauerle bad taken bis family down to 
St. Peter, and returned on Friday to bis bouse, 
in West Newton. He bad tied some clothing 
in a bundle, and started for the fort, when be 
was shot and scalped, some eighty rods from the 
house. 

The two Applebaum's were evidently fleeing to 
St. Peter, when overtaken by the Indians and 
kiUed. 

Felix Smith had escaped to Fort Bidgely, and 
on Wednesday forenoon went out to bis bouse, 
some three miles away. The Indians attacked the 
fort that afternoon, and be was killed in endeavor- 
ing to get back into that post. 

Small parties of Indians scoured the country be- 
tween Fort Ridgely, St. Peter, and Henderson, 
during the first week o£ the massacre, driving away 
cattle and burning buildings, w-itbin twelve miles 
of the first-named place. The Swan Lake House 
was laid in ashes. A scouting party of six savages 
was seen by General M. B. Stone, upon tlie blufT, 
in sight of the town of St. Peter, on Friday, the 
22d day of August, the very day they were making 
their most furious and detennined assault upon 
Fort Bidgely. 

This scouting party had, doubtless, been de- 
tached from the main force besieging that post, 
and sent forward, under the delusion that the fort 
must fall into their hands, to reconnoiter, and re- 
port to Little Crow the condition of the j)lace, and 
the ability of the people to defend themselves. 
But they failed to take Fort Eidgely, and, on the 
22d, their scouts saw a large body of troops, under 
Colonel Sibley, enter St. Peter. 



CHAPTER XXXVL 



BIG STONE LAKE WHITES KILI.ED — LAKE SHETEK 

NAMES OF SBTTLKRS MBS. ALOMINA HUKD ES- 

C.ii.PES WITH HER TWO OHILDEEN THE BATTLE OF 

SPIRIT LAKE WARFARE IN JACKSON OOTINTr 

D^UCOTA TERRITORY MURDERS AT SIOUX F.ALLS 

DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY KILLING OP AMOS 

HUGGINS. 

At Big Stone Lake, in what is now Big Stone 
county, were four trading bouses, Wm. H. Forbes, 
Daily, Pratt & Co.. and Kathan Myrick. The liahi- 
tues of these Indian trading houses, as usual, wore 
mostly half-breeds, natives of the country. The 



store of Daily, Pratt k Co. was in charge of Mr. 
Ryder of St. Paul. On the 21st of August, four 
of these men at work cutting hay, unsuspicious of 
danger, were suddenly attacked and all murdered, 
except Anton Mauderfield; while one half-breed, 
at the store, Baptiste Gubeau, was taken prisoner, 
and was informed that be would be killed that 
night. But Gubeau succeeded in escaping from 
their grasp, and making his way to the lake. His 
escape was a wonderful feat, bound as be was, as 
to bis bands, pursued by yelling demons determ- 
ined on his death. But, ahead of all his pursuers, he 
reached the lake, and dashing into the reeds on the 
margin, was hid from the sight of his disappointed 
pursuers. Wading noiselessly into the water, until 
his head alone was above the water, he remained 
perfectly still for some time. The water soon 
loosened the rawhide on his wrists, so that they 
were easily removed. The Indians sought for him 
in vain; and as the shades of night gathered around 
lum, he came out of his hiding place, crossed the 
foot of the lake and struck out for the Upper 
Mississippi. He finally reached St. Cloud. Here 
be was mistaken for an Indi;in spy, and threatened 
with death, but was finally saved by the interposi- 
tion of a gentleman who knew him. 

The other employes at the lake were all killed 
except Manderfield, who secreted himself while his 
comrades were being murdered. Manderfield, in 
his escape, when near Lac qui Parle, was met by 
Joseph Laframboise, who had gone thither to ob- 
tain his sister Julia, then a captive there. Man- 
derfield received from Larramboise proper direc- 
tions, and finally reached Fort Eidgely in safety. 

Lake Shetek. — This beautiful lake of quiet 
water, some six miles long and two broad, is situ- 
ated about seventy miles west of New Ulm, in the 
county of Murray. Here a little commimity of 
some fifty persons were residing far out on our 
frontier, the nearest settlement being the Big Cot- 
tonwood. The families and persons located here 
were: John Eastlick and wife, Charles Hatch, 
Phineas B. Ilurd and wife, John Wright, Wm. J. 
Duly and wife, H. W. Smith, Aaron Myers, Mr. 
Everett and wife, Thomas Ireland and wife, Koch 
and wife; these witb their several families, and six 
single men, Wm. James, Edgar Bently, John 
Voight, E. G. Cook, and John F. and Daniel 
Burns, the latter residing alone on a claim at Wal- 
nut Grove, some distance from the lake, consti- 
tuted the entire population of Lake Shetek settle- 
ment, in Miirray county. 



L^iKE SHETEE. 



215 



On the 20th of August some twenty Sioux In- 
dians rode up to the house of Mr. Hurd. Mr. 
Hurd himself had left home for the Missouri river 
on the 2d day of June previous. Ten of these In- 
dians entered the house, talked and smoked their 
pipes while Mrs. Hurd was getting breakfast. Mr. 
Voight, the work-hand, while waiting for break- 
fast, took up the babe, as it awoke and cried, and 
walked with it out in the yard in front of the door. 
No sooner had he left the house than an Indian 
took his gun and deliberately shot him dead near 
the door. Mrs. Hurd was amazed, at the infernal 
deed, as these Indians had always been kindly 
treated, and often fed at her table. She ran to 
the fallen man to raise him up and look after the 
safety of her child. To her utter horror, one of 
the miscreants intercepted her, telling her to leave 
at once and go to the settlements across the prairie. 
She was refused the privilege of dressing her 
naked children, and was compelled to turn awaj 
from her ruined home, to commence her wandering 
over an almost trackless waste, without food, and 
almost -without raiment, for either herself or little 
ones. 

These Indians proceeded from the house of Mr. 
Hurd to that of Mr. Andrew Koch, whom they 
shot, and plundered the house of its contents. 
Mrs. Koch was compelled to get up the oxen and 
hitch them to the wagon, and drive them, at the 
dii'ection of her captors, into the Indian country. 
In this way she traveled ten days. She was the 
captive of White Lodge, an old and ugly chief of 
one of the ujiper bands. As the course was tow- 
ards the Missouri river, Mrs. Koch refused to go 
farther in that direction. The old chief threatened 
to shoot her if she did not drive on. Making a 
virtue of necessity she reluctantly obeyed. Soon 
after she was required to carry the vagabond's 
gun. Watching her opportunity she destroyed 
the explosive quality of the cap, and dampened 
the powder in the tiibe, leaving the gim to appear- 
ance all right. Soon afterward she again refused 
to go any farther in that direction. Again the 
old scoundrel threatened her with der.th. She in- 
stantly bared her bosom and dared him to fire. 
He aimed his gun at her breast and essayed to 
fire, but the gun refused to take part in the work 
of death. The superstitious savage, supposing 
she bore a charmed life, lowered his gun, and 
asked which way she wishsd to go. She pointed 
toward the settlements. In this direction the 
teams were turned. They reached the neighbor- 



hood of the Upper Agency in ten days after leav- 
ing Lake Shetek, about the time of the arrival of 
the troops under Colonel Sibley in the vicinity of 
Wood Lake and Yellow Medicine. White Lodge 
did not like the looks of things around Wood 
Lake, and left, moving off in an opposite direction 
for greater- safety. Mrs. Koch was finally rescued 
at Camp Release, after wading or swimming the 
Minnesota river ten times in company with a 
friendly squaw. 

At Lake Shetek, the settlers were soon all gath- 
ered at the house of John Wright, prepared for 
defense. They were, however, induced by the ap- 
parently friendly persuasion of the Indians to 
abandon the house, and move towards the slough 
for better safety. The Indians commenced firing 
upon the retreating party. The whites returned 
the fire as they ran. Mrs. Eastlick was wounded 
in the heel, Mr. Duly's oldest son and daughter 
were shot through the shoulder, and Mrs. Ireland's 
youngest child was shot through the leg, while 
rimning to the slough. Mr. Hatch, Mr. Everett, 
Mr. Eastlick, Mrs. Eastlick, Mrs. Everett, and sev- 
eral children were shot. The Indians now told 
the women to come out of the slough, and they 
would not kill them or the children, if they woidd 
come out. They went out to them with the children, 
when they shot Mrs. Everett, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. 
Ireland dead, and killed some of the children. 
Mrs. Eastlick was shot and left on the field, sup- 
posed to be dead, but she finally escaped, and two 
of her children, Merton and Johnny. Her inter- 
esting narrative will be found in the large work, 
from which this abridgment is made up. Mrs. 
Julia A. Wright, and Mrs. Duly, and the two chil- 
dren of Mrs. Wright, and two of the children of 
Mrs. Duly were taken captive. Some of these 
were taken by the followers of Little Crow to the 
Missouri river, and were subsequently ransomed 
at Fort Pierre, by Major Galpin. All the men ex- 
cept Mr. Eastlick, being only wounded, escaped 
to the settlements. The brothers Burns remained 
on their claim, and were not molested. One 
sneaking Indian coming near them paid the for- 
feit with his life. 

Spirit Lake. — On or about the 25th day of 
August, 1862, the "Annuity Sioux Indians" made 
their appearance at Sfiirit Lake, the scene of the 
terrible Inkpaduta massacre of 1857. The inhab- 
itants fled in dismay from their homes; and the 
savages, after plundering the dwelUngs of the set- 



216 



niSTORT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



tiers, completed their fiendish work by setting fire 
to the country. 

Dakota Tebbitobt. — Portions of Dakota Ter- 
ritory were visited by the Sioux in 1862. At 
Sious Falls City the following murders were com- 
mitted by the Sioux Indians on tho 25th of Au- 
gust: Mr. Joseph B. and ]Mr. M. Amidon, father 
and son, were found dead in a com- field, near 
which they had been making hay. The son was 
shot with both balls and arrows, the father with 
balls only. Their bodies lay some ten rods apart. 
On the morning of the 2Gth, about fifteen Indians, 
supposed to be Sioux, attacked the camp of sol- 
diers at that place. They were followed, but 
eluded the vigilant pursuit of our soldiers and es- 
caped. The families, some ten in number, were 
removed to Yankton, the capital, sixty-five miles 
distant. This removal took place before the mur- 
ders at Lake Shetek were known at Sioux Falls 
Citv, The mail carrier who carried the news from 
New Ulm had not yet arrived at Sioux Falls, on 
his return trip. He had, on his outward trip, 
found Mrs. EastUck on the prairie, near Shetek, 
and carried her to the house of Mr. Bro^vn, on the 
Cottonwood. 

In one week after the murders at the Falls, one- 
half of the inhabitants of the Missouri slope had 
fled to Sioux City, Iowa, six miles below the mouth 
of the Big Sioux. 

The Murder of Amos Huggins. — Amos Hug- 
gins (in the language of Kev. S. B. Kiggs, in his 
late work, 1880, entitled "Mary and I,") "was the 
eldest child of Alexander G. Huggins, who had 
accompanied Dr. Williamson to the Sioux coun- 
try in 1835. Amos was born in Ohio, and was at 
this time (1862) over thirty years old. He was 
married, and two children blessed their home, 
which for some time before the outbreak had been 
at Lao qui Parle, near where the town of that 
name now stands. It was then an Indian village 
and planting place, the principal man being Wa- 
kanmane — Spirit Walker, or Walking Spirit. It 
the people of the village had been at home Mr. 
Huggins and his family, which inchided Miss 
Julia Laframboise, who was also a teacher in the 
employ of the Government, would have been sate. 
But in the absence of Spirit Walker's people three 
Indian men came — two of them from the Lower 
Sioux Agency — and killed Mr. Huggins, and took 
from the house such things as they wanted." pp. 
169-170. 

This apology for the conduct of Christian In- 



dians towards the missionaries and their assistants, 
who had laljored among them since 1835 up to 
1862, a jjoriod of twenty-seven years, shows a 
truly Christian spirit on the part of the Eev. S. K. 
Kiggs; but it is scarcely satisfactory to the general 
reader that the Christian Indians were entirely in- 
nocent of all blame in the great massacre of 1862. 



CHAPTER XXXVn. 



Occurrences previous to the attack on the 
town op new ulm — the attack by indians 

JUDGE FLANDRAU ARRIVES WITH BEINFORCEMENTS 
EVACUATION OF NEW ULM. 

On the 18th of August, the day of the outbreak, 
a volunteer recruiting party for the Union army 
went out from New Ulm. Some eight miles west 
of that place several dead bodies were found on 
the road. The party turned back toward the town, 
and, to the surprise of all, were fired upon by In- 
dians in ambush, killing several of their party. 
Another paity leaving New Ulm for the Lower 
Agency, when seven miles above the town some 
fifty Indians near the road fired upon them, killing 
three of the.se men. This party returned to town. 
One of these parties had seen, near the Cotton- 
wood, Indians kUl a man on a stack of grain, and 
some others in the field. The people of the sur- 
rounding country fled for their lives into the town, 
leiiving, some of them, portions of their families 
killed at their homes or on the way to some place 
of safety. 

During the 18th and 19th of August the In- 
dians overran the country, burning buildings and 
driving off the stock from the farms. 

The people had no arms fit for use, and were 
perfectly panic-stricken and helpless. But the 
news of the outbreak had reached St. Peter, and at 
about one o'clock of August 19th, T. B. Thompson, 
James Hughes, Charles Wetherell, Samuel Coflin, 
Merrick Dickinson, H. Cay wood, A. M. Bean, James 
Parker, Andrew Friend, Henry and Frederick Otto, 
C. A. Stein, E. G. Covey, Frank Kennedy, Thomas 
and GriiBn Williams, and the Hon. Henry A. Swift, 
afterwards made Governor of Minnesota, by opera- 
tion of the organic law, and William G. Hayden, 
organized themselves into a company, by the elec- 
tion of A. M. BeaU; Captain, and Samuel Coffin, 
Lieutenant, and took up position at New Ulm, in 
the defense of that beleaguered place. They at once 
ad\ auced ujjou the Indians, who were pi.sted behind 



BATTLE OF NEW ULM. 



Ill 



the houses in the outer portions of the place. By 
this opportune arrival the savage foe were held in 
check. These were soon joined by another arrival 
from St. Peter: L. M. Bordman, J. B. Trogdon, J. 
K. Moore, Horace Austin (since Governor), P. M. 
Bean, James Homer, Jacob and Philijj Stetzer, 
William Wilkinson, Lewis Patch, S. A. Buell, and 
Henry Snyder, all mounted, as well as a few from 
the surrounding country. 

By the time these several parties had arrived, 
the savages had retired, after burning five build- 
ings on the outskirts of the town. In the first 
battle several were killed, one Miss Paula of the 
place, standing on the sidewalk opposite the Da- 
kota House. The enemy's loss is not known. 

Ou the same evening Hon. Charles E. Flandran, 
at the head of about one hundred and twenty-five 
men, volunteers from St. Peter and vicinity, en- 
tered the town; and reinforcements continued to 
arrive from Blankato, Le Sueur, and other points, 
untQ Thursday, the 21st, when about three hun- 
dred and twenty-live armed men were in New Ulm, 
under the command of Judge Flandrau. Cap- 
tain Bierbauer, at the head of one hundred men, 
from Mankato, arrived and participated in the de- 
fense of the place. 

Some rude barricades around a few of the 
houses in the center of the village, fitted up by 
means of wagons, boxes and waste lumber, par- 
tially protected the volunteer soldiery operating 
now under a chosen leader. 

On Saturday, the 22d, the commandant sent 
aci'oss the river seventy-five of his men to dislodge 
some Indians intent on burning buildings and 
grain and hay stacks. First Lieutenant William 
Huey, of Traverse des Sioux, commanded this 
force. This- officer, on reaching the opposite 
shore, discovered a large body of Indians in ad- 
vance of him; and in attempting to return was 
completely intercepted by large bodies of Indians 
on each side of the river. There was Ijiit one way 
of escape, and that was to retreat to the company 
of E. St. Julien Cox, known to be approaching 
from the direction of St. Peter. This force, thus 
cut off, returned with the command of Captain E. 
St. Julien Cox; and with this increased force of 
one hiuidred and seventy-five. Captain Cox soon 
after entered the town to the relief of both citizens 
and soldiers. 

The Imlians at the siege of New Ulm, at t' p 
time <). the princija) attack before the arrival (.: 
Cupt..in Cox, weie estimated at about five i.un i. , 



coming from the direction of the Lower Agency. 
The movement is thus described by Judge Flan- 
drau: 

"Their advance upon the sloping prairie in the 
bright sTinlight was a very fine spectacle, and to 
such inexperienced soldiers as we all were, intense- 
ly exciting. When within about one mile of us 
the mass began to expand like a fan, and increas- 
ing in the velocity of its approach, continued 
this movement until within about double rifle-shot, 
when it covered our entire front. Then the sav- 
ages uttered a terrific yell and came down upon 
us like the' wind. I had stationed myself at a 
point in the rear where communication could be 
had with me easily, and awaited the first discharge 
with great anxiety, as it seemed to me that to 
yield was certain destruction, as the enemies would 
rush into the town and drive all before them. The 
yell unsettled the men a little, and just before the 
rifles began to crack they fell back along the whole 
line, and committed the error of passing the outer 
houses without taking possession of them, a mis- 
take which the Indians immediately took advan- 
tage of by themselves occupying them in squads 
of two, three and up to ten. They poured into 
us a sharp and rapid fire as we fell back, and 
opened from the houses in every direction. Sev- 
eral of us rode up to the hill, endeavoring to rally 
the men, and with good effect, as they gave three 
cheers and sallied out of the various houses they' 
had retreated to, and checked the advance effect- 
ually. The firing from both sides then became 
general, sharp and rapid, and it got to be a regu- 
lar Indian .skirmish, in which every man did his 
own work after his own fashion. The Indians had 
now got into the rear of our men, and nearly on 
all sides of them, and the fire of the enemy was 
becoming very galling, as they had possession of 
a large number of buildings." 

Fight at the Wind-Mill. — Rev. B. G. Coffin, 
of Mankato, George B. Stewart, of Le Sueur, and 
J. B. Trogdon, of Nicollet, and thirteen others, 
fought their way to the wind-mill. This they 
held during the battle, their unerring shots tel 
ing fearfully upon the savages, and finally forcing 
them to retire. At night these brave men set fire 
to the buildiDg, and then retreated within the bar- 
ricades, in the vicinity of the Dakota House. 
During the firing from this mill a most determined 
and • btin.ite figlit was kept up from the brick 
Hi f. where Governor Swift was stationed, 
.■ d most fatally upon the foe, and from 



218 



niSTORT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



this point many an Indian fell before the deadly 
aim of the true men stationed there. 

Captain William B. Dodd. — When the attack 
was made upon the place the Indians had suc- 
ceeded in reaching the Lower Town. The wind 
was favoring them, as tlie smoke of burning build- 
ings was carried into the main portion of the town, 
behind which they were advancing. "Captain 
William B. Dodd, of St. Peter, seeing the move- 
ment from that quarter, supposed the expected re- 
inforcements were in from that direction. He 
made at once a superhuman elTort, almost, to en- 
courage the coming troops to force the Indian 
line and gain admittance into the town. He had 
gone about seventy-five yards outside the lines, 
when the Indians from buildings on either side of 
the street poured a full volley into the horse and 
rider. The Captain received three balls near his 
heart, wheeled his horse, and riding within twenty- 
five yards of our lines fell from his horse, and was, 
assisted to walk into a house, where in a few mo- 
ments he died, 'the noblest Roman of them all.' 
He dictated a short message to his wife, and re- 
marked that he liad discharged his duty and was 
ready to die. No man fought more courageously, 
or died more nobly. Let his virtues be forever re- 
membered. He was a hero of the truest type!" 
— St. Peter Statesman. 

At the stage of the battle in which Captain 
Dodd was killed, several others also were either 
killed or wounded. Captain Saunders, a Baptist 
minister of Le Svieur, was wounded, with miiny 
others. Howell Houghton, an old settler, was 
killed. The contest was continued until dark, 
when the enemy began to carry off their dead and 
wounded. In the morning of the next day (Sun- 
day) a feeble firing was kept up for several hours 
by the sullen and retiring foe. The battle of New 
Ulm had been fought, and the whites were masters 
of the field; but at what a fearful price! The 
dead and dying and wounded filled the buildings 
left standing, and this l^eautiful and entoiprising 
German town, which on Monday morning con- 
tained over two hundred buildings, had been laid 
in ashes, only some twenty-five houses remaining 
to mark the spot where New Ulm once stood. 

On Sunday afternoon, Captain Cox's command, 
one hundred and fifty volunteers from Nicollet, 
Sibley and Le Sueur, armed with Austrian rifles, 
shot-guns and hunting rifles arrived. The Indians 
retreated, and returned no more to make battle 
with the forces at New Ulm. 



But strange battle field. The Indians deserted 
it on Sunday, and on Monday the successful de- 
fenders also retire from a place they dare uot at- 
tempt to hold! The town was evacuated. All 
the women and children, and wounded men, 
making one hundred and fifty-three wagon loads, 
while a considerable number composed the com- 
pany on /oot. AH these moved with the command 
of Judge riandrau towards Mankato. 

The loss to our forces in this engagement was 
ten killed, and about fifty wounded. The lots of the 
enemy is unknown, but must have been heavy, as 
ten of their dead were found on the field of battle, 
which they bad been unable to remove. 

We might fill volumes with incidents, and mi- 
raculous escapes from death, but our limits abso- 
lutely forbid their introduction in this abridge- 
ment. The reader must consult the larger work 
for these details. The escape of Governor Swift, 
riandrau and Bird, and J. B. Trogdon and D. G. 
Shellaek and others from perilous positions, are 
among the many exciting incidents of the siege of 
New Ulm. 

Omitting the story of John W. Young, of won- 
derful interest, we refer briefly to the weightier 
matters of this sad chapter, and conclude the same 
by the relation of one short chapter. 

THE EXPEDITION TO LEAVEN^'OETH. 

During the siege of New Ulm, two expeditions 
were sent out from that place toward the settle- 
ments on the Big Cottonwood, and although not 
really forming a part of the operations of a de- 
fensive character at that place, are yet so connect- 
ed with them that we give them here. 

On Thursday morning, the 21st of August, a 
party went out on the road to Leavenworth for the 
purpose of burying the dead, aiding the wounded 
and bringing them in, should they find any, and 
to act as a scouting party. They went out some 
eight miles, found and buried several bodies, and 
returned to New Ulm, at night, without seeing 
c'.ny Indians. 

On Friday, the 22d, another party of one hun- 
dred and forty men, under command of Captain 
George M. Tousley, started for the purpose of res- 
cuing a party of eleven persons, women and child- 
ren, who, a refugee informed the commandant, 
were hiding in a ravine out toward Leavenwortli. 
Accompanying this party were Drs. A. W. Daniels, 
of St. Peter, and Ayer, of Le Sueur. 

On the way out, the cannonading at Fort 
Ridgely was distinctly beard by them, and then 



STATEMENT OF RALPH THOM.iS. 



219 



Dr. Daniels, who had resided among the Sioux 
several years as a physician to the lower bands, 
had, for the first time, some conception of the ex- 
tent and magnitude of the outbreak. 

As the main object of the expedition had alrea- 
dy been accomplished — i. e., the rescue of the wo- 
men and children — Dr. Daniels urged a return to 
New Ulm. The question was submitted to the 
company, and they decided to go on, and proceed- 
ed to within four miles of Leavenworth, the de- 
sign being to go to that place, remain there all 
night, bury the dead next day, and return. 

It was now nearly night; the cannonading at 
the fort could still be heard; Indian spies were, 
undoubtedly, watching them; only about one 
hundred armed men were left in the town, and 
from his intimate knowledge of the Indian char- 
acter. Dr. Daniels was convinced that the safety of 
their force, as well as New "Dim itself, required 
their immediate return. 

A halt was called, and this view of the case was 
presented to the men by Drs. Daniels, Ayer, and 
Mayo. A vote was again taken, and it was deci- 
ded to return. The return march commenced at 
about sundown, and at one o'clock a. m. they re- 
entered the village. 

Ealph Thomas, who resided on the Big Cotton- 
wood, in the county of Brown, had gone with 
many of his neighbors, on Monday, the 18th of 
August, into New Ulm tor safety, while William 
Carroll and some others residing further iip the 
river, in Leavenworth, had gone to the same place 
to ascertain whether the rumors they had heard 
of an uprising among the Sioux were trae. Mr. 
Thomas makes the following statement of the do- 
ings of this little party, and its subsequent fate: 

" There were eight of us on horseback, and the 
balance of the party were in three wagons. We 
had gone about a mile when we met a German 
going into New Ubn, who said he saw Indians at 
my place skinning a heifer, and that they drove 
him off, chasing him with spears. He had come 
from near Leavenworth. We kept on to my place, 
near which we met John Thomas and Almon Par- 
ker, who had remained the night before in a grove 
of timber, one and a half miles from my place. 
About eight o'clock the evening before, they had 
seen a party of ten or twelve Indians, mounted on 
ponies, coming toward them, who chased them into 
the grove, the savages passing on to the right, 
leaving them alone. They stated to us that they 
had seen Indians that morning traveling over the 



prairie southward. We stopped at my place and 
fed our horses. While the horses were eating, I 
called for three or four men to go with me to the 
nearest houses, to see what had become of the peo- 
ple. We went first to the house of Mr. Mey, where 
we found him and his family lying around the 
house, to all appearance dead. We also found 
here Joseph Emery and a Mr. Heuyer, also appa- 
rently dead. We had been here some five minutes 
viewing the scene, when one of the children, a girl 
of seven years, rose up from the ground and com- 
menced crying piteously. I took her in my arms, 
and told the other men to examine the other bodies 
and see if there were not more of them alive. 
They found two others, a twin boy and girl about 
two years old; all the rest were dead. 

" We next proceeded to the house of Mr. George 
Eaeser, and found the bodies of himself and wife 
lying near the house by a stack of grain. We 
went into the house and found their child, eighteen 
months old, ahve, trying to get water out of the 
pail. We then went back to my place, and sent 
John Thomas and Mr. Parker with an ox-team to 
New Ulm with these chOdren. Mr. Mey's three 
children were wounded with blows of a tomahawk 
on the head; the other child was uninjured. We 
then went on toward Leavenworth, seeing neither 
Indians nor whites, until we arrived at the house 
of Mr. Seaman, near which we found an old gen- 
tleman named Riant concealed in a slough among 
the tall grass. He stated to us that a party of 
whites with him had been chased and fired upon 
by a party of Indians. It consisted of himself, 
Luther Whiton, George W. Covill and wife, Mrs. 
Covin's son, Mrs. Hough and child, Mr. Van Guil- 
der and wife and two children, and Mr. Van Guil- 
der's mother. AH these Mr. Eiant said had scat- 
tered over the prairie. We remained about two 
hours, hunting for the party, and not finding 
them, turned back toward New Ulm, taking Mr. 
Riant with us. We proceeded down opposite my 
place, where we separated, eleven going down on 
one side of the Big Cottonwood, to Mr. Tuttle's 
place, and seven of us proceeded down on the 
other, or north side of the stream. The design 
was to meet again at Mr. Tiitjle's house, and all 
go back to New Ulm together; but when we ar- 
rived at Tuttle's, they had gone on to town with- 
out waiting for us, and we followed. When near 
Mr. Hibbard's place we met Mr. .Takes going west. 
He said that he had been within a mile of New 
Ulm, and saw the other men of our jiarty. He 



220 



HISrORT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



ftiitUpr in'oi-med us that he saw grjiin-staeks and 
sh. ds on lire at that distance from the place. 

" When -we came to the burning stacks we halted 
to look for Indians. Our comrades were half an 
Jiour ahead of us. When they got in sight of the 
town, one of them, Mr. Hinton, rode up on an ele- 
vation, where he could overlook the place, and saw 
Indians, and the town on fire in several places. He 
went back and told tliem that the Indians had at- 
tacked the town, and that he did not consider it 
safe for them to try to get in, and proposed cross- 
ing the Cottonwood, and going toward the Man- 
kato road, and entering town on that side. His 
proposition was opposed by several of the party, 
who thought him frightened at the sight of half a 
dozen Indians. They asked him how many he had 
seen. He said some forty. They came up and 
looked, but could see but three or four Indians. 
Mr. Carroll told them they had better go on, and, 
if opposed, out their way through. He told Hin- 
ton t« lead, and they would follow. They passed 
down the hill, and met with no opposition until 
they came to a slough, half a mile from the town. 
Here two Indians, standing on a large stone by the 
side of the road, leveled their double-barreled 
guns at Mr. Hinton. He drew his revolver, placed 
it between his horse's ears, and made for them. 
The balance of the company followed. The Indi- 
ans retired to cover without firing a shot, and the 
company kept on iintil they had crossed the slough, 
when the savages, who were lying in ambush, 
arose from the grass, and firing upon them, killed 
five of their number, viz. : William Carroll, Almond 
Loomis, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Riant, and a Norwegian, 
and chased the balance into the town. 

"We came on about half an hour afterward, and 
passing down the hill, crossed the same slough, 
and unconsciims of danger, approached the fatal 
spot, when about one hundred and fifty savr.ges 
sprang up out of the grass and fired upon us, 
killing five horses and six men. My own horse 
was shot through the body, close to my leg, killing 
him instantly. My feet were out of the stirrups in 
a moment, and I sprang to the ground, striking 
on my hands and feet. I dropped my gun, jump- 
ed up, and ran. An Indian, close behind, dis- 
charged the contents of both barrels of a shot-gun 
at me. The charge tore up the ground at my feet, 
throwing dirt all around me as I ran. I made my 
way into town on foot as fast as I could go. No 
other of our party cscajjcd; all the rest were 
killed. Beinforcements fiom St. Peter came to 



the relitf of the place in about half an hour after 
I got in, and the Indians soon after retired." 



CHAPTiiR SXXVin. 



BATTLE AT LOWER AGESCT FERRY— SIEGE OF FORT 

BIDGELY BATTLE OF WEDNESDAY— JACK FRAZER 

B.\TTLE OF FRIDAY— HEINFOBCEMENTS ARRIVE. 

On Monday morning, the 18th of August, 1862, 
at about 9 o'clock, a messenger arrived at Fort 
Kidgely, from the Lower Sioux Agency, bringing 
the startling news that the Indians were massacre- 
ing the whites at that place. Captain John S. 
Marsh, of Company B, Fifth Eegiment Minnesota 
Volunteer Infantry, then in command, immediately 
dispatched mefscngers after Lieutenant Shcehan, 
of Company C, of the same regiment, wl.o had left 
that post on the morning before, with a detach- 
ment of his company, for Fort Eipley, on the 
Upper Mississipi, and Major T. J. Galbraith, Sioux 
Agent, who had akso left tl.e fort at the same time 
with fifty men, afterwards known as the Een- 
vUle Rangers, for Fort Snelling, urging them to 
return to Fort Eiilgely with all possible dispatch, 
as there were then in the fort only Company B, 
numbering about seventy-five or eighty men. Tl.e 
gallant captain then took a detachment of forty- 
six men, and accompanied by Interpreter Quinn, 
immediately started for the scone of blood, distant 
twelve mOes. Thoy made a very rapid march. 
When within about four miles of the ferry, op- 
posite the Agency, they met the ferryman, Mr. 
Martelle, who informed Captain Marsh that the In- 
dians were in considerable force, and wore mur- 
dering all the people, and advised hira to return. 
He replied that he was there to protect and defend 
the frontier, and he should do so if it was in his 
power, and gave the order "Forward !" Between 
this point and the river they passed nine dead 
bodies on or near the road. Arriving near the 
ferry the company was halted, and Corporal 
Ezekiel Rose was sent forward to examine the ferry, 
and see if all was right. The captain and inter- 
preter were mounted on mules, the men were on 
foot, and formed in two ranks in the road, near 
the ferry-house, a few rods from the banks of the 
river. The corporal had taken a pail with him to 
the river, and returned, reporting the ferry all 
right, bringing with him water for the exhausted 
and thirsty men. 



CAPTAIN MARSn KILLED. 



221 



lu the meantime an Indian bad made liis ap- 
pearance on the opposite bank, and calling to 
Quiun, urged them to come across, telling him all 
was right on that side. The suspicions of the cap- 
tain were at once aroused, and he ordered the men 
to remain in their places, and not to move on to 
the boat until he could ascertain whether the In- 
dians were in ajubush in the ravines on the ojipo- 
site shore. The men were in the act of drinking, 
when the savage on the opposite side, seeing they 
were not going to cross at once, fired his gun, as a 
signal, when instantly there arose out of the grass 
and brush, all around them, some four or five hun- 
dred warriors, who i3oured a terrifio volley upon 
the devoted band. The aged interpreter fell from 
his mule, pierced by over twenty balls. The cap- 
tain's mule fell dead, but he himself sprang to the 
ground unhai med. Several of the men fell at this 
first fire. The testimony of the survivors of this 
sanguinary engagement is, that "their brave com- 
mander was as cool and collected as if on dress pa- 
rade. They retreated down the stream about a 
mile and a half, fighting their way inch by inch, 
when it was discovered that a body of Indians, 
taking advantage of the fact that there was a bend 
in the river, had gone across and gained the bank 
below them. 

The heroic little band was already reduced to 
about one-half its original number. To cut their 
way through this large number of Indians was 
impossible. Their only hope now was to cross the 
river to the reservation, as there app)eared to be no 
Indians on that shore, retreat do^vn that side and 
recross at the fort. The river was supposed to be 
fordable where they were, and, accordingly, Capt. 
Marsh gave the order to cross. Taking his sword 
in one hand and his revolver in the other, accom- 
panied by his men, he waded out into the stream. 
It was very soon ascertained that they must swim, 
when these who could not do so returned to the 
shore and hid in the grass as best they could, 
while those who could, dropped their arms and 
struck out for the opposite side. Among these 
latter was Capt. Marsh. When near the opposite 
shore he was struck by a ball, and immediately 
sank, but arose again to the surface, and grasped 
the shoulder of a man at his side, but the garment 
gave way in his grasp, and he again sank, this 
time to i-lse no more. 

Thirteen of the men reached the bank in safety, 
a ;d returned to the fort that night. Those of 



them who were unable to cross remained in the 
grass and bushes until night, when they made 
their way, also, to the fort or settlements. Some 
of them were badly wounded, and were out two or 
three days before they got in. Two weeks after 
ward, Josiah F-. Marsh, brother of the caj.- 
tain, with a mounted escort of thirty men — l.i.- 
old neighbors from Fillmore county — made search 
for his body, but without success. On the day 
before and the day after this search, as was sub- 
sequently ascertained, two hundred Indians were 
scouting along the river, upon the the very ground 
over which these thirty men passed, in their fruit- 
less search for the remains of theii- dead brother 
and friend. Two weeks later another search was 
made with boats along the river, and this time the 
search was successful. His body was discovered 
a mile and a half below where he was killed, under 
the roots of a tree standing at the water's edge. 
His remains were borne by his sorrowing com- 
panions to Fort Ridgely, and deposited in the 
military burial-ground at that place. 

This gallant uiBoer demands more than a pass- 
ing notice. When the Southern rebellion broke 
out, in 1861, John S. Marsh was residing in FUl- 
more county, Minnesota. A company was re- 
cruited in his neighborhood, designed for the gal- 
lant 1st Minnesota, of which he was made first 
lieutenant. Before, however, this company reach- 
ed Fort Snelling, the place of rendezvous, the reg- 
iment was lull, and it was disbanded. The patri- 
otic fire still burned in the soul of young Marsh. 
Going to La Crosse, he volimteered as a primte in 
the 2d Wisconsin regiment, and served some ten 
months in the ranks. In the following winter his 
brother, J. F. Marsh, assisted in raising a com- 
pany in Fillmore countj', of which John S. was 
elected first lieutenant, and he was therefore trans- 
ferred, by order of the Secretary of War, to his 
company, and arrived at St. Paul about the 12th 
of March, 1862. In the meantime. Captain Gere 
was promoted to major, and on the 2ith Lieuten- 
ant Marsh was promoted to the captaincy of his 
company, and ordered to report at Fort Ridgely 
and take command of that important frontier post. 
Captain Marsh at once repaired to his post of 
duty, where he remained in command imtil the 
fatal encounter of the 18th terminated both his 
usefulness and life. He was a brave and accom- 
plished soldier, and a noble man, 

'Niino knew him but to love him, 
None named him but to praise." 



222 



HISTORY OF TUB SIOUX MASS AG HE. 



SIEGE OF FOET KIDGELT. 

Foiled in their attack on New Ulm by the 
timely arrival of reinforcements under Flandrau, 
the Indians turned their attention toward Fort 
Ridgely, eighteen miles north-west. On Wednes- 
day, at three o'clock P. M., the 20th of August, 
they suddenly appeared in great force at that 
post, and at once commenced a furious assault 
upon it. The fort is situated on the edge of the 
prairie, about half a mile from the Minnesota river, 
a timbered bottom intervening, and a wooded ra- 
vine running up out of the bottom around two 
sides of the fort, and within about twenty rods of 
the buildings, affording shelter for an enemy on 
three sides, within easy rifle or musket range. 

The first Icnowledge the garrison had of the 
presence of the foe was given by a volley from the 
rapine, which drove in the pickets. The men were 
instantly formed, by order of Lieutenant Sheehan, 
in line of battle, on the parade-ground inside the 
works. Two men, Mark M. Grear, of Company 
C, and William Goode, of Company B, fell at the 
first fire of the concealed foe, after the line was 
formed; the former was instantly killed, the latter 
badly ■wounded, both being shot in the head. 
Robert Baker, a citizen, who had escaped from the 
massacre at the Lower Agency, was shot through 
the head and instantly killed, while standing at a 
window in the barracks, at about the same time. 
The men soon broke for shelter, and from behind 
boxes, from windows, from the shelter of the 
buildings, and from every spot where concealment 
was possible, watched their opportunities, wasted 
no ammunition, but poured theu' shots with deadly 
effect upon the wUy and savage foe whenever he 
suffered himself to be seen. 

The forces in the fort at this time were the rem- 
nant of Company B, 5th Regiment M. V., Lieu- 
tenant Culver, thirty men; about fifty men of 
Company C, same regiment, Lieutenant T. ,T. 
Sheehan; the Renville Rangers, Lieutenant James 
Gorman, numbering fifty men, all under command 
of Lieutenant T. J. Sheehan. 

Sergeant John Jones, of the regular army, a 
brave and skillful man, was stationed at this fort 
as post-sergeant, in charge of the ordnance, and 
took immediate command of the artillery, of which 
there were in the fort six pieces. Three only, how- 
ever, were used — two six-pounder howitzers and 
one twenty-four-pouuder field-piece. A sufficient 
number of men had been detailed to work these 



guns, and at the instant of the fi*st alarm were 
promptly at their posts. One of the guns was 
placed in charge of a citizen named J. C. Whipple, 
fm old artillerist, who had seen service in the Mex- 
ican war, and in the United States navy, and had 
made his escape from the massacre at the Lower 
Agency, and one in charge of Sergeant McGrew, 
of Company C; the other in charge of Sergeant 
Jones in person. In this assault there were, prob- 
ably, not less than five hundred warriors, led by 
their renowned chief, Little Crow. 

So sudden had been the outbreak, and so weak 
was the garrison that there had been no time to 
construct any defensive works whatever, or to re- 
move or destroy the wooden structures and hay- 
stacks, behind which the enemy could take position 
and shelter. The magazine was situated some 
twenty rods outside the main works on the open 
prairie. Men were at once detailed to take the 
ammunition into the fort. Theii-s was the post of 
danger; but they passed through the leaden storm 
un.scathed. 

In the rear of the barracks was a ravine up which 
the St. Peter road passed. The enemy had poses- 
sion of this ravine and road, while others were 
posted in the buildings, at the windows, and in 
sheltered portions in the sheds in the rear of the 
officer's quarters. Here they fought from 3 o'clock 
until dark, the artillery all the while shelling the 
ravine at short range, and the rifles and muskets 
of the men dropping the yelling demons like au- 
tumn leaves. In the meantime the Indians had 
got into some of the old out-buildings, and had 
crawled up behind the hay-stacks, from which they 
poured heavy volleys into the fort. A few well-di- 
rected shells fi'om the howitzers set them on fire, 
and when night closed over the scene the lurid 
light of the burnmg buildings shot up with a fit- 
ful glare, and served the purpose of revoaUug to 
the wary sentinel the lurking foe should he again 
appear. 

The Indians retired with the closing day, and 
were seen in large ni^mbers on their ponies, mak- 
ing their way rapidly toward tJje Agency. The 
great danger feared by all was,, that, under cover 
of the darkness, the savages might creep up to the 
buildings and with fire-arrows ignite the dry roofs 
of the wooden structures. But about midnight 
tlic heavens opened and the earth was deluged 
with rain, effectually preventing the consumma- 
tion of such a design, if it was intended. As the 
first great drops fell on the faces upturned to the 



FORT RIDOELT ATTACKED. 



223 



gathering heavens the glad shout of "Kain! rain! 
thank God! thank God!" went round the beleag- 
uered garrison. Stout-hearted, strong-armed men 
breathed free again; and weary, frightened women 
and children slept once more in comparative safety. 

In this engagement there were two men killed, 
and nine wouuded, and all the government mules 
were stampeded by the Indians. Jack Frazer, an 
old resident in the Indian country, volunteered as 
a bearer of dispatches to Governor Ramsey, and 
avaiUng himself of the darkness and the furious 
storm, made his way safely out of the fort, and 
reached St. Peter, where he met Colonel Sibley and 
his command on their way to the relief of the fort. 

Kain continued to fall until nearly night of 
Thursday, when it ceased, and that night the stars 
looked down upon the weary, but still wakeful and 
vigilant watchers in Fort Eidgely. On that night 
a large quantity of oats, in sacks, stored in the 
granary near the stable, and a quantity of cord- 
wood piled near the fort, were disposed about the 
works in such a manner as to afford protection to 
the men, in case of another attack. The roof of 
the commissary building was covered with earth, as 
a protection against fire-arrows. The water in the 
fort had given out, and as there was neither well 
nor cistern in the works, the garrison were depend- 
ent upon a spring some sixty rods distant in the 
ravine, for a supply of that indispensable element. 
Their only resource now was to dig for water, 
which they did at another and less exposed point, 
and by noon had a supply suiBoient for two or 
three days secured inside the fort. 

In the meantime the small arm's ammunition 
hatdng become nearly exhausted in the battle of 
Wednesday, the balls were removed from some of 
the spherical case-shot, and a party of men and 
wo'Tien made them up into cartridges, which were 
yr^atly needed. Small parties of Indiana had 
tyien seen about the fort, out of range, during 
Thursday and Friday forenoon, watching the fort, 
to report if reinforcements had reached it. At 
about 1 o'clock in the afternoon of Friday, the 22d, 
they appeared again in force, their numbers greatly 
augmented, and commenced a furious and most de- 
termined assault. They came apparently from the 
Lower Agency, passing down the Minnesota bot- 
tom, and round into the ravine surrounding the 
fort. As they passed near the beautiful residence 
of B. H. Randall, post sutler, they applied the 
torch and it was soon wrapped in flames. On came 
tlie painted savages yelUng like so many demons 



let loose from the bottomless pit; but the brave 
men in that sore pressed garrison, knowing fuU 
well that to be taken alive was certain death to 
themselves and all within the doomed fort, each 
man was promptly at his post. 

The main attack was directed against that side 
of the works next to the river, the buildings here 
being frame structures, and the most vulnerable 
part of the fort. This side was covered by the 
stable, granary, and one or two old buildings, 
besides the sutler's store on the west side, yer 
standing, as well as the buildings named above. 
Made bold by their augmented numbers, and the 
non-arrival of reinforcements to the garrison, the 
Indians pressed on, seemingly determined to rush 
at once into the works, but were met as they 
reached the eud of the timber, and swept roimd 
up the ravine with such a deadly fire of musketry 
poured upon them from behind the barracks and 
the windows of the quarters, and of grape, canister 
and shell from the guns of the brave and heroic 
Jones, Whipple, and McGrew, that they beat a 
hasty retreat to the friendly shelter of the bottom, 
out of musket range. But the shells continued to 
scream wildly through the air, and biu-st around 
and among them. They soon rallied and took 
possession of the stable and other out-buildings 
on the south side of the fort, from which they 
poured terrific. voUeys upon the frail wooden 
buildings on that side, the bullets actually passing 
through their sides, and through the j'artitions 
inside of them. Here Josej^h Vanosse, a citizen, 
was shot through the body by a ball which came 
through the side of the building. They were 
soon driven from these buildings by the artillery, 
which shelled them out, setting the buildings on 
fire. The sutler's store was in like manner 
shelled and set on fire. The scene now became 
grand and terrific. The Hames and smoke of the 
burning buildings, the wild and demoniac yells of 
the savage besiegers, the roaring of cannon, the 
screaming of shells as they hurtled through the 
air, the sharp crack of the rifle, and the unceasing 
rattle of musketry presented an exhibition never 
to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. 

The Indiana retired hastily from the burning 
buildings, the men in the fort sending a shower of 
bullets among them as they disappeared over the 
bkiffs toward the bottom. With wild yells they 
now circled round into the ravine, and from the 
tall grass, lying on their faces, and from thn 
sholter of the timber, continued the battle till 



•^24 



UTSTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACJIE. 



ni;.ht, their leader. Little Crow, vainly ordering 
lb. in to clinrge on the guns. They formed once 
fv.i' t.icit purpose, about sundown, but a shell and 
r 1 Hid of canister sent into their midst closed the 

11 est, when,with an unearthly yell of rage and dis- 
,|),...intment, they left. These shots, as was aftei- 
. .ir.ls ascertained, killed and wounded seventeen 
of tlieir number. Jones continued to shell the 
ravine and timber around the fort until after dark, 
when the firing ceased, and then, as had been 
done on each night before, since the investment of 
the fort, the men all went to tlieir several posts to 
wait and watch for the coming of the wily foe. 
The night waned slowly; but they must not sleep; 
their foe is sleepless, and that wide area of dry 
shingled roof must be closely scanned, and the 
approaches be vigilantly guarded, by which he 
may, under cover of the darkness, creep upon 
them unawares. 

Morning broke at last, the sun rode up a clear 
and cloudless sky, but the foe came not. The day 
passed away, and no attack; the night again, and 
then another day; and yet other days and nights 
of weary, sleepless watching, but neither friend nor 
foe approached the fort, until aliout daylight on 
Wednesday morning, the 27th, when the cry was 
heard from the look-out on the roof, '-There are 
horsemen coming on the St. Peter road, across the 
ravine!" Are they friends or foes? was the ques- 
tion on the tongues of aU. By their cautious 
movements they were evidently reconnoitering, 
and it was yet too dark for those in the fort to be 
able to tell, at that distance, friends from foes. 
But as daylight advanced, one hundred and fifty 
mounted men were seen dashing through the ra- 
vine; and amidst the wild hurras of the assembled 
garrison. Colonel Samuel McPhail, at the head of 
two companies of citizen-cavalry, rode into the 
fort. In command of a company of tliese men 
were Anson Northrup, from Minneapolis, aa o!d 
frontiers-man, and K. H. Chittenden, of the First 
Wisconsin Cavalry. This force had ridden all 
night, having left St. Peter, forty-five miles dis- 
tant, at 6 o'clock the night before. From them 
the garrison learned that heavy reinforcements 
were on their way to their relief, under Colonel 
(now Brigadier-General) H. H.Sibley. The worn- 
out and exhaust d garrison could now sleep with 
a feeling of comparative security. The number 
of kOled and wounded of the enemy is not known, 
but must have been considerable, as, at the close 
ul each battle, they were seen carrying away their 



dead and wounded. Our own fallen heroes were 
buried on the edge of the prairie near the fort; 
and the injuries of the wounded men were care- 
fully attended to by the skillful and excellent post' 
surgeon, Dr. Alfred Muller. 

We close our account of this protracted siege 
by a slight tribiite or behalf of the sick and 
wounded in that garrison, to one whose name will 
ever be mentioned by them with love and respect. 
The hospitals of Sebastopol had their Florence 
Nightingale, and over every blood-stained field of 
the South, in our own struggle for national life, 
hovered angels of mercy, cheering and soothing 
the sick and wounded, smoothing the pillows 
and (;losing the eyes of our fallen braves. 
And when, in after years, the brave men who fell, 
sorely wounded, in the battles of Fort Ridgely, 
Birch Coolie, and Wood Lake, Cghtuig against 
tlie savage hordes who overran the borders of our 
beautiful State, in August and September, 1862, 
carrying the fiaming torch, the gleaming toma- 
hawk, and bloody sealping-knife to hundreds of 
peaceful homes, shaU tell to their children and 
cliildren"s children the story of the "dark and 
bloody ground" of Minnesota, and shall exhibit to 
them the scars those wounds have left; they will 
tell, with moistened cheek and swelling hearts of 
the noble, womanly deeds of Mrs. Eliza Muller, 
the "Florence Nightingale" ' of Fort Kidgely. 
[Mrs. Muller several years since died at the asylum 
at St. Peter.] 

SEBGE.iNT JOHN JONES. 

We feel that the truth of history will not be fully 
vindicated should we fail to besiow upon a brave 
and gallant officer that meed of praise so justly 
due. The only officer of experience loft in the fort 
by the death of its brave commandant was Ser- 
geant John Jones, of the regular artillery; and it 
is but just to that gallant officer that we should 
say that but for the cool courage and discretion of 
Sergeant Jones, Fort Ridgely would, in the firet 
day's battle have become a funeral pyre for all 
within its doomed walls. And it gives us more 
than ordinary pleasure to record the fact, that the 
services he then rendered the Government, in the 
d9fense of the frontier were fully recognized and 
rewarded with the commission of Captain of the 
Second Minnesota Battery. 



CAPrAiN wirrrooMB at forest city. 



225 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

CAPTAIN WHITCOMB'S AEEIVAli AT ST. PAUL PASSES 

THKOOGH MEEKER OOTJNTY A FOET OONSTEUCTED 

— ENGAGELIENT WITH INDIANS— ATTACK ON FOREST 

OlTr CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY CAPTAIN 

STEODT AT GlENCOE ATTACKED NEAR ACTON BY 

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY INDIANS — ATTACK ON 
HUTCHINSON. 

This chapter will be devoted to the upper por- 
tion of the state, and the movements of troops for 
the relief of the frontier, not immediately con- 
nected with the main expedition under Colonel 
Sibley; and to avoid repetition, the prominent in- 
cidents of tlie massacre in this portion of the state 
will be given in connection with the movements of 
the troops. We quote from the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral's Report: 

The 19th day of August the first news of the 
outbreak at Redwood was received at St. Paul. 
On the same day a messenger arrived from Meeker 
county, with news of murders committed in that 
county by the Indians, and an earnest demand for 
assistance. The murders were committed at Ac- 
ton, about twelve miles from Forest City, on Sun- 
day, the 17th day of the month. The ciroum- 
stauces under which these murders were committed 
are fully detailed in a previous chapter. 

George C. Whitcomb, commander of the state 
forces raised in the county of Meeker, was sta- 
tioned at Forest City. On the 19th of August, 
Mr. Whitcomb arrived at St. Paul, and received 
from the state seventy-five stand of arms and a 
small quantity of ammimition, for the purpose of 
enabling the settlers of Meeker county to stand on 
the defensive, until other assistance could be sent 
to their aid. With these in his possession, he 
started on his return, and, on the following day he 
met Ool. Sibley at Shakopee, by whom he was or- 
dered to raise a company of troops and report with 
command to the Colonel, at Fort Ridgely. On ar- 
riving at Hutchinson, in McLeod county, he found 
the whole country on a general stampede, and 
small bands of Indians lurking in the border of 
Meeker county. 

Captain Richard Strout was ordered, under date 
of August 24, to proceed with a company of men 
to Forest City, in the county of Meeker, for the 
protection of that locality. 

In the meantime Captain Whitcomb arrived at 
Forest City with the arms fui"aished him by the 

15 



state, with the exception of those left by him at 
Hutchinson. Upon his arrival he speedily en- 
listed, for temporary service, a company of fltty- 
three men, tweuty-five of whom were mounted, 
and the remainder were to act as infantry. 

Captain Whitcomb, with the mounted portion of 
his company, made a rapid march into the county 
of Monongalia, to a point about thirty miles from 
Forest City, where he found the bodies of two men 
who had been shot by the Indians, who had muti 
lated the corpses by cutting their throats and 
scalping them. In the same vicinity he found the 
ruins of three houses that had been burned, and 
the carcasses of a large number of cattle that had 
been wantonly killed and devoted to destruction. 

Owing to rumors received at this point, he pro- 
ceeded in a north-westerly direction, to the distance 
of ten miles further, and found on the route the 
remains of five more of the settlers, all of whom 
had been shot and scalped, and some of them were 
otherwise mutilated by having their hands cut off 
and gashes cut in their faces, done ajDparently with 
hatchets. 

On the return to camp at Forest City, when 
within about four miles of Acton, he came to a 
point on the road where a train of wagons had been 
attacked on the 23d.^ He here found two more 
dead bodies of white men, mutUated in a shocking 
manner by having their hands cut off, being dis- 
emboweled and otherwise disfigured, having knives 
still remaining in their abdomens, where they had 
been left by the savages. The road at this place 
was, for three miles, lined with the carcasses of 
dead cattle, a great portion of which belonged to 
the train upon which the attack had been made. 
On this excursion the company were abont foiir 
days, during which time they traveled over one 
hundred miles, and buried the bodies of niae per- 
sons who had been murdered. 

On the next day after having returned to the 
camp, being the 28th of the month, the same 
party made a circuit through the western portion 
of Meeker coimty, and buried the bodies of three 
more men that were found mutilated and disfigured 
in a similar manner to those previously mentioned. 
In addition to the other services rendered by the 
company thus far, they had discovered and re- 
moved to the camp several persona found wounded 
and disabled in the vicinity, and two, who had 
been very severely wounded, had been sent by 
them to St. Cloud for the purpose of receiving 
surgical attention. 



HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASS AC HE. 



The company, in addition to their other labors, 
were employed in the construction of a stockade 
fort, to be used if necessary for defensive purposes, 
and for the protection of those who were not capa- 
ble of bearing arms. It was formed by inserting 
the ends of pieces of rough timber into the earth 
to the depth of three feet, and leaving them from 
ten to twelve feet above the surface of the ground. 
In this way an area was inclosed of one himdred 
and forty feet in length and one hundred and 
thirty in width. Within the fortidcatiou was in- 
cluded one frame dwelling-house and a well of 
water. At diagonal comers of the inclosure were 
erected two wings or bastions provided with port- 
boles, from each of which two sides of the main 
work could be guarded and raked by the rifles of 
the company. 

Information was received by Captain Whitcomb 
that a family at Green Lake, in M<jnougalia county, 
near the scenes visited by him in his expedition to 
that county, had made their e.=eape from, the In- 
dians, and taken refuge upon an island Lu the lake. 
In attempting to rescue this family Captain Whit- 
comb had a severe encounter with Indians found 
in ambush near the line of Meeker county, and 
after much skirmishing and a brisk engagement, 
which proved very much to the disadvantage of 
the Indians, they succeeded in effecting their es- 
cape to the thickly-timbered region in the rear of 
their first position. The members of the company 
were nearly all experienced marksmen, and the 
Springfield rifles in their hands proved very gall- 
ing to the enemy. So anxious was the latter to 
effect his retreat, that he left tliree of his dead 
upon the ground. No loss was sustained on the 
part of our troops, except a flesh-wound in the leg 
received by one of the company. As it was 
deemed uuadvisable to pursue the Indians into the 
heavy timber with the small force at command, the 
detachment fell back to their camp, arriving the 
same evening. 

On the following day, Captain Whitcomb, 
taking with him twenty men from his company, 
and twenty citizens who volunteered for the occa- 
sion, proceeded on the same route taken the day 
previous. With the increase in his forces he 
expected to be able, without much difficulty, to 
overcome the Indians previously encountered. 
After proceeding about ten miles from the camp, 
their further progress was ag;iin disput^^d by the 
Indians, who had likewise been reinforced since 
their last encounter. Owing to the great superi- 



ority of the enemy's forces, the Captain withdrew 
his men. They fell gradually back, fighting 
steadily on the retreat, and were pursued to within 
four miles of the encampment. In this contest, 
one Indian is known to have been killed. On the 
part of the whites (^ne horee and wagon got mired 
in a slough, and had to be abandoned. No other 
injmy was suffered from the enemy ; but two men 
were wounded by the accidental discharge of a 
gun in their own ranks. 

A fortification was prepared, and the citizens, 
with their families, were removed within the 
inclosure. Captain Whitcomb quartered his com- 
pany in tlie principal hotel of the place, and 
guards were stationed for the night, while all the 
men were directed to be prepared for any contin- 
gency that might arise, and be in readiness for 
using their arms at any moment. 

Between 2 and 3 o'clock tlie following morning, 
the guards discovered the approach of Indians, 
and gave the alarm. As soon as the savages per- 
ceived that they were discovered, they uttered the 
war-whoop, and poured a volley into the hotel 
where the troops were quartered. The latter 
immediately retired to the stockade, taking with 
them all the ammunition and equipments in their 
possession. They had scarcely effected an en- 
trance when fire was opened upon it from forty or 
fifty Indian rifles. Owing to the darkness of the 
morning, no distinct view could be obtained of the 
enemy, and, in consequence, no very effective fire 
could be opened upon him. 

While one party of the Indians remained to keep 
up a fire upon the fort and harass the garrison, 
another portion was engaged in setting fire to 
buildings and haystacks, while others, at the same 
time, ^^■ere engaged in colleetiug horses and cattle 
found in the place, and driving them off. Occa- 
sional glimpses could be obtained of those near 
the fires, but as soon as a shot was fired at them 
they would disappear in the darkness. Most of 
the buildings burned, however, were such a dis- 
tance from the fort as to be out of range of the 
guns of the garrison. The fire kept up from that 
point prevented the near approach of the incen- 
diary party, and by that means the principal part 
of the town was saved from destruction. On one 
occasion an effort was made to carry the flames 
into a more central part of ttie town, and the 
torches in the hands of the party were seen 
approaching the office of A. C. Smith, Esq. 
Directed by the hglit of the torches, a volley was 



CAPTAIN STMOUTS PAMXr ATTACKJiD. 



227 



poured into their midst from the fort, whereupon 
the braves hastily abandoned their incendiary 
implements and retreated from that quarter of the 
vUlage. From signs of blood afterward found 
upon the ground, some of the Indians were sup- 
posed to have met the fate intended for them, but 
no dead were left behind. 

The fight continued, without other decided re- 
sults, iintil about daylight, at which time the prin- 
cipal part of the forces retired. As the light in- 
creased, so that objects became disceiraible, a small 
party of savages were observed engaged in dri- 
ving off a number of cattle. A portion of the 
garrison, volunteering for the purpose, sallied 
out to recover the stock, which they accomplish- 
ed, with the loss of two men wounded, one of them 
severely. 

This comjDany had no further encounters with 
the Indians, but afterward engaged in securing 
the grain and other property belonging to the set- 
tlers who had abandoned, or been driven from, their 
farms and homes. Nearly every settlement be- 
tween Forest City and the western frontier had, by 
this timei, been deserted, and the whole country 
was in the hands of the savages. In speaking of 
his endeavors to save a portion of the property 
thus abandoned. Captain Whitcomb, on the 7th of 
September, wrote as follows: 

"It ia only in their property that the inhabitants 
can now be injured; the people have all fled. 
The country is totally abandoned. Not an inhab- 
itant remains in Meeker county, west of this place. 
No white person (unless a captive) is now living 
in Kandiyohi or Monongalia county." 

On the 1st of September, Oaijtain Strout, who 
had previously arrived at Glencoe, made prepara- 
tions for a fui-ther advance. Owing to the vigor- 
ous measures adopted by General John H. Stevens, 
of the State militia, it was thought unnecessary 
that any additional forces should be retained at 
this point. Under his directions no able-bodied 
man having deserted the country further to the 
westward, had been permitted to leave the neigh- 
borhood, or pass through. All such were re- 
quired to desist from further flight, and assist 
in making a stand, in order to check the further 
advance of the destroyers of their homes. The 
town of Glencoe had been fortified to a certain 
extent, and a military company of seventy-three 
members had been organized, and armed with such 
guns as were in possession of the settlers.. With 
Glencoe thus provided for, General Stevens did 



not hesitate to advise, nor Captain Strout to at- 
tempt a further advance into the overrun and 
threatened territory. 

The company of the latter, by this time, had 
been increased by persons, principally from "Wright 
county, who volunteered their services for the ex- 
pedition, until it numbered about seventy-five men. 
With this force he marched, as already stated, on 
the 1st day of September. 

Passing through Hutchinson on his way, no op- 
jiosition was encountered until the moi'ning of the 
3d of September. On the night previous, he had 
arrived at and encam2oed near Acton, on the west- 
ern border of Meeker county. 

At about half-past five o'clock the nest morning 
his camp was attacked by a force comprising about 
one hundred and fifty Indians. The onset was 
made from the direction of Hutchinson, with the 
design, most probably, of cutting off the retreat 
of the comj^any, and of precluding the possibility 
of sending a messenger after reinforcements. They 
fought with a spirit and zeal that seemed determ- 
ined to annihilate our little force, at whatever cost 
it might require. 

For the first half hour Captain Strout formed 
his company into four sections, in open order, and 
pressed against them as skirmishers. Finding their 
forces so much superior to his own, he concentra- 
ted the force of his company, and hurled them 
against the main body of the enemy. In this 
manner the fight was kept up for another hour 
and a half, the Indians falling slowly back as they 
were pressed, in the direction of Hutchinson, but 
maintaining all the while their order and line of 
battle. At length the force in front of the compa- 
ny gave way, and falling upon the rear, continued 
to harrass it in its retreat. 

About one-half of the savages were mounted, 
partly on large, fine horses, of which they had 
plundered the settlements, and partly on regular 
Indian ponies. These latter were so well trained 
for the business in which they were now engaged, 
that their riders would drive them at a rapid rate 
to within any desirable distance of our men, when 
pony and rider would both instantly lie down in 
the tall grass, and thus become concealed from the 
aim of the shai-p-shooters of the company. 

With the intention, most likely, of creating a 
panic in our ranks, and causing the force to scat- 
ter, and become separately an easy prey to the 
pursuers, the Indians would at times, uttering the 
most terrific and unearthly yells of which their 



228 



HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSAC HE. 



lungs and skill were capable, charge in a mass 
upon the little band. On none of these occasions, 
however, did a single man falter or attempt a 
flight; and, after approaching within one hundred 
yards of the retreating force, and perceiving that 
they still remained firm, the Indians would halt 
the charge, and seek concealment in the grass or 
elsewhere, from which places they would continue 
their fire. 

After having thus hitng upon and harrassed the 
rear of the retreating force for about half an hour, 
at the end of which time the column had arrived 
mthin a short distance of Cedar City, in the 
extreme north-west corner of McLeod county, the 
pursuit was given up, and the company continued 
the retreat without further opposition to Hutchin- 
son, at which place it arrived at an early hoiu- in 
the same afternoon. 

The loss of the company in the encounter was 
three men killed and fifteen wounded, some of 
them severely. AH were, however, brought from 
the field. 

In addition to this they lost most of their ra- 
tions, cooking utensils, tents, and a portion of 
their ammunition and arms. Some of their horses 
became unmanageable and ran away. Some were 
mired and abandoned, making, with those killed 
by the enemy, an aggregate loss of nine. The 
loss inflicted upon the enemy could not be de- 
termined with any degree of certainty, but Caj)- 
tain Strout was of the opinion that thoir killed and 
wovmded were two or three times as great as ours. 

At Hutchinson a military company, consisting of 
about sixty members, had been organized for the 
purpose of defending the place against any attacks 
from the Indians. Of this company Lewis Har- 
rington was elected captain. On the first appre- 
hension of danger a house was barricaded as a 
last retreat in case of necessity. The members of 
the company, aided by the citizens, afterward con- 
structed a small stockade fort of one hundred feet 
square. It was built after the same style as that 
at Forest City, with bastions in the same position, 
and a wall composed of double timbers rising to 
the height of eight feet alwva the gn)und. The 
work was provided with loop-holes, from which a 
musketry fire could be kept up, and was of suffi- 
cient strength to resist any projectiles that the sav- 
ages had the means of throwing. At tliis place 
Captain Strout lialtcd his company, to await fur- 
ther developments. 

At about nine o'clock on the nest morning, the 



4th of September, the Indians approached the 
town thus garrisoned and commenced the attack. 
They were repUed to from the fortification; but. 
as they were careful not to come within close 
range, and used every means to conceal their per- 
sons, but little punishment was inflicted upon 
them. They bent their energies more in attempts 
to burn the town than to inflict any serious injury 
upon the military. In these endeavors they were 
so far successful as to burn all the buildings sit- 
uated on the bluff in the rear of the town, includ- 
ing the college building, which was here located. 
They at one time succeeded in reaching almost the 
heart of the village, and applying the incendiary 
torch to two of the dwelling-houses there situated, 
which were consumed. 

Our forces marched out of the fort and engaged 
them in the open field; but, owing to the superior 
numbers of the enemy, and their scattered and 
hidden positions, it was thought that no advantage 
could be gained in this way, and, after driving 
them out of the town, the soldiers were recalled to 
the fort. The day was spent in this manner, the 
Indians making a succession of skirmishes, but at 
the same time endeavoring to maintain a sufficient 
distance between them and the soldiers to insure 
an almost certain impunity from the fire of their 
muskets. At about five o'clock in the evening 
their forces were withdrawn, and our troops rested 
on their arms, in expectation of a renewal of the 
fight in a more desperate form. 

As soon as General Stevens was informed of the 
attack made upon Captain Strout, near Acton, and 
his being compelled to fall back to Hutchinson, 
he directed Captain Davis to proceed to the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Weinmann, then stationed 
near Lake Addie, in the same county, to form a 
jimction of the two commands, and proceed to 
Hutchinson and reinforce the command of Captain 
Strout. 

On the morning of the 4th of September the 
pickets belonging to Lieutenant Weinmann's com- 
mand reported having heard firing in the direction 
of Hutchinson. The Lieutenant immediately as- 
cended an eminence in the vicinity of his camp, ' 
and from that point could disliuguish the smoke 
from six different fires in the same direction. 
Being satisfied from these indications that an at- 
tack had been made upon Hutchinson, he deter- 
mined at once to march to the assistance of the 
place. Leaving behind him sis men to collect the 
teams and follow with the wagons, he started with 



MORE SAVAGE BARBARITIES. 



229 



the remainder of his force in the direction indi- 
cated. 

Some time after he had commenced his march 
the company of Captain Davis arrived at the camp 
he had just left. 

Upon learning the state of affairs, the mounted 
company followed in the same direction, and, in a 
short time, came up with Lieutenant Weinmann. 
A junction of their forces was immediately effect- 
ed, and they proceeded in a body to Hutchinson, 
at which place they arrived about 6 o'clock in the 
evening. No Indians had been encountered on 
the march, and the battle, so long and so diligently 
kept up during most of the day, had just been 
terminated, and the assailing forces withdrawn. 
A reconnoissance, in the immediate vicinity, was 
made from the fort on the same evening, but none 
of the Indians, who, a few hours before, seemed to 
be everywhere, could be seen; but the bodies of 
three of their victims, being those of one woman 
and two children, were found and brought to the 
village. 

On the following morning, six persons arrived 
at the fortification, who had been in the midst of 
and surrounded by the Indians during the greater 
part of the day before, and had succeeded in con- 
cealing themselves until they retired from before 
the town, and finally effected their escape to 
the place. 

The companies of Captain Davis and Lieuten- 
ant Weinmann made a tour of examination in the 
direction that the Indians were supposed to have 
taken. All signs discovered seemed to indicate 
that they had left the vicinity. Their trail, indi- 
cating that a large force had passed, and that a 
number of horses and cattle had been taken 
along, was discovered, leading in the direction of 
Eedwood. As the battle of Birch Coolie had been 
fought two or three days previous, at which time 
the Indians first learned the great strength of the 
colmnn threatening them in that quarter, it is 
most likely that the party attacking Hutchinson 
had been called in to assist in the endeavor to 
repel the forces under Colonel Sibley. 

On the 23d of Seistember the Indians suddenly 
reappeared in the neighborhood. About 3 o'clock 
in the afternoon a messenger arrived, with dis- 
patches from Lieutenant Weinmann, informing 
Captain Strout that Samuel White and family, 
residing at Lake Addie, had that day been brutally 
murdered by savages. 

At about 11 o'clock P. M., the scouts from the 



direction of Cedar City came in, having been at- 
tacked near Greenleaf, and one of their number, a 
member of Captain Harrington's company, killed 
and left ujJon the ground. They reported having 
seen about twenty Indians, having killed one, and 
their belief that more were in the party. The 
scouts from nearly every direction reported having 
seen Indians, some of them in considerable num- 
bers, and the country all around seemed at once 
to have become infested with them. 

On the 5th of September, Lieutenant William 
Byrnes, of the Tenth Eegiment Minnesota Volun- 
teers, with a command of forty-seven men, started 
from Minneapolis, where his men were recruited, 
for service in Meeker and McLeod counties. Upon 
his arrival in the country designated, he was 
finally stationed at Kingston, in the county of 
Meeker, for the purpose of affording protection to 
that place and vicinity. He quartered his men in 
the storehouse of Hall & Co., which had been pre- 
viously put in a state of defense by the citizens of 
the place. He afterward strengthened the place 
by means of earth-works, and made daily examina- 
tions of the surrounding country by means of 
scouts. 

Capt. Pettit, of the Eighth Regiment Minnesota 
Volimteers, was, about the same time, sent to re- 
inforce Captain Whitcomb, of Forest City, at which 
place he was stationed at the time of the sudden 
reappearance of the Indians in the country. On 
the 22d of September word was brought to Forest 
City that the Indians were committing depreda- 
tions at Lake Kipley, a point some twelve miles to 
the westward of that place. Captain Pettit there- 
upon sent a messenger to Lieutenant Byrnes, re- 
questing his co-operation, mth as many of his 
command as could leave their post in safety, for 
the purpose of marching into the invaded neigh- 
borhood. 

In pursuance of orders. Lieutenant Byrnes, with 
thirty -six men, joined the command of Capt Pettit 
on the same evening. On the next morning, the 
23d of September, the same day that Captain 
Strout's scouting party was attacked at Greenleaf, 
Captain Pettit, with the command of Lieutenant 
Byrnes and eighty-seven men, from the post at 
Forest City, marched in the direction in which the 
Indians had been reported as committing depre- 
dations on the previous day. Four mounted men 
of Captain Whitcomb's force accompanied the party 
as guides. 

On arriving at the locality of reported depreda- 



230 



HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



tions, they found the mutilated corpse of a citizen 
by the name of Oleson. He had received three 
shots through the body and one through the 
hand. Not even satisfied with the death thus in- 
flicted, the savages had removed his scalp, beaten 
out his brains, cut his throat from ear to ear, and 
cut out his tongue by the roots. Leaving a de- 
tachment to bury the dead, the main body of ex- 
pedition continued the march by way of Long 
Lake, and encamped near Acton, where Captain 
Strout's command was first attacked, and at no 
great distance from the place where his scouts were 
attacked. 

Scouts were sent out by Captain Pettit, all of 
whom returned without having seen any Indians. 
Two dwelling-houses had been visited that had 
been sot on fire by the Indians, but the ilaraes had 
made so little progress as to be capable of being 
extinguished by the scouts, which was done ac- 
cordingly. Three other houses on the east side of 
Long Lake had been fired and consumed during 
the same day. Three women were found, who bad 
been lying in the woods for a number of days, 
seeking concealment from the savages. They were 
sent to Forest City for safety. During the early 
part of the night, Imlians were heard driving or 
collecting cattle, on the opposite side of Long 
Lake from tlie encampment. 

During the 24th of September the march was 
continued to Diamond Lake, in Monongalia county. 
All the houses on the route were found to be ten- 
antless, all the farms were deserted, and every thing 
of value, of a destructible nature, belonging to the 
settlers, had been destroyed by the savages. Only 
one Indian was seen during the day, and be being 
mounted, soon made his escape into the big woods. 
The carcasses of cattle, belonging to the citizens, 
were found in all directions upon the prairie, where 
they had been wantonly slaughtered and their 
tiesh abandoned to the natural process of decom- 
position. 

At break of day, on the morning of the ■25th, 
an Indian was seen by one of the sentinels to rise 
from the grass and attempt to take a sui-vey of 
the encampment. He was immediately fired upon 
when he uttered a yell and disappeared. Captain 
Pettit thereupon formed his command in order of 
battle and sent out skirmishers to reconnoiter; but 
the Indians had decamped, and nothing further 
could be ascertained concerning them. 

At seven o'clock the return march to Forest City 
was commenced, by a route different from that 



followed in the outward march. About ten o'clock 
the expedition came upon a herd, comprising sixty- 
five head of cattle, which the Indians had collected, 
and were in the act of driving off, when they were 
surprised by the near approach of volunteers. As 
the latter could be seen advancing at a distance 
of three miles, the Indians had no dilKculty in 
making their escape to the timber, and in this way 
eluding pursuit from the expedition by abandon- 
ing their plunder. The cattle were driven by the 
party to Forest City, w-here a great portion of the 
herd was found to belong to persons who were 
then doing military duty, or taking refuge from 
their enemies. 

At Rockford, on the Crow river, a considerable 
force of citizens congregated for the purpose of 
mutual protection, and making a stand against the 
savages in case they should advance thus far. A 
substantial fortification was erected at the place, 
aflfording ample means of shelter and protection to 
those there collected; but we are not aware that it 
ever became necessary as a place of last resort to 
the people, nor are we aware that the Indians 
committed any act of hostilities within tlie county 
of Wright. 

On the 24th of August rumors reached St. 
Cloud that murders and other depredations had 
^ been commi'.ted by the Indians near Paynesville, 
on the border of Stearns county, and near the di- 
viding line between Meeker and Monongalia coun- 
ties. A public meeting of the citizens was called 
at four o'clock in the afternoon, at which, among 
other measures adopted, a squad, well armed and 
equipped, was instructed to proceed to Paynes- 
ville, and ascertain whether danger was to be ap- 
prehended in that direction. This party immedi- 
ately entered upon the discharge of their duty, 
and started to Paynesville the same evening. 

On the evening of the following day they re- 
turned, and reported that they met at Paynesnlle 
the fugitives from Norway Lake, which latter 
place is situated in Monongalia county, and about 
seventeen miles in a south-west direction from the 
former. That, on Wednesday, the 20tli day of 
August, as a family of Swedes, by the name of 
Lomberg, were returning from church, they were 
attacked by a party of Indians, and three brothers 
killed, and another one, a boy, wounded. The 
father had fourteen shots fired at him, but suc- 
ceeded in making his escape. One of his sons, 
John, succeeded in bearing off his wounded 
brother, and making their escape to Paynesville. 



COMPANY FORMED AT ST. OLOUD. 



231 



On the 24tli, a party went out from Paynesville 
for the purpose of burying the dead at Norway 
Lake, where they found, in addition to those of 
the Lomberg faruily, two other entire families 
murdered — not a member of either left to tell the 
tale. The clothes had all been burned from their 
bodies, while from each had been cut either the 
nose, an ear or a finger, or some other act of muti- 
lation had been committed upon it. 

The party, having buried the dead, thirteen in 
number, were met by a Httle boy, who informed 
them that his father had that day been killed by 
the savages while engaged in cutting hay in a 
swamp. They proceeded with the intention of 
burying the body, but discovered the Indians to 
be in considerable force around the marsh, and 
they were compelled to abandon the design. 

The party beheld the savages in the act of driv- 
ing off forty -four head of cattle, a sj)an of horses, 
and two wagons ; but the paucity of their num- 
bers compelled them to refrain from any attempt 
to recover the property, or to inflict any punish- 
ment upon the robbers and murderers having it 
in their possession. A scouting party had been 
sent to Johanna Lake, about ten miles from Nor- 
way Lake, where about twenty persons had been 
living. Not a single person, dead or alive, could 
there be found. Whether they had been killed, 
escaped by hasty flight, or been carried off ag* 
prisoners, could not be determined from the sur- 
rounding circumstances. As the party were re- 
turning, they observed a man making earnest en- 
deavors to escape their notice, and avoid them by 
flight, under the impression that they were Indi- 
ans, refusing to be convinced to the contrary by 
any demonstrations they could make. Upon their 
attempting to overtake him, he plunged into a 
lake and swam to an island, from which he could 
not be induced to return. His family were dis- 
covered and brought to Paynesville, but no infor- 
mation could be derived from them respecting the 
fate of their neighbors. 

When this report had been made to the citizens 
of St. Cloud by the returned party, a mounted 
company, consisting of twenty-five members, was 
immediately formed, for the purpose of co-oper- 
ing with any forces from Paynesville in efforts to 
recover and rescue any citizens of the ravaged 
district. Of this company Ambrose Freeman was 
elected captain, and they proceeded in the direc- 
tion of Paynesville the next morning at 8 o'clock. 

At Maine Prairie, a point to the south-west of 



St. Cloud, and about fifteen miles distant from 
that place, a determined band of farmers united 
together with a determination never to leave until 
driven, and not to be driven by an inferior force. 
Their locahty was a small prairie, entirely sur- 
rounded by timber and dense thickets, a circum- 
stance that seemed to favor the near approach of 
the stealthy savage. 

By concerted action they soon erected a sub- 
stantial fortification, constructed of a double row 
of timbers, set vertically, and inserted firmly in 
the ground. The building was made two stories 
in height. The upiser story was fitted up for the 
women and children, and the lower was intended 
for purposes of a more strictly military character. 
Some of their number were dispatched to the State 
Capital to obtain such arms and supplies as could 
be furnished them. Provisions were laid in, and 
they soon expressed their confidence to hold the 
place against five hundred savages, and to stand 
a siege, if necessary. Their determination was 
not to be thus tested, however. The Indians 
came into their neighborhood, and committed 
some small depredations, but, so far as reported, 
never exhibited themselves within gunshot of the 
fort. 

At Paynesville, the citizens and such others as 
sought refuge in the town constructed a fortifica- 
tion for the purpose of protecting themselves and 
defending the village; but no description of the 
work has ever been received at this office, and, I 
beUeve, it was soon abandoned. 

At St. Joseph, in the Watab Valley, the citizens 
there collected erected three substantial fortifica- 
tions. These block-houses were built of solid 
green timber, of one foot in thickness. The 
structure was a pentagon, and each side was fifty 
feet in length. They were located at diS'erent 
l^oints of the town, and comjjletely commanded 
the entrance in all directions. In case the savages 
had attacked the town, they must have suffered a 
very heavy loss before a passage could be effected, 
and even after an entry had been made, they would 
have become fair targets for the riflemen of the 
forts. Beyond them, to the westward, every house 
is said to have become deserted, and a great por- 
tion of the country ravaged, thus placing them 
upon the extreme frontier in that dh-ection; but, 
owing, no doubt, to their activity in preparing the 
means for effective resistance, they were permitted 
to remain almost undisturbed. 

Sauk Center, near the north-western comer of 



232 



niSTORT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



the county, and situated on the head- waters of the 
Sauk river, is, perhaps, the most extreme point in 
this direction at which a stand was made by the 
settlers. Early measures were taken to perfect 
a military organization, which was effected on the 
25th of August, by the election of Sylvester 
Ramsdell as captain. The company consisted of 
over fifty members, and labored under discourag- 
ing circumstances at the outset. The affrighted 
and panic-stricken settlers, from all places located 
still further to the north and west, came pouring 
past the settlement, almost commimicating the 
same feeling to the inhabitants. From Holmes 
City, Chippewa Lake, Alexandria, Osakis, and West 
Union, the trains of settlers swept by, seeking 
safety only in flight, and apparently willing to re- 
ceive it in no other manner. 

Assistance was received from the valley of the 
Ashley river, from Grove Lake, and from West- 
port, in Pope county. 

A small stockade fort was constructed, and 
within it were crowded the women and children. 
The haste with which it was constructed, and the 
necessity for its early completion, prevented its 
either being so extensive or so strongly built as 
the interest and comfort of the people seemed to 
require. 

Upon being informed of the exposed situation 
of the place, and the determination of the settlers 
to make a imited eiTort to repel the destroyers from 
their homes, orders were, on the 30th day of Au- 
gust, issued to the conmiandant at Fort SnelUng, 
directing him, with all due speed, to detail from 
his command two companies of troops, with in- 
structions to proceed to Sauk Center, for the pur- 
pose of protecting the inhabitants of the Sauk 
Valley from any attack of hostile Indians, and to 
co-operate as far as pussible with the troops sta- 
tioned at Fcrt Abercrombie. 

In obedience to these orders, the companies 
under command respectively of Captains George 
G. McCoy, of the Eighth Eegiment Minnesota 
Volunteers, and Theodore H. Barrett, of the Ninth 
Regiment, were sent forward. Their arrival at the 
stockade created a thrill of joy in the place, espe- 
cially among the women and children, and all, even 
the most timid, took courage and rejoiced in their 
security. Captain Barrett was, shortly afterward, 
sent with his command in the expedition for the 
relief of Fort Abercombie, and a short time after- 
ward Captain McCoy, in obedience to orders from 
General Pope, fell back to St. Cloud. 



Upon the departure of these troops, many of the 
more timid were again almost on the verge of 
despair, and would willingly have retreated from 
the position they so long held. More courageous 
councils prevailed, and the same spirit of firmness 
that refused safety by flight in the first instance, 
was still unbroken, and prompted the company to 
further action, and to the performance of other 
duties in behalf of themselves and those who had 
accepted their proffers of protection. Disease was 
beginning to make its appearance within the stock- 
ade, where no other enemy had attcmjited to 
penetrate, and this fact admonished the company 
that more extensive and better quarters were 
required in order to maintain the health of the 
people. 

Several plans were submitted for a new stock- 
ade, from which one was selected, as calculated to 
secure the best means of defense, and at the same 
time, to afford the most ample and comfortable 
quarters for the women, chUdreu, and invalids, 
besides permitting the horses and cattle to be 
secured within the works. In a few days the new 
tort was completed, inclosing an area of about one 
acre in extent, the walls of which were constructed 
of a double row of timljers, principally tamarack 
poles, inserted firmly in the ground, and rising 
eleven feet above the surface. These were prop- 
erly prepared with loopholes and other means of 
protection to tbose within, and for the repulsion 
of an attacking party. 

When the people had removed their stock and 
other property within the new fortification, and 
had been assigned to their new quarters, they for 
the first time felt really secure and at ease in 
mind. Had any vigorous attack been made upon 
the party in their old stockade, they might have 
saved the lives of the people, but their horses and 
cattle would most certainly have been driven off 
or destroyed. Now they felt that there was a 
chance of safety for their property as well as 
themselves. 

A short time after this work had been completed 
Captain McCoy, after having rendered services in 
other parts of the country, was ordered back to 
Sauk Center. A company from the Twenty- 
fifth Wisconsin Regiment was sent to the same 
place upon its arrival in the state, and remained 
there until about the first of December. 

Two days after the citizens from Grove Lake — 
a point some twelve miles to the south-west of 
Sauk Center — had cast their lot with the people 



PREPAMATTONS FOR DEFENSE. 



233 



of the latter place, the night-sentinels of Captain 
Kamsdell's company discovered fires to tlie south- 
west. Fearing that all was not right in the 
vicinity of Grove Lake, a party was sent out the 
next morning to reconnoiter in that neighborhood. 
They found one dwelling-house burned, and 
others plundered of such things as had attracted 
the fancy of the savages, while all furniture was 
left broken and destroyed. A number of the 
cattle which had not been taken with the settlers 
when they left, were found killed. 

A Mr. Van Eaton, who resided at that place, 
about the same time, started from Sauk Center, 
with the intention of reraiting his farm. He is 
BupjJosed to have fallen into the hands of the sav- 
ages, as he never returned to the fort. Several 
parties were sent in search of him, but no positive 
trace could ever be found. 

At St. Cloud, in the upper part of the town, a 
small but substantial fortification was erected, and 
"Broker's Block" of buildings was surrounded 
with a breastwork, to be used in case the citizens 
should be compelled to seek safety in this manner. 
In Lower Town a small work was constructed, 
called Fort Holes. It was located upon a ridge 
overlooking the "flat" and the lower landing on 
the river. It was circular in form, and was fortv- 
five feet in diameter. The walls were formed by 
two rows of posts, deeply and firmly set in the 
groimd, with a space of four feet between the 
rows. Boards were then nailed upon the sides of 
the posts facing the opposite row, and the inter- 
space filled and packed with earth, thus forming 
an earthen wall of four feet in thickness. The 
structure was then covered with two-inch plank, 
supported by heavy timbers, and this again with 
sods, in order to render it fire-proof. In the cen- 
ter, and above all, was erected a bullet-proof tower, 
of the "monitor" style, but without the means of 
causing it to revolve, prepared with loop-holes for 
twelve sharp-shooters. This entire structure was 
inclosed with a breastwork or wall similar to that 
of the main building, two feet in thickness and ten 
in height, with a projection outward so as to ren- 
der it difficult to be scaled. It was pierced for 
loop-holes at the distance of every five feet. 
"Within this fortification it was intended that the 
inhabitants of Lower Town should take refuge in 
case the Indians should make an attack in anv 
considerable force, and where they expected to be 
able to stand a siege until reinforcements would 
be able to reach them. They were not put to 



this test, however; but the construction of the 
fort served to give confidence to the citizens, 
and prevented some fi-om leaving the place that 
otherwise would have gone, and were engaged in 
the preparation at the time the work was com- 
menced. 

On the 22d of September a messenger arrived 
at St. Cloud from Richmond, m the same county, 
who reported that, at four o'clock the same morn- 
ing, the Indians had appeared within a mde of the 
last-mentioned town, and had attacked the house 
of one of the settlers, killing two children and 
wounding one woman. Upon the receipt of this 
intelligence Captain McCoy, who was then sta- 
tioned at St. Cloud with forty men of his com- 
mand, got under way for the reported scene of dis- 
turbance at ten o'clock a. m., and was followed 
early in the afternoon by a mounted company of 
home-guards, under command of Captain Cramer. 
Upon arriving at Richmond the troops took the 
trail of the Indians in the direction of Paynes- 
ville, and all along the road found the dwellings 
of the settlers in smouldering ruins, and the stock 
of their farms, even to the poultry, killed and 
lying in all directions. Seven of the farm-houses 
between these two towns were entirely consumed, 
and one or two others had been fired, but were 
reached before the flames had made such progress 
as to be incapable of being extinguished, and 
these were saved, in a damaged condition, through 
the exertions of the troops. On arriving at Paynas- 
ville they found eight dwelling-houses either con- 
sumed or so far advanced in burning as to pre- 
clude the hope of saving them, and all the out- 
buildings of every description had been commit- 
ted to the flames and reduced to ruins. Only two 
dwelling-houses were left standing in the village. 
At Clear Water, on the Mississippi river, bcliw 
Si Cloud, and in the county of Wright, the citizens 
formed a home guard and budt a fortification for 
their own protection, which is said to have been a 
good, substantial structure, but no report has been 
received in regard either to their military force or 
preparations for defense. 

Morrison county, which occupies the extreme 
frontier in this direction, tliere being no organized 
coimty beyond it, we believe, was deserted by but 
few of its inhabitants. They collected, however, 
from the various portions of the county, and took 
position in the town of Little Falls, its capital, 
where they fortified the court-house, by strength- 
ening its walls and digging entrenchments around 



23i 



mSTORT OF THE SfOUX MASSACRE. 



it. During the uight the women and children 
occupied the inside of the building, while 
the men remained in quarters or on guard on the 
outside. In the morning the citizens of the town 
would return to their habitiitions, taking with them 
such of their neighbors as they could accommo- 
date, and detachments of the men would proceed 
to the farms of some of the settlers and exert them- 
selves in securing the produce of the soil. In- 
dians were seen on several occasions, and some of 
the people were fired upon by them, but so far as 
information has been communicated, no lives were 
lost among the settlers of the county. 



CH.^PTER XL. 

HOSTfLITIES IN THE VADtEY OP THE RED KIVER OF 
THE NORTH CAPTAINS FREEMAN AND DAVIS OR- 
DERED TO GO TO THE RELIEF OP ABERCROMBIE 

INDIANS APPEAR NEAR THE FOKT IN LARGE NUM- 
BERS THE ATTACK — INDIANS RETIRE SECOND 

ATTACK ON THE FORT UNION OP FORCES AN- 
OTHER ATTACK UPON THE FORT^EFFEOT OF THE 

HOWITZER RETURN OF CAPTAIN FREEMAN TO ST. 

CliOUD. 

On the 23d of August the Indians commenced 
hostilities in the valley of the Red Eiver of the 
North. This region of country was protected by 
the post of Fort Abercrombie, situated on the west 
bank of the river, in Dakota Territory. The troops 
that had formerly garrisoned the forts had been 
removed, and sent to aid in suppressing the 
Southern rebellion, and their place Was supplied, 
as were all the posts within our state, by a de- 
tachment from the Fiftli Rogimeut Minnesota Vol- 
unteers. But one company had been assigned to 
this point, which was under the command of Cap- 
tain John Van der Horck. About one-half of the 
company was stationed at Georgetown, some fifty 
miles below, for the purpose of overawing the In- 
dians in that vicinity, who had threatened some 
opposition to the navigation of the river, and to de- 
stroy the property of the Transportation Company. 
The force was thus divided at the commencement 
of the outbreak. 

The interpreter at the post, who had gone to 
Yellow Medicine for the purpose of attending the 
Indian payment, returned about the 20th of Au- 
gust, and reported that the Indians were becoming 
exasperated and that he expected hostilities to be 



immediately commenced. Upon the receipt of this 
intelligence the guards were doubled, and every 
method adopted that was likely to insure protec- 
tion against surprises. 

Tlie Congress of the United States had author- 
ized a treaty to be made with the Red Lake In- 
dians, (Chippewas,) and the officers were already 
on their way for the purpose of consummating such 
treaty. A train of some thirty wagons, loaded 
with goods, and a herd of some two hundred head 
of cattle, to be used at the treaty by the United 
States Agent, was likewise on the way, and was 
then at no great distance from the fort. 

Early in the morning of the 2^(1 a messenger 
arrived, and informed the commandant that a band 
of nearly five hundred Indians had already crossed 
the Otter Tail river, with the iutentiou of cutting 
off and capturing the train of goods and cattle in- 
tended for the treaty. Word was immediately sent 
to those having the goods in charge, and request- 
ing them to take refuge in the fort, which was 
speedily complied with. Messengers were like- 
wise sent to Breckenridge, Old Crossing, Graham's 
Point, and all the principal settlements, urging 
the inhabitants to flee to the fort for safety, as 
from the weakness of the garrison, it was not pos- 
sible that protection could be afforded them else- 
where. 

The great majority of the people from the set- 
tlements arrived in safety on the same day, and 
were assigned to quarters within the fortification. 
Three men, however, upon arriving at Brecken- 
ridge, refused to go any further, and took posses- 
sion of the hotel of the place, where they declared 
they would defend themselves and their property 
without aid from any source. On the evening of 
the same day a detachment of six men was sent 
out in that direction, in order to learn, if possible, 
the movements of the Indians. Upon their arriv- 
ing in sight of Breckenridge they discovered the 
place to be occupied by a large force of the sav- 
ages. They were likewise seen by the latter, who 
attempted to surround them, but being mounted, 
and the Indians on foot, they were enabled to make 
their escape, and returned to the fort. 

The division of the company at Georgetown 
was immediately ordered in; and, on the morning 
of the • 24th, a detachment was sent to Brecken- 
ridge, when tliey found the place deserted by the 
Indians, but discovered the bodies of the three 
men who had there determined to brave the vio- 
lence of the war party by themselves. They had 



FvUT AUEliOllOMBlE. 



235 



lieen brutally murdered, and, when found, had 
cLiains bound around their ankles, by which it ap- 
peared, from signs upon the floor of the hotel, 
their bodies at least had been dragged around in 
t'le savage war-dance of their murderers, and, per- 
li:i, s, in that very mode of torture they had suf- 
fered a lingering death. The mail-coach for St. 
Paul, which left the fort on the evening of the 
2"2d. had fallen into the hands of the Indians, the 
di'ver lolled, and the contents of the mail scat- 
tered over the prairie, as was discovered by the 
detachment on the 24th. 

Over fifty citizens capable of bearing arms had 
taken refuge ■with the garrison, and willingly be- 
came soldiers for the time being; but many of 
them were destitute of arms, and none could be 
furnished them from the number in the possession 
of the commandant. There was need, however, 
to strengthen the position with outside intrench- 
ments, and all that could be spared from other 
duties were employed in labor of that character. 

On the morning of the 25th of August, messen- 
gers were dispatched ftrom the post to head-quar- 
ters, stating the circumstances Tinder which the 
garrison was placed, and the danger of a severe 
attack; but, as all troops that could be raised, and 
were not indispensable at other points, had been 
sent to Colonel Sibley, then on the march for the 
relief of Fort Kidgely, it was impossible at once to 
reinforce Fort Abercrombie with any troops al- 
ready reported ready for the field. Authority had 
been given, and it was expected that a considera- 
ble force of mounted infantry for the State ser- 
vice had been raised, or soon would be, at St. 
Cloud. 

As the place was directly upon the route to Ab- 
ercrombie, it was deemed advisable to send any 
troops that could be raised there to the assistance 
of Captain Van der Horck, relying upon our abil- 
ity to have their places shortly filled with troops, 
then being raised in other parts of the State. Ac- 
cordingly, Captain Freeman, with his company, of 
about sixty in number, started upon the march; 
but upon arriving at Sauk Center, he became con- 
vinced, from information there received, that it 
would be extremely dangerous, if not utterly im- 
possible, to make the march to the fort with so 
small a number of men. He then requested Cap- 
tain Kamsdell, in command of the troops at Sauk 
Center, to detail thirty men fi-om his command, to 
be united with his own company, and, with his 
force so strengthened, he proposed to make the 



attempt to reach the fort. Captain Kamsdell 
thought that, by complying with this request, he 
would so weaken his own force that he would be 
unable to hold position at Sauk Center, and that 
the region of country around would become over- 
run by the enemy, and he refused his consent. 
Captain Freeman then deemed it necessary to 
await reinforcements before proceeding any further 
on his perilous journey. 

On the same day that orders were issued to the 
mounted men then assembling at St. Cloud, simi- 
lar orders were issued to those likewise assembling 
in Goodhue coimty, under the command of Cap- 
tain David L. Davis, directing them to complete 
their organization with all speed, and then to pro- 
ceed forthwith to the town of Carver, on the Min- 
nesota river, and thence through the counties of 
McLeod, Meeker, and Stearns, until an intersec- 
tion was made with the stage-route from St. Cloud 
to Fort Abercrombie, and thence along such stage- 
route to the fort, unless the officers in command 
became convinced that their services were more 
greatly needed in some other quarter, in which 
case they had authority to use discretionary pow- 
ers. This company, likewise, marched pursuant 
to orders; but, in consequence of the attacks then 
being made upon Forest City, Acton, and Hutch- 
inson, they deemed it their duty to render as- 
sistance to the forces then acting in that part of 
the country. 

The first efforts to reinforce the garrison on the 
Red River had failed. Upon the fact becoming 
known at this office, there were strong hopes that 
two more companies of infantry could be put into 
the field in a very short time, and, therefore, on 
the 30th day of August, orders were issued to the 
commandant of Fort Snelling, directing him to 
detail two companies, as soon as they could be 
had, to proceed to Sauk Center, and thence to 
proceed to Fort Abercrombie, in case their ser- 
vices were not urgently demanded in the Sauk 
Valley. These companies were, soon after, dis- 
patched accordingly, and it was hoped that, by 
means of this increased force on the north-western 
frontier, a sufficiently strong expedition might be 
formed to effect the reinforcement of Abercrombie. 

Upon the arrival of these troops at the rendez- 
vous, however, they still considered the forces in 
that vicinity inadequate to the execution of the 
task proposed. Of this fact we first had notice on 
the 6th day of September. Two days previously, 
the effective forces of the state had been strength- 



236 



HISTORl' OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



ened by the arrival of the Third Regiment Minne- 
sota Volunteers, without any coramissionod officers 
and being but a wreck of that once noble regi- 
ment. Three hundred of the men had already 
been ordered to the field, under the command of 
Major Welch. It was now determined to send 
forward the remaining available force of the regi- 
ment, to endeavor to effect the project so long 
delayed, of reinforcing the command of Captain 
Van der Horck, on the Red River of the North. 
Orders were accordingly issued to the commandant 
at Fort SneUing, on the 6th day of September, 
directing him to fit out an expedition for that pur- 
pose, to be composed, as far as possible, of the 
troops belonging to the Third Regiment; and 
Colonel S nith, the commandant at the post, im- 
mediately entered upon the discharge of the duties 
assigned him in the order. 

Daring the time that these efforts had been 
making for their relief, the garrison at Port Abor- 
crombie was kept in a state of siege by the sav- 
ages, who had taken possession of the surrounding 
country in large niimbers. On the 25th ot August, 
tho same day that the first messengers were sent 
from that post. Captain Van der Horck detailed a 
squad, composed of six men from his company and 
six of the citizens then in the fort, to proceed to 
Breckenridge anil recover the bodies of the men 
who had there been murdered. They proceeded, 
without meeting with any opposition, to the point 
designated, where they found the bodies, and con- 
signed them to boxes or rough coffins, prepared 
for the purpose, and were about starting on the 
return, when they observed what they supposed to 
be an Indian in the saw-mill, at that place. A 
further examination revealed the fact that the 
object mistaken tor an Indian was an old lady by 
the name of Scott, from Old Crossing, on the 
Otter Tail, a point distant fifteen miles from 
Breckenridge. 

When discovered, she had three wounds on the 
breast, which she had received from the Indians, 
at her residence, on the morning of the previous 
day. Notwithstanding the severity of her wounds, 
and the fact that she was sixty-five years of age, 
she made her way on foot and alone, by walking 
or crawling along the banks of the river, until she 
arrived, in a worn-out, exhausted, and almost dy- 
ing condition, at the place where she was found. 
She stated that, on tho 24:th of August, a party of 
Indians came to her residence, where they were 
met by her son, a young man, whom they instantly 



shot dead, and immediately fired upon her, inflict- 
ing the wounds upon her person which she still 
bore. That tlien a teamster in the employment of 
Burbank & Co. appeared in sight, driving a wagon 
loaded with oats, and they went to attack him, 
taking with them her grandchild, a boy about 
eight years of age. That they fired upon the 
teamster, wounding nim in the arm, after which he 
succeeded in making his escape for that time, and 
they left her, no doubt believing her to be dead, 
or, at least, in a dying condition. She was con- 
veyed to the fort, wliere her wounds were dressed, 
after which she gradually recovered. A party was 
sent out, on the 27th of August, to the Old Cross- 
ing, for the purpose of burying the body of her 
son, which was accomplished, and on their way to 
that point they discovered the body of another 
man who had been murdered, as was supposed, on 
the 24th. 

On Saturday, the 3l)th of August, another 
small party were sent out, with the intention of 
going to the Old Crossing for reconnoitering pur- 
poses, and to collect and drive to the fort such 
cattle and other live stock as could there be found. 
They had proceeded ten miles on their way, when 
they canie upon a party of Indians, in ambush, by 
whom they were fired upon, and one of their party 
killed. The remainder of the sqund made their 
escape unhurt, but with the loss of their baggage 
wagon, five mules, and their camp equipage. 

At about two o'clock in the afternoon of the 
same day, the Indians appeared in large numbers 
in sight of the fort. At this time nearly all the 
live stock belonging to the post, as well as that 
belonging to the citizens then quartered within 
the work, together with the cattle that had been 
intended for the treaty in contemplation with the 
Red Lake Indians, were all grazing upon the 
prairie in rear of the fort, over a range extending 
from about one-half mile to three miles from it. 
The Indians approached boldly within this dis- 
tance, and drove off the entire herd, about fifty 
head of which afterward escaped. They succeeded, 
however, in taking between one hundi-ed and sev- 
enty and two hundred head of cattle, and about 
one hundred horses .and mules. They made no 
demonstration against the fort, except their appa- 
rently bold acts of defiance; but, from the weak- 
ness ot the garrison in men and arms, no force 
was sent out to dispute with them the possession 
of the property. It was mortifying in tho ex- 
treme, especially to the citizens, to , be compelled 



UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK. 



237 



to look thus quietly on, while they were being 
robbed of their property, and dare not attempt its 
rescue, lest the fort should be filled with their ene- 
mies in their absence. 

On the 2d day of September, another reconnoi- 
tering party of eight were sent out in the direction 
of Breckenridge, who returned, at four o'clock p. m. 
without having encountered any ojjposition from 
the Indians, or without having even seen any ; but 
brought with them the cattle above spoken of as 
having escaped from their captors, which were 
found running at large during their march. 

At daybreak on the following morning, the 3d 
of September, the garrison was suddenly called to 
arms by the report of alarm-shots fired by the sen- 
tinels in the vicinity of the stook-yard belonging 
to the post. The firing soon became sharp and 
rapid in that direction, showing that the enemy 
were advancing upon that point with considerable 
force. The command was shortly after given for 
aU those stationed outside to fall back within the 
fortification. About the same time, tivo of the 
haystacks were discovered to be on fire, which 
greatly emboldened and inflamed the spirits of the 
citizens, whose remaining stock they considered to 
be in extreme jeopardy. They rushed with great 
eagerness and hardihood to the stables, and as the 
first two of them entered on one side, two of the 
savages had just entered from the other. The fore- 
most of these men killed one of the Indians and 
captured his gun. The other Indian fired upon 
the second man, wounding him severely in the 
shoulder, notwithstanding which, he afterward 
shot the Indian and finished him with the bayonet. 
By this time two of the horses had been taken 
away and two killed. 

The fight was kept up for about two hours and 
a half, during which time three of the inmates of 
the fort were seriously wounded (one of whom af- 
terward died from the wound) by shots from the 
enemy; and the commandant received a severe 
wound in the right arm from an accidental shot, 
fired by one of his own men. The Indians then 
retired without having been able to effect an en- 
trance into the fort, and without having been able 
to succeed in capturing the stock of horses and 
cattle, which, most probably, had been the jirinci- 
pal object of thek attack. 

Active measures were taken to strengthen the 
outworks of the fort. The principal materials at 
hand were cord-wood and hewn timber, but of 
this there was a considerable abundance. By 



means of these the barracks were surrounded with 
a breastwork of cord- wood, well filled in with 
earth to the height of eight feet, and this capped 
with hewn oak timbers, eight inches square, and 
having port-holes between them, from which a fire 
could be opened on the advancing foe. This was 
designed both as a means of protection, in case of 
attack, and a place of final retreat in case the 
main fort should by any means be burned or de- 
stroyed, or the garrison should in any manner be 
driven from it. 

On Saturday, the 6th day of September, the 
same day that an expedition to that point was or- 
dered from the Third Regunent, the fort was a se- 
cond time attacked. Immediately after daybreak 
on that morning, the Indians, to the number of 
about fifty, mounted on horseback, made their ap- 
pearance on the open prairie in the rear of the 
fort. Their intention evidently was, by this bold 
and defiant challenge, with so small a force, to in- 
duce the garrison to leave their fortifications and 
advance against them, to punish their audacity. 

In becoming satisfied that our troops could not 
be seduced from their intreuchmcntg, the Indians 
soon displayed themselves in different directions, 
and in large numbers. Their principal object of 
attack in this instance, as on the former occasion, 
seemed to be the Government stables, seeming de- 
termined to get possession of the remaining horses 
and cattle at almost any sacrifice, even if they 
should make no other acquisition. 

The stables were upon the edge of the prairie, 
with a grove of heavy timber lymg between them 
and the river. The savages were not slow in per- 
ceiving the advantage of making their approach 
upon that point fi-om this latter direction. The 
shores of the river, on both sides, were lined with 
Indians for a considerable -distance, as their war- 
whoops, when they concluded to commence the 
onset, soon gave evidence. They seemed determ- 
ined to frighten the garrison into a cowardly sub- 
mission, or, at least, to drive them from the out- 
posts, by the amount and unearthliness of their 
whoops and yells. They, in turn, however, were 
saluted and partially quieted by the opening upon 
them of a six-pounder, and the explosion of a shell 
in the midst of their ranks. 

A large force was led by one of their chiefs 
from the river through the timber until they had 
gained a close proximity to the stables, still under 
cover of large trees in the grove. When no nearer 
position could be gained ■ivithout presenting them- 



238 



HISTORY OF THE SIOVX MASSACRE. 



selves in the open ground, they were urged by 
their leader to make a charge upon the point thus 
sought to be gained, and take the place by storm. 
They appeared slow in rendering obedience to his 
command, whereby they were to expose themselves 
in an open space intervening between them and 
the stables. When at length he succeeded in cre- 
ating a stir among them (for it assuredly did not 
approach the grandeur of a charge), they were 
met by such a volley from the direction in which 
they were desired to march that they suddenly re- 
versed their advance, and each sought the body of 
a tree, behind which to screen himself from the 
threatened storm of flying bullets. 

As an instance of the manner in which the fight 
was now conducted, we would mention a part of 
the personal adventures of Mr. Walter P. HUls, 
a citizen, who three times came as a messenger 
from the fort during the time it was in a state of 
siege. He had just returned to the post with dis- 
patches the evening before the attack was made. 
He took part in the engagement, and killed his 
Indian in the early portion of tlie fight before 
the enemy was driven across the river. 

He afterward took position at one of the port- 
holes, where he paired off with a particular Sious 
warrior, posted behind a tree of his own selection. 
He, being acquainted with the language to a con- 
siderable extent, saluted and conversed with his 
antagonist, and as the opportunity was presented, 
each would fire at the other. This was kept up 
for about an hour without damage to either party, 
when the Indian attempted to change his position, 
so as to open fire from the opposite side of his tree 
from that which he had been using hitherto. In 
this maneuver he made an unfortunate exposure of 
his person in the direction of the upper bastion of 
the fort. The report of a rifle from that point was 
heard, and the Indian was seen to make a sudden 
start backward, when a second and third shot fol- 
lowed in rapid succession, and Mr. Hills beheld his 
polite opponent stretched a corj)se upon the 
ground. He expressed himself as experiencuig a 
feeling of di.ssatisfaction at beholding the death of 
his enemy thus inflicted by other hands than his 
jwn, after he had endeavored so long to accom- 
plish the same object. 

Several of the enemy at this point were killed 
while in the, act of skulking from one tree to an- 
other. The artillery of the ])ust was used with 
considerable efl'ect during the engagement. At 
one time a number of the euemv's liorscnien were 



observed collecting upon a knoU on the prairie, at 
the distance of about half a mile from the fort, 
with the apparent intention of making a charge. 
A howitzer was brought to bear upon them, and a 
shell was planted in their midst, which immediately 
afterward exploded, filling the air with dust, sand, 
and other fragments. When this had sufficiently 
cleared away to permit the knoll to be again seen, 
the whole troop, horses and riders, had vanished, 
and could nowhere be discovered. 

The fight lasted until near noon, when the enemy 
withdrew, taking with him nearly all his dead. 
The loss which he sustained could not be fully as- 
certained, but from the number killed in plain 
view of the works, and the marks of blood, broken 
guns, old rags, and other signs discovered where 
the men had fallen or been dragged away by their 
companions, it must have been very severe. Our 
loss was one man killed and two wounded, one of 
them mortally. 

Mr. Hills left the fort the same evening as bearer 
of dispatches to headquarters at St. Paul, where 
he arrived in safety on the evening of the 8th of 
September. 

Captain Emil A. Buerger was appointed, by 
special order from headquarters, to take command 
of the exjjodition for the relief of Fort Abercrom- 
bie. He had .served with some distinction in the 
Prussian army for a period of ten years. He after- 
ward emigrated to the United States, and be- 
came a resident of the state of Minnesota, 
taking the oath of allegiance to the Gov- 
ernment of the United States, and making a 
declaration of his intention to become a citizen. 
He enlisted in the second company of Minnesota 
Sharp-Shooters, and was with the company in the 
battle of Fair Oaks, in Virginia, where he was 
severely wounded and loft upon the field. He was 
there found by the enemy, and carried to Eich- 
mond as a prisoner of war. After having in a 
great measure recovered from his wounds, he was 
paroled and sent to Benton Barracks, in the state 
of Missouri, where he was sojourning at the time 
the 3d Regiment was ordered to this state. As the 
regiment at that time was utterly destitute of com- 
missioned ofiicers, Captain Buerger was designated 
to take charge and command during the passage 
from St. Louis, and to report the command at head- 
quarters in this state. 

From his kno\vn experience and bravery, he 
was selected to lead the expedition to the Red 
River of the North, for the rehef of the garrison at 



REINFORCEMENTS. 



239 



Fort Abercrombie. On the 9th of September he 
was informed, by the commandant at Fort Snell- 
ing, that the companies commanded respectively 
by Captains George Atkinson and Rolla Banks, 
together \\dth about sixty men of the Third Kegi- 
ment, under command of Sergeant Dearborne, had 
been assigned to bis command, constituting an 
aggregate force of about 250 men. 

The next day (September 10) arms and accou- 
trements were issued to the men, and, before noon 
of the 11th of September, Captam Atkinson's 
company and the company formed from the mem- 
bers of the Third Kegiment were ready for the 
march. With these Captain Buerger at once set 
out, leaving Captain Bank's company to receive 
their clothing, but with orders to follow after and 
overtake the others as soon as possible, which they 
did, arriving at camp and reporting about 3 o'clock 
the nest morning. 

It was also deemed expedient to send the only 
remaining field-piece belonging to the state along 
with the expedition, and Lieutenant Eobert J. 
McHenry was, accordingly, appointed to take 
command of the piece, and was sent after the 
expedition, which he succeeded in overtaking, near 
Clear Water, on the 13th of September, and imme- 
diately repoited for further orders to the captain 
commanding the expedition. 

Being detained by heavy rains and muddy 
roads, the expedition was considerably delayed 
upon its march, but arrived at Richmond, in 
Steams county, on the 16th of September, and 
encamped in a fortification erected at tliat point by 
the citizens of the place. Upon his arrival. Cap- 
tain Buerger was informed that the night previous 
an attack had been made upon the neighboring 
village of Paynesville, and a church and school- 
house had been burned, and that, on the day of 
his arrival, a party of thirty Sioux warriors, well 
mounted, had been seen by some of the Eichmond 
home-guards, about three miles beyond the Sauk 
river at that point. 

Captain Buerger thereupon detailed a party of 
twenty men to proceed to Eichmond, to patrol up 
and down the bank of the river as far as the town 
site extended, and, in case of an attack being 
made, to render all possible or necessary assistance 
and aid to the home militia; at the same time he 
held the remainder of his command in readiness to 
meet any emergency that might arise. No In- 
dians appeared during the night, and, on the 
morning following, the march was resumed. 



On the 19th of September the expedition reached 
Wyman's Station, at the point where the road 
enters the "Alexandria Woods." At the setting 
out of the expedition it was next to impossible to 
obtain means of transportation for the baggage 
and supplies necessary for the force. The fitting 
out of so many other exjieditions and detachments 
about the same time had drawn so heavily upon 
the resom-ces of the country, that scarcely a horse 
or wagon could be obtained, either by contract or 
impressment. Although Mr. Kimball, the quarter- 
master of the expedition, had been assiduously 
epgaged from the 8th of September in endeavor- 
ing to obtain such transportation, yet, on the 11th, 
he had but partially succeeded in liis endeavors. 

Captain Buerger had refused longer to delay, 
and started at once with the means then at hand, 
leaving directions for others to be sent forward as 
rapidly as circumstances would allow. The march 
was much less rapid, for want of this part of the 
- train. These, fortunately, arrived while the com- 
mand was encamped at Wyman's Station, just 
before the commencement of what was considered 
the dangerous part of the march. 

On the 14th of September, Captains Barrett 
and Freeman, having united their commands, de- 
termined to make the attempt to relieve Fort 
Abercrombie, in obedience to jirevious orders. 
They broke up camp on the evening of that day, 
and by evening of the 15th, had reached Lake 
AmeUa, near the old trail to Eed Eiver, where they 
encamped. During the night a messenger arrived 
at their camp, bearing dispatches from Captain 
McCoy, advising them of the advance of the expe- 
dition under command of Captain Buerger, by 
whom they were directed to await further orders. 

On the 18th they received orders directly from 
Captain Buerger, directing them to proceed to 
Wyman's Station, on the Alexandria road, and 
join his command at that point on the 19tb, 
which was promptly executed. Captain Buerger 
expressed himself as bemg highly pleased with 
these companies, both officers and men. He had 
been directed to assume command over these 
companies, and believing the country in his rear 
to be then sufficiently guarded, and being so well 
jaleased with both companies that he disliked to 
part with either, he ordered them to join the ex- 
pedition during the remainder of the march. 

By the accession of these companies the strength 
of the expedition was increased to something over 
four hundred effective men. This whole force. 



uo 



n I STORY OF THE SIOUK MASSACRE. 



with the entire train, marched on the 20tli of Sep- 
tember, and passed through the "Alexandria 
Woods" without seeing any Indians. After pass- 
ing Sauk Center, however, there was not an inhab- 
itant to be seen, and the whole coxmtry had been 
laid waste. The houses were generally burned, 
and those that remained had been plundered of 
their contents and broken up, until they were mere 
wrecks, while the stock and produce of the farms 
had been all carried off or destroyed. 

On the 21st they passed the spot where a Mr. 
Andrew Austin had been murdered by the Indian's 
a short time previous. His body was found, terd- 
ribly mutilated, the head having been severed from 
the body, and lying about forty rods distant from 
it, with the scalp torn ofiF. It was buried by the 
expedition in the best style that circumstances 
would admit. Pomme de Terre river was reached 
in the evening. 

On the 22J they arrived at the Old Crossing, on 
the Otter Tail river, between Dayton and Breck- 
enridge, about fifteen miles from the latter place. 
On the 2.3d the march was resumed, and nothing 
woi'ihy of remark occurred until the espodition 
had approached within about a mile of the P.eJ 
River, and almost within sight of Fort Abercroni- 
bie. At this point a dense smoke was observed in 
the direction of tlie fort, and the impression cre- 
ated among the troops was, that the post had al- 
ready fallen, and was now being reduced to ash^s 
by the victorious savages, through the means of 
their favorite element of war. 

Upon ascending an eminence where a bettor 
view could be obtained, a much better state of af- 
fairs was discovered to be existing. There stood 
the little fort, yet monarch of the prairie, and the 
flag of the Union was still waving above its bat- 
tlements. The fire from which the smoke wr.s 
arising was between the command and the post, 
and was occasioned by the burning of the praiiie, 
which had been set on fire by the Indians, with the 
evident design of cutting off the expedition from 
the crossing of the river. After they had advanced 
a short distance further toward the river, a party 
of thirteen Indians appeared on the opposite bank, 
rushing in wild haste from a piece of woods. 
They hastily fired a few shots at our men from a 
distance of about fifteen hundred yards, inflictiLg 
no injuries on any one of the command, after 
which tliey disappeared in great trepidation, be- 
hind some bushes on the river shore. 

A detachment comprising twenty mounted men 



of Captain Freeman's company, under command of 
Lieutenant Taylor, and twenty from the members 
of the Third Kegiment, the latter to act as skir- 
mishers in the woods, was directed to cross the 
river with all possible celerity, and follow the re- 
treating enemy. The men entered upon the duty 
assigned them with the greatest zeal, crossed the 
river, and follov.ed in the direction taken by the 
Indians. 

Captain Buerger took with him the remaining 
force of the Third Kegiment and the field-piece, 
and jjrcceeded up the river to a point where he sus- 
pected the Indians would pass in their retreat, and 
where he was able to conceal his men from their 
sight until within a very short distance. 

He soon discovered, however, that the savag. s 
were retreating, under cover of the woods, across 
the prairie, in the direction of the Wild Eice river. 
The whole expedition was then ordered to cross the 
river, which was effected in less than an hour, the 
men not awaiting to be carried over in wagons, but 
plunging into the water, breast-deep, and wading 
to the opposite shore. 

By this time the savages had retreated some 
three miles, and were about entering the heavy 
timber beyond the prairie, and further pursuit was 
considered useless. The march was continued to 
the fort, at which place the expedition arrived 
about 4 o'clock of the same daj-, to the great joy 
of the imprisoned garrison and citizens, who wel- 
comed their deliverers with unbounded cheers and 
demonstrations of delight. 

When the moving columns of the expedition 
were first descried from tlie ramparts of the fort, 
they were taken to be Indians advancing to an- 
other attack. All was excitement and alarm. 
The following description of the after-part of the 
scene is from the pen of a lady who was an inmate 
of the fort during the long weeks that they were 
besieged, and could not dare to venture beyond 
half cannon-shot from the post without being in 
imminent peril of her life: 

"About ."5 o'clock the rejjort came to quarters 
t'.iat the Indians were again coming from up to- 
ward Bridges. With a telescope we soon discovered 
tour white men, our messengers, riding at full 
speed, who, upon reaching here informed us that 
in one half hour we would be reinforced by three 
hundred and fifty men. Language can never ex- 
press the delight of all. Some wept, some 
laughed, others hallooed and cheered. Tlie sol- 
i diers and citizens here formed in a line and went 



BARBABITIES. 



241 



out to meet them. It was quite dark before all got 
in. Wc aU cheered so that the nest day more than 
half of us could hardly speak iiloud. The ladies 
all went out, and as they passed, cheered them. 
They were so dusty I did not kuow one of them." 

On the same day that the expedition reached 
the fort, but at an early hour, it had been deter- 
mined to dispatch a messenger to St. Paul, with re- 
ports of the situation of the garrison, and a request 
for assistance. The messenger was escorted a con- 
siderable distance by a force of twenty men, com- 
posed of soldiers and partly of the citizens quar- 
tered at the post. When returning, and within 
about a mile of the fort, they were fired upon by 
Indians in ambush, and two of the number, one 
citizen and one soldier, were killed, and fell into 
the hands of the enemy. The others, by extraor- 
dinary exertions, succeeded in making their es- 
cape, and returned to the garrison. 

The next morning, about two-thirda of the 
mounted company, under command of Captain 
Freeman, escorted by a strong infantry force, went 
out to search for the bodies of those slain on the 
day before. After scouring the woods for a con- 
siderable distance, the bodies were found upon the 
prairie, some sixty or eighty rods apart, mangled 
and mutilated to such a degree as to be almost de- 
prived of human form. The body of the citizen 
was found ripped open from the center of the ab- 
domen to the throat. The heart and liver were en- 
tirely removed, while the lungs were torn out and 
left upon the outside of the chest. The head was 
cut off, scalped, and thrust within the cavity of the 
abdomen, with the face toward the feet. The hands 
were cut off and laid side by side, with the palms 
downward, a short distance from the main portion 
of the body. The body of the soldier had been 
pierced by two balls, one of which must have oc- 
casioned almost instant death. When found, it 
was lying upon the face, with the ujiper part of tlie 
head completely smashed and beaten in with clubs 
while the brains were scattered around upon the 
grass. It exhibited eighteen bayonet wounds in 
the back, and one of the legs had received a gash 
almost, or quite, to the bone, extending fiom the 
calf to the junction with the body. 

The citizen had lived in the vicinity for years. 
The Indians had been in the habit of visiting his 
father's house, shariug the hospitahties of the 
dwelling, and receiving alms of the family. He 
must have been well known to the savages who in- 

16 



flicted such barbarities upon his lifeless form; 
neither could they have had aught against him, 
except his belonging to a different race, and his be- 
ing found in a coimtry over which they wished to 
re-establish their supremacy. 

That his body had been treated with stiU greater 
indignity and cruelty than that of the soldier was 
in accordance with feeKngs previously expressed to 
some of the garrison. In conversation with some 
of the Sioux, previous to the commencement of 
hostihties, they declared a very strong hatred 
against the settlers in the country, as they fright- 
ened away the game, and thus interfered with 
their hunting. They objected, in similar terms, to 
having United States troojjs quartered so near 
them, but said they did not blame the soldiers, as 
they had to obey orders, and go wherever they 
were directed, but the settlers had encroached upon 
them, of their own free will, and as a matter of 
choice; for this reason the citizens should be se- 
verely dealt with. 

No more Indians were seen around the fort until 
the 26th of September. At about 7 o'clock of that 
day, as Captain Freeman's company were water- 
ing their horses at the river, a volley was fired 
upon them by a party of Sioux, who had placed 
themselves in ambush for the purpose. One man, 
who had gone as teamster with the expedition, 
was mortally wounded, so that he died the suc- 
ceeding night; the others were unarmed. From 
behind the log-buildings and breastworks the fire 
was soon ^-eturned with considerable effect, as a 
number of the enemy were seen to fall and be car- 
ried off by their comrades. At one time two In- 
dians were observed skulking near the river. They 
were fired upon by three men from the fortifica- 
tion, and both fell, when they were dragged away 
by their companions. 

On another occasion, during the fight, one of 
the enemy was discovered perched on a tree, where 
he had stationed himself, either for the purjjose of 
obtaining a view of the movements inside of the 
fort, or to gain a more favorable position for firing 
upon our men. He was fired upou by a member 
of Captain Barrel's company, when he released 
Iris hold upon the tree and fell heavily into a fork 
near the ground, from which he was removed and 
borne off by his Comrades. In a very short time 
a howitzer was brought into position, and a few 
shells (which the Indians designate as rotten bul- 
lets) were thrown among them, silencing their fire 
and causing them to withdraw. 



242 



HISTORY OF TUB SIOUX MASS ACME. 



A detacliment, comprising Captain Freeman's 
company, fifty men of the 3J Eegiment, and a 
squad in charge of a howitzer, were ordered in 
pursuit, and started over the prairie, up the river. 
At the distance of about two miles they came upon 
the Sioux camp, but the warriors fled in the great- 
est liaste and consternation upon their approach. 
A few shots were fired at them in their iiight, to 
which they replied by yells, but were in too great 
haste to return the fire. The howitzer was again 
opened upon them, whereupon their yelling sud- 
denly ceased, and they rushed, if possible, with 
stUl greater celerity through the brush and across 
the river. 

Their camp was taken possession of, and was 
found to contain a considerable quantity of plun- 
der, compo.sed of a variety of articles, a stock of 
liquors being part of the assortment. Everything 
of value was carried to the fort, and the remainder 
was burned upon the ground. 

On the evening of September 29th a light skir- 
mish was had with a small party of Sioux, who 
attempted to gain an ambush in order to fire upon 
the troops while watering their horses, as on a pre- 
vious occcasion. Fire was first opened upon them, 
which they returned, wovuiding one man. They 
were immediately routed and driven off, but with 
what loss, if any, was unknown. 

On the 30th of September Captain Freeman's 
company and the members of the 3d Kegiment, 
together with a number of citizens and families, 
started on their return from Fort Abercrombie to 
St. Cloud. They passed by where the town of 
Dayton had formerly stood, scarcely a vestige of 
which was then found remaining. The dead body 
of one of the citizens, who had been murdered, 
was there found, and buried in the best manner 
possible under the circumstances. The whole 
train arrived in safety at St. Cloud, on the 5th of 
October, without having experienced any consid- 
erable adventures on the journey. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

SOUTH-WESTERN DEPAUTMENT — HON. CHARLES E. 

ELANDEAU FEAKS OF WINNEBAGOES AND SIOUX 

MANKATO RAISES A COMPANY FOR THE DEFENSE 

OP NEW ULM HEADQUARTERS AT SOUTH BEND 

WAKEFIELD SIOUX RAID IN WATONWAN COUNTY 

PURSUIT OF INDIANS STATE TROOPS RE- 
LIEVED FROM DUTY— COLONEL SIBLEY ADVANCED 
FROM ST. PETER CONCLUSION. 

That portion of the State lying between the 



Minnesota river and the Iowa line, supposed in 
the early part of the military movement to occupy 
a position of extreme danger, was placed under 
the control of Hon. Charles E. Flandrau. In the 
division was the Winnebago Eeservation. And it 
wjs reasonably supposed that the Winnebagoes 
would more readily unite with the Sioux than with 
the Ojibwas [Chippewas] in the northern part of 
the State, the former tribe being on good terms 
with the Sioux, while the latter held the Sioux as 
hereditary enemies, with whom an alliance offen- 
sive or defensive would hardly take place, unless 
under extraordinary conditions, such as a general 
war of the Indian tribes upon the white race. This 
peculiar condition did not mark the present out- 
break. 

In this portion of the State were distributed the 
following forces, subject to special duty as circum- 
stances required: a company of sixty-three mem- 
bers under the command of Captain Cornelius F. 
Buck, marched from Winona, Sept.l, 1861; on the 
26th of August, six days previous. Captain A. J. 
Edgerton, of the 10th Eegiment, with one hun- 
dred and nine men, arrived at the Winnebago 
Agency, where the inhabitants were in great ter- 
ror. After the evacuation of New Ulm, by Col- 
onel Flandrau, he encamped at Crisp's farm, halt 
way between New Ulm and Mankato. On the 31st 
of August, a company of forty-four members, from 
Mankato, took up position at South Bend, at 
which place Colonel Flandrau had established his 
headquarters. On the 23d of August a company 
of fifty-eight members, from Winnebago City, 
under command of Captain H. W. Holly, was 
raised for special services in the counties of Blue 
Earth, Faribault, Martin, Watonwan, and Jackson. 
This command, on the 7th of September, was re- 
lieved at Winnebago City by the Fillmore County 
Rangers, under the command of Captain Colburn. 
At Blue Earth City, a company of forty- two mem- 
bers, under command of Captain J. B. Wakefield, 
by order of Colonel Flandrau. remained at that 
point and erected fortifications, and adopted means 
for subsisting his men there during the term of 
their service. Major Charles E. Read, of the State 
miUtia, with a squad of men from south-eastern 
Minnesota, also reported to Colonel Flandrau at 
South Bend. Captain Dane, of the 9th Regi- 
ment, was by order of the Colonel in command, 
stationed at New Ulm. Captain Post, and Colonel 
John R. Jones, of the State militia, reported a 
company of mounted men from the county of Fill- 



FORT COX. 



243 



more, aod were assigned a position at Garden 
City. Captain Alilricb, of the 8th Regiment, re- 
ported his company at South Bend, and was placed 
in position at New Ulm. Captahi Ambler, of the 
10th Regiment, reported his company, and was 
stationed at Mankato. Captain Sanders, of the 
10th, also reported, and was stationed at Le Sueur. 
Captain Meagher likewise was assigned a position 
with his company at Mankato, where the company 
was raised. Captain Cleary, with a company, was 
stationed at Marysburg, near the "Winnebago 
Reserve, and a similar' company, under Captain 
Potter, was raised, and remained at camp near 
home. Captain E. St. Julien Cox, with a com- 
mand composed of detachments from difl'erent 
companies, was stationed at Madelia. He here 
erected a fort commanding the country for some 
twenty miles. It was octagonal in form, two 
stories in height, with thirty feet between the walls. 
This was inclosed by a breastwork and ditch six 
feet deep, and four feet wide at the bottom, with 
projecting squares of similar thickness on the cor- 
ners, from wliich the ditch could be swept through 
its entire length. This structure was named Fort 
Cox, in honor of its projector. 

From this disposition of forces in the depart- 
ment commanded by Colonel Flandrau, it will be 
seen that the south-western portion of the State 
was provided with the most ample means of de- 
fense against any attack from any open enemy in 
any ordinary warfare; and yet on the 10th of Sep- 
tember, the wily Indian made an attack upon But- 
ternut Valley, near the line of Blue Earth and 
Brown counties and fired upon the whites, wound- 
ed a Mr. Lewis in the hand, killed James Edwards, 
and stOJ further on killed Thomas J. Davis, a Mr. 
Mohr, and wounded Mr. John W. Task and left 
him for dead. Mr. Task, however, survived. And 
again on the 21st of September, a party of Sioux 
came into Watonwan county, killed John Arm- 
strong, two children of a Mr. Patterson, and a Mr. 
Peterson. • 

The consequences of the massacre we have de- 
tailed in these pages to some extent can be easily 
imagined, and the task of the historian might here 
be transferred to the reader. But even the reader 
of fiction, much more the reader of history, re- 
quires some aid to direct the imagination in arriv- 
ing at proper conclusions. A few words in connec- 
tion with the facts already presented ^vill suffice to 
exhibit this tragic epoch in our State's history in 
its projier light. 



Minnesota, the first State in the North-west, 
bounded on the east by the Great Father of Wa- 
ters, had taken her place in the fair sisterhood of 
states with prospects as flattering as any that ever 
entered the American Union. The tide of hardy, 
vigorous, intelligent emigrants had come hither 
from the older states, as well as from England, 
Ireland, and the different countries on the Euro- 
pean continent, until a thriving population of 
200,000 had taken up their abode upon her virgin 
soil, and were in the quiet and peaceable enjoy- 
ment of her salubrious climate. Her crystal lakes, 
her wooded streams, her bewitchin g water-falls, her 
island groves, her lovely prairies, would have added 
gems to an earthly paradise. Her Lake Superior, 
her Mississippi, her Bed River of the North, and 
her Minnesota, were inviting adjunats to the com- 
merce of the world. Her abundant harvests and 
her fertile and enduring soil gave to the husband- 
man the highest hopes of certain wealth. Her po- 
sition in the track of the tidal human current 
sweeping across the continent to the Pacific coast, 
and thence aroiuid the globe, placed her forever on 
the highway of the nations. 

Minnesota, thus situated, thus lovely in her virgin 

youth, had one dark spot resting on the horizon of 

her otherwise cloudless sky. The dusky savage, 

as we have seen, dwelt in the land. And, when all 

was peace, without a note of warning, that one 

dark spot, moved by the winds of savage hate, 

suddenly obscured the whole sky, and poured out, 

to the bitter dregs, the vials of its wrath, without 

mixture of mercy. The blow fell like a storm of 

thimderbolts from the clear, bright heavens. The 

storm of fierce, savage murder, in its most horrid 

and frightful forms, rolled on. Day passed and 

night came; 

"Down nank the sun, nor ceased the carnage there- 
Tumultuous horrors rent the midnight air." 

until the sad catalogue reached the fearful number 
of two thousand human victims, from the gray- 
haired sire to the helpless infant of a day, who lay 
mangled and dead on the ensanguined field 1 The 
dead were left to bury the dead; for 
*'The dead reigned there alone." 
In two days the whole work of murder was done, 
with here and there exceptional cases in differ- 
ent settlements. And during these two days a 
population of thirty thousand, scattered over some 
eighteen counties, on the western border of the 
state, on foot, on horseback, with teams of oxen 
and horses, under the momentum of the panic thus 



214 



HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASS AG HE. 



created, were rusliing wildly and frantically over 
the prairies to places of safety, cither to Fort 
Kidgely or to the yet remaining towns on the Min- 
nesota and Mississippi rivers. Flight from an in- 
vading army of civilized foes is awful; but thght 
from the uplifted tomahawk, in the hands of sav- 
age fiends in pursuit of unarmed men, women and 
children, is a scene too horrible for the stoutest 
heart. The unarmed men of the settlements offer- 
ed no defense, and could oifer none, but tied before 
the savage horde, each in his own way, to such 
places as the dictates of self preservation gave the 
slightest hope of safety. Some sought the protec- 
tion of the nearest slough; others crawled into the 
tall grass, hiding, in many instances, in sight of 
the lurking foe. Children of tender years, hacked 
and beaten and blee^liug, fled from their natural 
protectors, now dead or disabled, and, by the aid 
of some trail of blood, or by the instincts of our 
common nature, fled away from fields of slaughter, 
cautiously crawling by night from the line of fire 
and smoke in the rear, either toward Fort Kidgely 
or to some distant town on the Minnesota or the 
Mississippi. Over the entire border of the State, 
and even near the populous towns on the river, an 
eye looking down from above could have seen a 
human avalanche of thirty thousand, of all ages, 
and in all possible plight, the rear ranks maimed 
and bleeding, and faint from starvation and the 
loss of blood, continually falling into the hands of 
inhuman savages, keen and fierce, on the trail of 
the white man. An eye thus situated, it human, 
could not endure a scene so terrible. And angels 
from the realms of peace, if ever touched with 
human woe, over such a scene might have shed 
tears of blood; and, passing the empyreal sphere 
into the Eternal presence, we might see 
, » t « » "QaH lament, 
And draw a cloud of mourning round his throne,** 

Who wiU say, looking on this picture, that the 
human imagination can color it at all equal to the 
sad reality? Keality here has outdone the highest 
flights to which fancy ever goes! The sober- 
minded Governor Sibley, not uuusod to the most 
horrible phases of savage life, seeing only a tithe 
of the wide field of ruin, giving utterance to his 
thoughts in official form, says: "Unless some 
crushing blow can be dealt at once upon these too 
successful murderers, the state is ruined, and some 
of its fairest portions will revert, for years, into the 
possession of these miserable wretches, who, of all 
devils in human shape, are among the most cruel 



and ferocious. To appreciate this, one must see, 
as I have, the mutilated bodies of their victims. 
My heart is steeled against them, and if I have 
the means, aud can catch them, I will sweep them 
with the besom of death." Again, aUudiug to the 
narrations of those who have escaped from the 
scenes of the brutal carnage, he says: "Don't 
think there is an exaggeration in the horrible 
pictures given by individuals — they fall far short 
of the dreadful reality." 

The Adjutant-General of the State, in an official 
document, has attemjited, by words of carefully- 
measured meaning, to draw a picture of the 
scenes we are feebly attempting to present on 
paper. But this picture is cold and stately com- 
pared with the vivid coloring of living reality. 
'•During the time th it this force was being mar- 
shaled and engaged in the march to this point 
(St. Peter), the greater portion of the country 
above was being laid waste by murder, fire, and 
robbery. The inhabitants that could make their 
escape were fleeing like affrighted deer before the 
advancing gleam of the tomahawk. Towns were 
deserted by the residents, and their places gladly 
taken by those who had fled from more sparsely - 
settled portions of the regions. A stream of 
fugitives, far outnumbering the army that was 
marching to their relief, came pouring down the 
valley. The arrivals from more distant points 
communicated ten-or to the settlements, and the 
inhabitants there fled to points still further in the 
interior, to communicate in turn the alarm to 
others stiU further removed from the scene of hos- 
tilities. This rushing tide of humanity, on foot, 
on horse, and in all manner of vehicles, came meet- 
ing the advancing columns of our army. Even 
this sign of protection failed to arrest their pro- 
gress. On they came, spreading panic in their 
course, and many never halted till they had 
reached the capital city of the stale; while others 
again felt no security even here, and hurriedly 
and rashly sacrificed their property, and fled from 
the state of their adoption to seek an asylum of 
safety in some of our sister states further removed 
from the sound of the war-whoop." 

Thirty thousand panic-stricken inhabitants at 
once desert their homes in the midst of an indis- 
criminate slaughter of men, womeui and children. 
All this distracted multitude, from the wide area 
of eighteen counties, are on the highways and 
byways, hiding now in the sloughs, and now in 
the grass of the open prairie; some famishing for 



TUB COUNTRY DE POPULATED. 



245 



water, and some dying for want of food; some 
barefooted, some in torn garments, and some en- 
tirely denuded of clothing; some, by reason of 
wounds, crawling on their bands, and dragging 
their torn limbs after them, were all making their 
way over a country in which no white man could 
offer succor or administer consolation. The varied 
emotions that struggled for utterance in that frag- 
mentary mass of humanity cannot be even faintly 
set forth in words. The imagination, faint and 
aghast, turns from the picture in dismay and hor- 
ror! What indelible images are burned in upon 
the talilets of the souls of thousands of mothers 
bereft of their children by savage barbarity! 
What unavailing tears fall unseen to the ground 
from the scattered army of almost helpless in- 
fancy, now reduced by cruel hands to a life of 
cheerless orphanage! How many yet linger 
around the homes they loved, hiding from the 
keen-eyed savage, awaiting the return of father, 
mother, brother, or friend, who can never come 
again to their relief! We leave the reader to his 
own contemplations, standing in view of this 
mournful picture, the narration of which the heart 
sickens to pursue, and tuiTis away with more be- 
coming silence! 

The scene of the panic extended to other coun- 
ties and portions of the State remote from all ac- 
tual danger. The Territory of Dakota was de- 
populated, except in a few towns on the western 
border. Eastward from the Minnesota river to the 
Mississippi, the inhabitants fled from their homes 
to the towns of Red Wing, Hastings, Wabasha, 
and Winona; and thousands again from these 
places to Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and 
some to distant New England friends. 

Thirty thousand human beings, suddenly forced 
from their homes, destitute of all the necessaries 
of life, coming suddenly upon the towns in the 
Minnesota Valley, can easily be supposed to have 
beiVQ a burden of onerous and crushing weight. 
It came like an Alpine avalanche, sweeping down, 
in the wildness of its fury, upon the plain. No 
wisdom could direct it; no force coidd resist it. 
No power of description is equal to the task of 
presenting it in fitting words. It was horribly 
"grand, gloomy, and peculiar." One faint picture 
must here suffice. 

St. Peter, on the morning of the 19th of August, 
1862, manifested some unwonted commotion. 
Couriers arrived before the dawn of that day, an- 
nouncing the alarming news that the neighboring 



town of New Ulm was on fire, and its inhabitants 
were being massacred by the savages, led by Lit- 
tle Crow. At the same time, or a little previous, 
came the tidings that Fort Ridgely was in immi- 
nent danger; that Captain Marsh had been killed, 
and his command almost, if not entirely, cut off, 
in attempting to give succor to the Lower Agency, 
which had been attacked on the morning of the 
18th, the day previous, and was then in ashes'. 
By nine o'clock the news of these events began to 
meet a response from the surrounding country. 
Horsemen and footmen, from different parts of 
Nicollet and Le Sueur counties, came hurrying 
into town, some with guns and ammunition, but 
more without arms. Men were hurrying through 
the streets in search of guns and ammunition; 
some were running bullets, while others were fit- 
ting up teams, horses, and provisions. Busiest 
among the agitated mass were Hon. Charles E. 
Flandrau and Captain William B. Dodd, giving 
directions for a hasty organization for the purpose 
of defending New Ulm, or, if that was impossible, 
to hold the savages in check, outside of St. Peter, 
sufficiently long to give the men, women, and 
children some chance to save their lives by hasty 
flight, if necessary. Every man, woman, and 
child seemed to catch the spirit of the alarming 
moment. Now, at about ten o'clock. Judge Flan- 
drau, as captain, with quick words of command, 
aided by proper subalterns in rank, with one hun- 
dred and thirty-five men, armed as best they could 
be, with shot-guns, muskets, rifles, swords, and re 
volvers, took up the line of march for New Ulm. 
At an earlier hour, fifty volunteers, known as the 
Renville Rangers, on their way to Fort SneUing, 
had turned their course toward Fort Ridgely, 
taking with them aU the Government arms at St. 
Peter. 

With the departure of these noble bands went 
not only the wishes and prayers of wives, motherp, 
brothers, sisters, and children for success, but with 
them all, or nearly all, the able-bodied citizens 
capable of bearing arms, together with all the 
guns and ammunition St. Peter could muster. For 
one moment we follow these little bands of soldiers, 
the hope of the Minnesota Valley. Their march 
is rapid. To one of these parties thirty weary 
miles intervened between them and the biirning 
town of New Ulm. Expecting to meet the savage 
foe on their route, flushed with their successful 
massacre at New Ulm, the skirmishers — a few men 
on horseback — were kept in advance of the hurry- 



246 



niSTORT OF TUB SIOUX MASSACRE. 



ing footmen. Before dark, the entire force des- 
tined for New Ulm reached the crossing of the 
Minnesota at the Red Stone Perry. Here, for a 
moment, a lialt was ordered; the field of ruin lay 
in full view before them. The smoke of the burn- 
ing buildings was seen ascending over the town. 
No signs of life were visible. Some might yet be 
aUve. There was no wavering in that Uttle army 
of rehef. The ferry was manned, the river was 
crossed, and soon New Ulm was frantic with the 
mingled shouts of the delivered and their deliv- 
erers. An accoant of the hard- fought battle 
which terminated the siege is to be found in 
another chapter of this work. Such expedition 
has seldom, if ever, been chronicled, as was exhib- 
ited by the deliverers of New Ulm. Thirty miles 
had been made in a little over half a day, travel- 
ing all the time in the face of a motley crowd of 
panic-stricken refugees, pouring in through every 
avenue toward St. Peter. 

The other party, by dusk, had ronehed Port 
Kidgely, traveling about forty-flve miles, crossing 
the ravine near the fort at the precise point where 
one hundred and fifty Indians had lain in ambush 
awaiting their approach until a few moments be- 
!ore they came up, and had only retired for the 
night; and, when too late to intercept them, the 
disappointed savages saw the EenvUle Kangers 
enter the fort. 

But let us now return to St. Peter. Wliat a 
night and a day have brought forth ! The quiet 
village of a thousand inhabitants thus increased 
by thousands, had become full to overflowing. 
Every private house, every pul)lic house, every 
church, school-house, warehouse, shed, or saloon, 
and every vacant structure is full. The crowd 
throng the public highways; a line of cooking- 
stoves smoke along the streets; the vacant lots are 
occupied, for there is no room in the houses. All 
is clatter, rattle, and din. Wagons, ponies, mules, 
oxen, cows and calves are promiscuously distrib- 
uted among groups of men, women and children. 
' The live stock from thousands of deserted farms 
surround the outskirts of the town ; the lowing of 
strange cattle, the neighing of restless horse.s, the 
crying of lost and hungry children, the tales of 
horror, the tomahawk wounds undressed, the 
bleeding feet, the cries for food, and the loud 
wailing for missing friends, all combine to bum 
into the soul the dreadful reality that some ter- 
rible calamity was upon the country. 

But the news of the rapid approach of the 



savages, the bodies of the recently-murdered, the 
burning of houses, the admitted danger of a 
sudden attack upon St. Peter, agitated and moved 
that vast multitude as if some volcano was ready 
to engulf them. The overflowing streets were 
crowded into the already overflowing houses. The 
stone buildings were barricaded, and the women 
and children wore huddled into every conceivable 
place of safety. Between hope and fear, and 
prayer for succor, several weary days and nights 
passed away, when, on the 22d day of August, the 
force under Colonel Sibley, fourteen hundred 
stiong, arrived at St. Peter. 

Now, as the dread of immediate massacre was 
past, they were siezed with-a fear of a character en- 
tirely different. How shall this multitude be fed. 
clothed and nursed? The grain was unthreshcd 
in the field, and tlie flour in the only mill left 
standing on the Minnesota, above Belle Plaine, 
was almost gone. The flouring mill at Mankato, 
twelve miles above, in the midst of the panic, had 
been burned, and fears were entertained that the 
mill at St. Peter would share the same fate. Nor 
had this multitude any means ^\■ithin themselves 
to support life a single day. Every scheme known 
to human ingenuity was canvassed. Every device 
was suggested, and every expedient tried. The 
multitude was fearfully clamoring for food, rai- 
ment, and shelter. The sick and wounded were in 
need of medicine and skillful attention. Between 
six and seven thousand persons, besides the citi- 
zens of the place, were already crowding the town; 
and some thousand or fifteen himdred more daily 
expected, as a proper quota from the two thousand 
now comjielled to abandon New Ulm. The gath- 
ering troops, regular and irregular, were moving, 
in large numbers, upon St. Peter, now a frontier 
town of the State, bordering on the country under 
the full dominion of the .Annuity Sioux Indians, 
with torch and tomahawk, burning and murdering 
in their train. 

A committee, aided by expert clerks, opened 
an oflice for the distribution of such articles 
of food, clothing and medical stores as the 
town could furnish, on their orders, trusting to the 
State or General Government for pay at some fu- 
ture day. So great was the crowd pressing for 
relief, that much of the exhausting labor was per- 
formed while bayonets guarded the entrance to the 
building in which the office of distribution was 
held. A bakery was established, furnishing two 
thousand loaves of bread per day, whOe many pri- 



REFUGEES AT ST. PETES. 



247 



vate houses were put under requisition for the 
same purpose, and, aided by individual benevo- 
lence throughout the town, the hungry began to 
be scantily fed. A butcher-shop was pressed into 
the needed service, capable of supplying ten thou- 
sand rations a day over and above the citizens' 
ordinary demand. Still, there was a vast moving 
class, single persons, women, and children, not yet 
reached by these well-directed efforts. The com- 
mittee, feeling every impulse of the citizens, to 
satisfy the demand for food fitted up a capacious 
soup-house, where as high as twelve hundred 
meals were supplied daily. This institution was 
a great success, and met the entire approval of the 
citizens, while it suited the conditions of the pe- 
culiar population better than any other mode in 
which relief could be administered. Soup was al- 
ways ready, and its quality was superior. The 
aged and the young could here find relief, singly 
or in families; the well relished it, and the sick 
found it a grateful beverage. In this way the 
committee, aided by the extreme efforts of private 
charity, ever active and vigilant, continued for 
weeks to feed the refugees at St. Peter, taxing every 
energy of body and mind from twelve to sixteen 
hours per day. The census of the population was 
never taken; but it is believed that, after the arri- 
val of the refugees from New TJlm, and a portion 
of the inhabitants from Le Sueur county, east of 
the town, excluding the fourteen hundred troops 
under Colonel H. H. Sibley, who were here a part 
of the time, the population of St. Peter was at 
least nine thousand. This was an estimate made 
by the committee of supplies, who issued eight 
thousand rations of beef each day to refugees 
alone, estimating one ration to a person. The ra- 
tion was from a half-pound to a pound, varied to 
meet the condition of persons and families. 

But the task of feeding the living did not stop 
with the human element. The live stock, horses 
and oxen, with an innumerable herd of cattle fi-om 
a thousand prairies, ruly and unruly, furious from 
fright, BO determined on food that in a few days 
not a green spot could be protected from their vo- 
racious demands. Eences offered no obstruction. 
Some bold leader laid waste the field or garden, 
and total destruction followed, until St. Peter was 
as barren of herbage, with scarce an exception, as 
the Great American desert. The committee could 
not meet successfully this new demand. The 
sixty tons ot hay cut by their order was only an 
aggravation to the teams of the Government and 



the necessary demands of the gathering cavalry. 
Some military power seemed needed to regulate 
the collection and distribution of food in this de- 
partment. This soon came in an oflScial order 
from Col. H. H. Sibley to a member of the com- 
mittee, assigning him to the separate duty of col- 
lecting food for Government use at St. Peter. A 
wider range of country was now brought under 
contribution, and such of the live stock as was re- 
quired for constant use was amply supplied. The 
cattle not required by the butchers were forced to 
a still wider extent of country. 

Not only food, such as the mill, the bakery, the 
butcher-shop, and the soup-house could furnish 
was required among this heterogeneous multitude, 
but the infirm, the aged and the sick needed other 
articles, which the merchant and druggist alone 
could furnish. Tea, cofi"ee, sugar, salt, soap, can- 
dles, wine, brandy, and apothecaries' drugs, as 
well as shoes, boots, hats, .and wear for men, 
women and children, and articles of bedding and 
hospital stores, were demanded as being abso- 
lutely necessary. The merchants and druggists 
of the town honored the orders of the committee, 
and this demand was partially supphed. In all 
these efforts of the town to meet the wants of the 
refugees, it was discovered that the hmit of sup- 
ply would soon be reached. But the demand still 
continued inexorable. The fearful crisis was ap- 
proaching! Public exertion had found its hmit; 
private benevolence was exhausted; the requisite 
stores of the merchant and the druggist were well- 
nigh expended. It was not yet safe to send the 
multitude to their homes in the country. The 
fierce savage was yet in the land, thirsting for 
blood. What shall be done? Shall this vast 
crowd be sent to other towns, to St. Paul, or stiU 
further, to other States, to seek relief from public 
charity ? or shall they be sufiered to perish here, 
when all means of relief shall have failed ? 

On the 13th of September, 1862, after a month 
had nearly expired, a relief committee, consisting 
of Eev. A. H. Kerr and F. Lange, issued an ap- 
peal, approved by M. B. Stone, Provost Marshal 
of St. Peter, from which we make a few extracts, 
showing the condition ot things at the time it bears 
date. Previous to this, however, a vast number 
had left for other places, principally for St. Paul, 
crowding the steamboats on the Minnesota river to 
their utmost capacity. The appeal says: 

"Friends! Bbethren! In behalf of the suf- 
fering, the destitute, and homeless — in behalf of 



248 



BISTORT OF THE SIOUX JfASSACIlB. 



the widow, the fatherless, and the houseless, we 
make this appeal for help. A terrible blow has 
fallen upon this frontier, by the uprising of the 
Sioux or Dakota Indians. All the horrors of an 
Indian war; the massacre of families, the aged and 
the young; the burning of houses and the wanton 
destruction of property; all, indeed that makes an 
Indian war so fearful and terribly appalling, are 
upon the settlements immediately west and north- 
west of us. 

"In some cases the whole family have been mur- 
dered; in others the husband has fallen; in others 
the wife and children have been taken captive; in 
others only one child has escaped to tell the sad 
story. Stealthily the Indians came upon the set- 
tlements, or overtook families flying for refuge. 
Unprotected, alarm and terror siezed the people, 
and to escape with life was the great struggle. 
Mothers clasped their little ones in their arms and 
fled; if any lagged behind they were overtaken by 
a shot or the hatchet. Many, many thus left their 
homes, taking neither food nor clothing with them. 
The Indians immciliately commenced the work of 
pillaging, taking clothing and bedding, and, in 
many instances giving the house and all it con- 
tained to the flames. Some have lost their all, 
and many, from comparative comfort, are left ut- 
terly deiititute. A groat number of cattle have 
been driven back into the Indian coimtry, and 
where a few weeks ago plenty abounded, desolation 
now reigns. ****** 

"Friends of humanity — Christians, brethren, in 
your homes of safety, can you do something for 
the destitute and homeless? We ask for cast-off 
clothing for men, women and children — for shoes 
and stockings; caps for boys, anything for the lit- 
tle girls and infants; woolen underclothing, 
blankets, comfortables; anything, indeed, to alle- 
viate their sufferings. Can not a church or town 
collect such articles, fill a box and send it to the 
committee? It should be doue speedily." 

Circulars, containing the appeal from which we 
have made the above quotations, were sent to 
churches in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 
New York, and throughout the towns and cities of 
New England. And similar appeals, from other 
places, were made, and met with universal re- 
sponse, worthy of men and women who honor the 
Christian profession. By these efforts, the 
refugees throughout the state were greatly 
relieved. In reply to these circulars about $20,000 



were received, to which was added $25,0J0 by the 
stfite, for general distribution. 

Other places on the frontier, such as Henderson, 
Chaska, Carver, and even Belle Plaine, Shakopee, 
and St. Paul, felt, more or less, the crushing 
weight of the army of refugees, as they poured 
across the coimtry and down the Minnesota Val- 
ley; but no place felt this burden so heavily as 
the frontier town of St. Peter. 

One reflection should here be made. Had New 
Ulm and Fort Eidgely fallen on the first attack, 
Mankato and St. Peter would have been taken be- 
fore the state troops could have offered the proper 
assistance. Had New Ulm fallen on the 19th, 
when it was attacked, and Fort Kidgely on the 
20th, when the attack was made on that place, 
Mankato and St. Peter could easUy have been 
reached by the 21st, when the state troops were 
below, on their way to St. Peter. The successful 
defense of these places. New Ulm and Fort Ridge- 
ly, was accomplished by the volunteer citizens of 
Nicollet, Le Sueur, and Blue Earth counties, who 
reached New Ulm by the 19th of .4ugust, and the 
Renville Rangers, who timely succored Fort Ridge- 
ly, by a forced march of forty-five miles in one 
day, reaching the fort previous to the attack on 
that post. Whatever credit is due to the state 
troops, tor the successful defensa of the frontiei 
and the rescue of the white captives, should be 
gratefully acknowledged by the citizens of Min 
nesota. Such acts are worthy of lasting honor to 
all who were participants in those glorious deeds. 
But to the brave men who first advanced to the 
defense of New Ulm and Fort Eidgely, higher 
honor and a more lasting debt of gratitude are 
due from the inhabitants of the valley of the Min- 
nesota. Let their names be honored among men. 
Lat them stand side by side with the heroes of 
other days. Let them rank with veteran brethren 
who, on Southern battle-fields, have fought nobly 
for constitutional freedom and the perj)etuity, of 
the Union of these states. These are all of them 
worthy men, who like 

"Patriots have toiled, and in their conntry*s cause 
Bled nobly, and their deeds, as they deserve, 
Ueceive proud recompense. We {rive in charge 
Their names to the sweet lyre. The Historic Muse. 
Proud of her treasure, marches with it down 
To latest times; and Sculpture, in her turn. 
Gives bond, in stone and ever-during brass, 
To guard them, and immortalize her trust." 



BATTLE OF BlliCn COOLIE. 



249 



CHAPTER XLn. ' 

BATTLE OF BIRCH COOLIE BATTLE OF WOOD LAKE 

CAMP BELEASE MILITART COMPANIES SUC- 
CESS or THE EXPEDITION DNDEK GENBBAL SIBLEY. 

The massacre being the main design of this his- 
tory, the movement of the troops, in the pursuit 
and pimishment of the Indians connected with the 
atrocious murders initiated on the 18th of August, 
1862, must especially, in this abridgement, be ex- 
ceedingly brief. 

On the day after the outbreak, August 19th, 1862, 
an order was issued by the commander-in-chief to 
Colonel H. H. Sibley, to proceed, with four com- 
panies, then at Fort Sneaing, and such other 
forces as might join his command, to the protec- 
tion of the frontier coimties of the State. The 
entire force, increased by the separate commands 
of Colonels Marshall and BlcPhail, reached 
Port Eidgely, August 28th, 1862. A detachment 
made up of Company A, 6th Regiment Minnesota 
Volunteers, under Captain H. P. Grant, some sev- 
enty mounted men under Captain Joseph Andei- 
son, and a fatigue party, aggregating in all a 
force of over one hundred and fifty men, were sent 
in advance of the main army, to protect the set- 
tlements from further devastation, ;md at the same 
time collect and bury the dead yet lying on the 
field of the recent slaughter. On the first of Sep- 
tember, near the Beaver Creek, Captain Grant's 
party found Justiua Krieger, who had escaped 
aUve from the murders committed near Sacred 
Heart. Mrs Krieger had been shot and dread- 
fully butchered. During this day this detachment 
buried fifty-five victims of savage barbarity, and 
in the evening went into camp at Birch Coolie. 
The usual precautions were taken, and no imme- 
diate fears of Indians were apprehended; yet at 
half-past four o'clock on the morning of the sec- 
ond of September, one of the guards shouted 
"Indians!" Instantly thereafter a sliower of bul- 
lets was poured into the encampment. A most 
fearful and terrible battle ensued, and for the num- 
bers engaged, the most bloody of any in which 
our forces had been engaged during the war. The 
loss of men, in proportion to those engaged, was 
extremely large; twenty-three were killed out- 
right, or mortally wounded, and forty-five so se- 
verely wounded as to require surgical aid, while 
scarce a man remained whose dress had not been 
pierced by the enemies' bullets. On the evening 
of the 3d of September the besieged camp was 



reheved by an advance movement of Colonel Sib- 
ley's forces at Fort Ridgely. 

This battle, in all probability, saved the towns 
of Mankato and St. Peter from the destruction in- 
tended by the savages. They had left Yellow 
Medicine with the avowed object of attacking 
these towns on the Minnesota. The signal defeat 
of the forces of Little Crow at Birch Coolie, not 
only saved the towns of Mankato and St. Peter, 
but iu effect ended his efi'orts in subduing the 
whites on the borders. 

After the battle of Birch Coolie aU the maraud- 
ing forces under the direction of Little Crow were 
called in, and a retreat was ordered up the valley 
of the Minnesota toward Yellow Medicine; and on 
the 16th day of September Colonel Sibley ordered 
an advance of his whole column in pursuit of the 
fleeing foe; his forces now increased by the 3d 
Minnesota Volunteers, paroled prisoners returned 
from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, under command of 
Major Abraham E. Welch. 

On the evening of the 22d Colonel Sibley ar- 
rived at Wood Lake. On the morning of the 23d, 
at about seven o'clock, a force of three hundred 
Indians suddenly appeared before his camp, yell- 
ing as savages only can yell, and firing with great 
rapidity. The troops under Colonel Sibley were 
cool and determined, and the 3d Regiment needed 
no urging by officers. All our forces engaged the 
enemy with a will that betokened quick work with 
savages who had outraged every sentiment of hu- 
manity, and earned for themselves an immortality 
of mfamy never before achieved by the Dakota 
nation. The fight lasted about two hours. 
We lost in kUled four, and about fifty wounded. 
The enemy's loss was much larger; fourteen of 
their dead were left on the field, and au unknown 
number were carried off the field, as the Indians 
are accustomed to do. 

The battle of Wood Lake put an end to all the 
hopes of the renowned chief. His warriors were 
in open rebellion against his schemes of warfare 
against the whites. He had gained nothing. 
Fort Ridgely was not taken. New Ulm was not 
in his possession. St. Peter and Mankato were 
mtact, and at Birch Coolie and Wood Lake he had 
suffered defeat. No warrior would longer follow 
his fortunes in a war so disastrous. On the same 
day of the battle at Wood Lake a deputation from 
the Wapeton band appeared under a flag of truce, 
asking terms of peace. The response of Colonel 
Sibley was a demand for the delivery of all the 



250 



niSTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 



white captives in the possesBion of these savages. 
Wabasha, at the head of fifty lodges, immediately 
parted company with Little Crow, and established 
a camp near Lao qui Parle, with a view of sur- 
rendering his men on the most favorable terms. 
A flag of truce announced his action to Colonel 
Sibley, who soon after, under proper military 
guard, visited Wabasha's camp. After the formal- 
ities of the occasion were over. Colonel Sibley re- 
ceived the captives, in all, theu and thereafter, to 
the number of 107 pure whites, and about 162 
half-breeds, and conducted them to his headquar- 
ters. The different emotions of these captives at 
their release can easily be imagined by the reader. 
This place well deserved the name given it, "Camp 
Eelease." 

A MitjITart Commission was soon after inau- 
gurated to try the parties charged with the mur- 
der of white persons. The labors of this commis- 
sion continued untd about the 5th of November, 
1862. Three hundred and twenty-one of the sav- 
ages and their allies had been found guilty of the 
charges preferred against them; three hiuidred 
and three of whom were recommended for capital 
punishment, the others to suffer imprisonment. 
These were immediately removed, under a guard 
of 1,500 men, to South Bend, on the Minnesota 
river, to await further orders from the United 
States Government. 

Pursuit of th3 Desertsks. — A.fter the disaster 
met with at Wood Lake, Little Crow retreated, 
with those who remained with him, in the direc- 
tion of Big Stone Lake, some sixty miles to the 
westward. On the 5th of October, Colonel Sibley 
had sent a messenger to the principal camp of the 
deserters, to inform them that he expected to be 
able to pursue and overtake aU who remained in 
arms against the Government; and that the only 
hope of mercy that they need expect, even for 
their wives and children, would be their early re- 
turn and surrender at discretion. By the 8th of 
October the prisoners who had come in and sur- 
rendered amounted to upwards of 2,000. On the 
14th of October, Lieutenant Colonel Marshall, 
with 252 men, was ordered to go out upon the fron- 
tier as a scouting party, to ascertain whether there 
were any hostile camps of savages located within 
probable striking distance, from which they might 
be able, by sudden marches, to fall upon the set- 
tlements before the opening of the campaign in 
the coming spring. About this time, Colonel Sib- 
ley, hitherto acting under State authority, received 



the commission of Brigadier General of Volun- 
teers from the United States. 

The scouting party under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Marshall followed uf) the line of retreat of the fugi- 
tives, and near the edge of the Coteau de Prairie, 
about forty-five miles from Camp Eelease, foimd 
two lodges of straggling Indians. The males of 
these camps, three young men, were made prison- 
ers, and the women and children and an old man 
were directed to deliver themselves up at Camp 
Release. From these Indians here captured they 
received information of twenty-seven lodges en- 
camjjed near Cbanopa (Two Wood) lakes. At 
these lakes they found no Indians; they had left, 
but the trail was followed to the north-west, to- 
wards the Big Sioux river. At noon of the 16th, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Marshall took with him fifty 
mounted men and the howitzer and started in pur- 
suit, without tents or supplies of any kind, but 
leaving the infantry and supply wagons to follow 
after. They crossed the Big Sioux river, passing 
near and on the north side of Lake Kampeska. 

By following closely the Indian trail, they ar- 
rived at dark at the east end of a lake some six or 
eight miles long, and about eight miles in a north- 
westwardly direction from Lake Kampeska. Here 
they halted, without tents, fire or food, until near 
daylight, when reconnoitering commenced, and at 
an early hour in the morning they succeeded in 
surprising and capturing a camp composed of ten 
lodges, and thirteen Indians and their famOies. 
From those captured at this place information was 
received of another camp of some twelve or fifteen 
lodges, located at the distance of about one day's 
march in the direction of James river. 

Placing a guard over the captured camp, the re- 
maining portion of the force pressed on in the di- 
rection indicated, and at the distance of about ten 
miles from the first camp, and about midway be 
tween the Big Sioux and James rivers they came 
in sight of the second party, just as they were 
moving out of camp. The Indians attempted to 
make their escape by flight, but after an exciting 
chase for some distance they were overtaken and 
captured, without any armed resistance. Twenty- 
one men were taken at this place. Some of them 
liad separated from the camp previous to the cap- 
ture, and were engaged in hunting at the time. 
On the return march, which was shortly after com- 
menced, six of these followed the detachment, and, 
after making ineffectual efforts to recover their 
families, came forward and surrendered themselves 



INDFAN SYMPATHIZERS. 



251 



into our hands The iufantry and wagons were 
met by the returning party about ten miles west of 
the Big Sioux. 

The men of this detachment, officers aaid pri- 
vates, evinced to a large degree the bravery and 
endurance that characterizes the true soldier. 
They wUlingly and cheerfully pressed on after the 
savages, a part of them without food, fire or shel- 
ter, and all of them knowing that they were 
thereby prolonging the period of their absence 
beyond the estimated time, and subjecting them- 
selves to the certain necessity of being at least one 
or two days without rations of any kind before the 
return to Camp Kelease could be effected. 

On the 7th of November, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Marshall, with a guard of some fifteen hundi-ed 
men, started for Fort Snelling in charge of other 
captured Indians, comprising the women and 
children, and such of the men as were not found 
guilty of any heinous crime by the Military Com- 
mission, and arrived safely at their destination on 
the 13th. 

From the commencement of hostilities until the 
16th day of September the war was carried on 
almost entirely from the resources of the State 
alone, and some little assistance from our sister 
States in the way of arms and ammunition. On 
this latter date Major-General John Pope, who had 
been apjjoiuted by the President of the United 
States to take command of the Dapartment of the 
North-west, arrived and established his headquar- 
ters in the city of St. Paul, in this state. The 
principal part of the active service of the season's 
camjjaign had previously been gone through with; 
but the forces previously under the command of 
of the State authorities were immediately turned 
over to his command, and the after-movements 
were entirely under his control and direction. 

He brought to the aid of the troops raised in 
the State the 25th Wisconsin and the 27th Iowa 
Regiments, both infantry. These forces were 
speedily distributed at different points along the 
frontier, and assisted in guarding the settlements 
during the autumn, but they were recalled and 
sent out of the State before the closing in of the 
winter. 

It was contemplated to send the 6th and 7th 
Eegiments Minnesota Volunteers to take part in 
the war against the rebels in the Southern States, 
and orders to this effect had already been issued, 
but on the 6th of November, in obedience to the 
expressed wish of a large portion of the inhab- 



itants of the State, these orders were counter- 
manded. They were directed to remain in the 
state, and the 3d Regiment was ordered ofi' instead. 

All the forces then remaining in the state were 
assigned to winter quarters at such points as it was 
thought expedient to keep guarded during the 
winter, and on the 25th of November Major-Gen- 
eral Pope removed his headquarters to Madison, in 
the State of Wisconsin. Brigadier-General Sib- 
ley then remained in the immediate command of 
the troops retained in service against the Indians, 
and established his headquarters in the city of 
St. Paul. 

On the 9th of October the "Mankato Record" 
thus speaks of this expedition: 

"Considering the many serious disadvantages 
under which General Sibley has labored— a defi- 
ciency of arms and ammunition, scarcity of pro- 
visions, and the total absence of cavalry at a time 
when he could have successfully pursued and cap. 
tured Little Crow and his followers— the expedi- 
tion has been successful beyond the most sanguine 
anticipations. Of the three hundred white cap- 
tives in the hands of the Indians at the commence- 
ment of the war, all, or nearly all, have been 
retaken and returned to their friends. Much pri- 
vate property has been secured, and some fifteen 
hundred Indians, engaged directly or indirectly in 
the massacres, have been captured; and those who 
have actually stained their hands in the blood of 
our frontier settlers are condemned to suffer death. 
Their sentence will be carried into execution, un- 
less countermanded by authorities at Washington." 



CHAPTER XLIIL 

INDIAN SYMPATHIZERS — MEMOKIAL TO THE PKESI- 
DENT— THE HANGING OP THIKTY-EIGHT ANNUL- 
LING THE TREATIES WITH CERTAIN SIOUX RE- 
MOVAL OF WINNEBAGOE3 AND SIOUX TO THE UPPER 
MISSOURI. 

After the campaign of 1862, and the guilty par- 
ties were confined at Camp Lincoln, near Mendota, 
the idea of executing capitally, three hundred In- 
dians, aroused the sympathy of those far removed 
from the scenes of their inhuman butcheries. 
President Lincoln was importuned, principally by 
parties in the East, for the release of these sav- 
ages. The voice of the blood of innocence crying 
from the ground, the waiKngs of mothers bereft of 
tlieir children was hushed in the tender cry of 



252 



HISTORY OF TUE .alOUX MASSACRE. 



sympathy for the condemned. Even the Christian 
ministers, stern in the belief that, "Whosoever 
sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be 
shed," seemed now the most zealous for the par- 
don of these merciless outlaws, who, without cause 
had shed the blood of innocent women and chil- 
dren in a time of peace. 

Senator IM. S. Wilkin.son and Congressmen C. Al- 
drich and William Windom, made an urgent ap- 
peal to the President for the proper execution of 
the sentence in the case of these Indians. From 
this appeal the following extract will be sufficient 
to indicate its character: 

"The people of Minnesota, Mr. President, have 
stood firmly by you and your Administration. They 
have given both you and it their cordial support. 
They have not violated any law. They have borne 
these sufferings with patience, such as few people 
have ever exhibited under extreme trials. These 
Indians now are at their mercy; but our people 
have not risen to slaughter, because they believed 
their President would deal with them justly. 

"We are told, Mr. President, that the committee 
from Pennsylvania, whose families are living hap- 
pily in their pleasant homes in that state, have 
called upon you to pardon these Indians. We 
protest against the pardon of these Indians; be- 
cause if it is done, the Indians will become more 
insolent and cruel than they ever were before, be- 
lieving, as they certainly will, that their Great 
Father at Washington either justifies their acts or 
is afraid to punish them for their crimes. 

•'We protest against it, because, if the President 
does not permit the execution to take place under 
the forms of law, the outraged people of Minne- 
sota will dispose of these wretches without law. 
These two people cannot live together. We do 
not wish to see mob law inaugurated in Minne- 
sota, as it certainly will be, if you force the peo- 
ple to it. We tremble at the approach of such 
a condition of things in our state. 

"You can give us peace, or you can give us law- 
less violence. We pray you, as in view of all we 
have suffered, and of the danger which still awaits 
us, let the law be executed. Let justice be done to 
our people." 

The prcsri of Blinnesota, without a single excep- 
tion, insisted that the condemned Indians should 
expiate their dreadful crime upon the gallows, 
while the Eastern press, with some few exceptions, 
gave vent to the deep sympathy of the sentimen- 
tal philosophers and the fanciful strains of the im- 



aginative poets. It seemed to our Eastern neigh- 
bors that Minnesotians, in their contact with sav- 
age life, had ceased to appreciate the 

• • * "Poor Indian, whose untutored mind 
Sees God in clouds, and hears Him in the wind;" 

that they had looked upon the modem race of sav- 
ages in their criminal degradation until they had 
well-nigh forgotten the renoun of Massasoit, and 
his noble sons Alexander and Philip. 

But two hundred years never fails to change 
somewhat the character and sentiments of a great 
people, and blot from its memory something of 
its accredited history. This may have happened 
in the case of our fellow-kinsmen in the Eastern 
and Middle States. They may not now fully enter 
into the views and sentiments of those who witness- 
ed the outrages of Phihp and his cruel warriors 
in their conspiracies against the infant colonies; . 
in their attacks upon Springfield, HatfieldJLian- 
caster, Medfield, Seekong, Groton, Warwick, Marl- 
borough, Plymouth, Taunton, Scituate, Bridge- 
water, and Northfield. They seem not fully now 
to appreciate the atrocities of the savages 
of these olden times. The histoiian of the 
times of Philip was not so sentimental as some of 
later days. 

"The town of Springfield received great injury 
from their attacks, more than thirty houses being 
burned; among the rest one containing a 'brave 
library,' the finest in that part of the country, 
which belonged to the Kev. Pelatiah Glover." 

" This," says Hubbard, "did, more than any 
other, discover the said actors to be the children 
of the devil, full of all subtilty and malice." And 
we of the present can not perceive why the massacre 
of innocent women and children should not as 
readily discover these Minnesota savages, under 
Little Crow, to be children of the devil as the 
burning of a minister's library two hundred years 
ago. Minnesotians lost by these Indians splen- 
did, not to say brave libraries; but of this minor 
evil they did not complain, in their demand for the 
execution of the condemned murderers. 

Indians are the same in all times. Two hun- 
dred years have wrought no change upon Indian 
character. Had King Philip been powerful 
enough, he would have killed all the white men 
inhabiting the New England Colonies. "Once an 
Indian, always an Indian," is fully borne out by 
their history during two hundred years' contact 
with the white race. 

Eastern writers of the early history of the conn- 



MEMORIALS TO THE PRESIDENT. 



253 



try spoke and felt in regard to Indians very much 
as Minnesotians now speak and feel. When Weet- 
amore, queen of Pocasset, and widow of Alexan- 
der, Philip's eldest brother, in attempting to es- 
cape from the pursuit of Captain Church, had lost 
her Hfe, her head was cut off by those who discov- 
ered her, and fixed upon a pole at Taunton! Here, 
being discovered by some of her loving subjects, 
then in captivity, their unrestrained grief at the 
shocking sight is characterized by Mather as "a 
most horrid and diabolical lamentation!" Have 
Minnesotians exhibited a more unfeeling senti- 
ment than this, even against condemned murder- 
ers ? Mather lived, it is true, amid scenes of In- 
dian barbarity. Had he lived in the present day 
and witnessed these revolting cruelties, he would 
have said with Colonel H. H. Sibley, "My heart 
is steeled against them." But those who witness- 
ed the late massacre could truly say, in the lan- 
guage of an Eastern poet, 

'* All died — the wailing babe — the shrieking maid — 
And in the flood of tire that scathed the glade, 
The roofs went down!" 

Early in December, 1862, while the final decis- 
ion of the President was delayed, the valley towns 
of Minnesota, led off by the city of St. Paul, held 
primaiy meetings, addressed by the most intelli- 
gent speakers of the diifeient localities. An ex- 
tract from a memorial of one of the assemblages 
of the people is given as a sample of others of 
similar import. The extract quoted is from the 
St. Paul meeting, drawn up by George A. Nourse, 
United States District Attorney for the District 
of Minnesota: 

"To the President of the United States: We, 
the citizens of St. Paul, in the State of Minnesota, 
respectfully represent that we have heard, with 
regret and alarm, through the public press, i-eports 
of an intention on the part of the United States 
Government to dismiss without punishment the 
Sioux warriors captured by our soldiers; and fur- 
ther, to allow the several tribes of Indians lately 
located upon reservations within this State to re- 
main upon the reservations. 

"Against any such policy we respectfully but 
firmly protest. The history of this continent pre- 
sents no event that can compare with the late Sioux 
outbreak in wanton, unprovoked, and fiendish 
cruelty. All that we have heard of Indian warfare 
in the early history of this country is tame in 
contrast with the atrocities of this late massacre. 
Without warning, in cold blood, beginning with 



the murder of their best friends, the whole body 
of the Annuity Sioux commenced a deliberate 
scheme to exterminate every white person upon the 
land once occupied by them, and by them long 
since sold to the United States. In carrying out 
ihis bloody sciieme they have spared neither age 
nor sex, only reserving, for the gratification of 
their brutal lust, the few white women whom the 
rifle, the tomahawk and the scalping-knife spared. 
Nor did their fiendish barbarities cease with 
death, as the mutilated corpses of their victims, 
disemboweled, cut limb from limb, or chopped 
into fragments, will testify.- These cruelties, too, 
were in many cases preceded by a pretense of 
friendship; and in many instances the victims of 
these more than murderers were shot down in cold 
blood as soon as their backs were turned, after a 
cordial shaking of the hand and loud professions 
of friendship on the part of the murderers. 

"We ask that the same judgment should be 
passed and executed upon these deliberate mur- 
derers, these ravishers, these mtitalators of their 
murdered victims, that would be passed upon 
white men guilty of the same offense. The blood 
of hundreds oE our muidered and mangled fellow- 
citizens cries from the ground for vengeance. 
'Veugeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord;' 
and the authorities of the United States are, we 
bslieve, the chosen instruments to execute that 
vengeance. Let them not neglect their plain duty. 

"Nor do we ask alone for vengeance. We de- 
mand security for the future. There can be rfo 
safety for us or for our families unless an example 
shall be made of those who have committed the 
horrible murders and barbarities we have recited. 
Let it be once understood that these Indians can 
commit such crimes, and be pardoned upon sur- 
rendering themselves, and there is henceforth a 
torch for every white man's dwelling, a knife for 
every white man's heart upon our frontier. 

"Nor will even the most rigorous punishment 
give perfect security agaiust these Indians so long 
as any of them are left among, or in the vicinity 
of our border settlements. The Indian's nature 
can no more be trusted than the wolf's. Tame 
him, cultivate him, strive to Christianize him as 
you will, and the sight of blood will in an instant 
call out the savage, wolfish, devilish instincts of 
the race. It is notorious that among the earliest 
and most murderous of the Sioux, in perpetrating 
their late massacre, were many of the 'civilized 
Indians,' so called, with their hair cut short, wear- 



254 



EISrORY OF TUB SIOUX ifASSAOliB. 



ing white men's clothes, and dwelling in brick 
houses bviilt for them by the Government. 

"We respectfully ask, we demand that the cap- 
tive Indians now in the bands of our military 
forces, proved before a military commission to bo 
guilty of murder, and even worse crimes, shall re- 
ceive the punishment due those crimes. This, too, 
not merely as a matter of vengeance, but much 
more as a matter of future security for our border 
settlers. 

"We ask, further, that these savages, proved to 
be treacherous, unreliable, and dangerous beyond 
example, may be removed from close proximity to 
oureettlements, to such distance and such isola- 
tion as shall make the jieople of this State safe 
from their future attacks." 

DJSAPPOXNTMENT OF THE PEOPLE IN MINNESOTA. 

The final decision of the President, on the 1 7th 
of December, 1862, ordering the execution of thir- 
ty-nine of the three hundred condemned murderers, 
disappointed the people of Minnesota. These 
thirty-nine were to be hung on Friday, the 2Gth 
of December. 

It was not strange that the people of Minnesota 
were disappointed. How had New England looked 
upon her Indian captives in her early history ? 
Her history says : 

" King Philip was hunted like a wild beast, his 
body quartered and set on poles, his head exposed 
as a trophy for twt n'y years on a gibbet, in 
Plymouth, and one of his hands sent to Boston; 
then the ministers returned thanks, and one said 
that they had prayed a bullet into Philip's heart. 
In 1677, on a Sunday, in Marblehead, the women, 
as they came out of the meeting-house, fell upon 
two Indians that had been brought in as captives. 
and, in a very tumultuous way, murdered them, in 
revenge for the death of some fishermen." 

These Puritan ideas have greatly relaxed in the 
descendants of the primitive stock. But, as the 
sepulchers of the fathers are garnished by their 
children as an indorsement of their deeds, shall we 
not hope that those who La e in this way given 
evidence of their paternity will find some pallia- 
tion for a people who have sinned in the similitude 
of their fathers? 

On the 2ith of December, at the request of the 
citizens of Maulcato of a previous date. Colonel 
Miller, (Ex Governor Stephen Miller, whose death 
at Worthington, Minn., took place in August, 
1881), in order to secure the public peace, declared 



martial law over all the territory within a circle of 
ten miles of the place of the intended execution. 

On Monday, the 21st, the thirty-nine had been 
removed to apartments separate and distinct from 
the other Indians, and the death-warrant was made 
known to them through an interpreter — the Rev. 
Mr. Riggs, one of the Sioux missionaries. Through 
the interpreter. Colonel Miller addressed the pris- 
oners in substance, as follows: 

" The commanding officer at this place has called 
to speak to you upon a very serious subject thit 
afternoon. Your Great Father at Washington, 
after carefully reading what the witnesses have 
t' stifled in your several trials, has come to the con- 
clusion that you have each been guilty of wantonlj 
and wickedly murdering his white children; and, 
for this reason, he has directed that you each bb 
hanged by the neck until you are dead, on next 
P'riday, and that order will be carried into effect on 
that day at ten o'clock in the forenoon. 

"Good ministers, both Catholic and Protestant, 
are here, fi'om among whom each of you can se- 
lect your spiritual adviser, who will be permitted 
to commune with you constantly during the few 
days that you are yet to live." 

Adjutant Arnold was then instructed to read to 
them in English the letter of President Lincoln, 
which, in substance, stated the number and names 
of those condemned for execution, which letter 
was also read by Rev. S. R. Rig^s, in Dakota. 

The Colonel further instructed Mr. Riggs to tell 
them that they had so sinned against their fellow- 
men that there is no hope of clemency except in 
the mercy of God through the merits of the 
Blessed Redeemer, and that he earnestly exhorted 
them to apply to Him as their only remaining 
source of consolation. 

The number condemned was forty, but one died 
before the day fixed for the execution, and one, 
Henry Milord, a half breed, had his sentence com- 
muted to imprisonment for life in the penitentiary; 
so that thirty-eight only were hung. 

On the 16th of February, 1863, the treaties be- 
fore that time existing between the United States 
and these annuity Indians were abrogated and an- 
nulled, and all lands and rights of occupancy 
within the state of Minnesota, and all annuities 
and claims then existing in favor of said Indians 
were declared forfeited to the United States. 

These Indians, in the language of the act, had, 
in the year 1862, "made unprovoked aggression 
and most savage war upon the United States, and 



BEMOVAI. OF INDI.INS. 



255 



massacred a large number of men, ■women and 
children within the state of Minnesota;" and as 
in this war and massacre they had "destroyed and 
damaged a large amount of property, and thereby 
forfeited all just claims" to their "monies and an- 
nuities to the United Sfcites," the act provides that 
"two-thirds of the balance remaining unexpended" 
of their annuities for the fiscal year, not exceeding 
one hundred thousand dollars, and the further sum 
of one hundred thousand dollars, being two-thirds 
of the annuities becoming due, and payable during 
the next fiscal year, should be appropriated and 
paid over to three cormnissioners appointed by the 
President, to be by them apportioned among the 
heads of famiUes, or their survivors, who suffered 
damage by the depredations of said Indians, or 
the troops of the United States in the war against 
them, not exceeding the sum of two hundred dol- 
lars to any one family, nor more than actual dam- 
age sustained. All claims for damages were re- 
quired, by the act, to be presented at certain 
times, and according to the rules prescribed by 
the commissioners, who should hold their first ses- 
sion at St. Peter, in the "state of Minnesota, on or 
before the first Monday of April, and make 
and return their finding, and all the papers re- 
lating thereto, on or before the first Monday in 
December, 1863. 

The President appointed for this duty, and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, the 
Hons. Albert S. White, of the state of Indiana, 
Eli K. Chase, of Wisconsin, and Cyrus Aldrich, of 
Minnesota. 

The duties of this board were bo vigoroiisiy 
prosecuted, that, by the 1st of November following 
their appointment, some twenty thousand sheets 
of legal cap paper had been consumed in reducing 
to writing the testimony under the law requiring 
the commissioners to report the testimony in 
writing, and proper decisions made requisite to the 
payment of the two hundred dollars to that class 
of sufferers designated by the act of Congress. 
Such dispatch in Government agents gives abund- 
ant evidence of national vigor and integrity. 

It was, no doubt, the object of this act of Con- 
gress to make such an appropriation as would re- 
lieve the sufferings of those who had lost all pres- 
ent means of support, and for the further purpose 
of ascertaining the whole amonut of claims for 
damages as a necessary pre-requisite to future leg- 
islation. Regarded in this light, the act is one of 
wisdom and economy. 



On the 21st of February following the annulling 
of the treaty with the Sioux above named. Con- 
gress passed "An act for the removal of the Win- 
nebago Indians, and the sale of their reservation 
in Minnesota for their benefit." The money aris- 
ing from the sale of their lands, after paying 
their indebtedness, is to be paid into the treasury 
of the United States, and expended, as the same is 
received, under the direction of the Secretarv of 
the Interior, in necessary improvements upon their 
new reservation. The lands in the new reservation 
are to be allotted in severalty, not exceeding eighty 
acres to each head of a family, except to the chiefs, 
to whom larger allottments may be made, to be 
vested by patent in the Indian and his heirs, with- 
out the right of alienation. 

These several acts of the General Government 
moderated to some extent the demand of the peo- 
ple for the execution of the condemned Sioux yet 
in the military prison at Mankato awaiting the 
final decision of the President. The removal of 
the Indians from the borders of Minnesota, and 
the opening up for settlement of over a million 
of acres of superior land, was a prospective ben- 
efit to the State of immense value, both in its do- 
mestic quiet and its rapid advancement in material 
wealth. 

In pursuance of the acts of Congress, on the 
22d of April, and for the purpose of carrying 
them into execution, the condemned Indians were 
first taken from the State, on board the steamboat 
Favorite, carried down the Mississippi, and con- 
fined at Davenport, in the state of Iowa, where 
they remained, with only such privileges as are 
allowed to convicts in the penitentiary. 

On the 4th of May, A. D. 186.3, at "six o'clock m 
the afternoon, certain others of the Sioux Indians, 
squaws and pappooses, in all about seventeen hun- 
dred, left Fort Snelling, on board the steamboat 
Davenport, for their new reservation on the Upper 
Missouri, above Fort Randall, accompanied by a 
strong guard of soldiers, and attended by certain 
of the missionaries and employes, the whole beino- 
under the general direction of Superintendent 
Clark W. Thompson. By these two shipments, 
some two thousand Sioux had been taken from the 
State and removed far from the borders of Minne- 
sota. The expedition of 1863, fitted out against 
the scattered bands of the Sioux yet remaining on 
the boi-ders of the State, or still further removed 
into the Dakota Territory, gave to the border set* 
tlements some assurance of protection and security 



2DG 



U I STORY OF THE SIOUX MASS AC HE. 



against any further disturbancs from these partic- 
ular bands of Indians. 

DEATH OF LITTIiE CROW. 

On Friday evening, July 3, 1863, Mr. Lampson 
and his sou Chauucey, while traveling along the 
ro.id, about six miles north of Hutchinson, discov- 
ered two Indians in a little prairie t)pening in the 
woods, interspersed with clumps of bushea and 
vines and a few scattering poplars, picking berries. 
These two Indians were Little Crow and his son 
Wowinapa. 

STATEMENT BY HIS SON. 

"I am the son of Little Crow; my name is Wo- 
winapa; I am sixteen years old; my father had 
two wives before he took my mother; the first one 
had one son, the second one a son and daughter; 
the third wife was my motlior. After taking my 
mother ho put away the hrst two; he had seven 
children by my mother — six are dead; I am the 
only one living now; the fourth wife had four 
children born; do not know whether any died or 
not; two were boys and three were girls; the fiftli 
wife had five children — three of them are dead, 
two are living; the sixth wife had three children; 
aU of them are dead; the oldest was a boy, the 
olher two were girls; the last four wives were 
sisters. 

"Father went to St. Joseph last spring. When 
we were commg back he said he could not fight 
the white men, but would go below and steal horses 
from them, and give them to his children, so that 
they could be comfortable, and then he would go 
away off. 

"Father also told me that he was getting old, 
and wanted me to go with him to carry his bun- 
dles. He left his wives and his other children be- 
hind. There were sixteen men and one squaw iu 
the party that went below with us. We had no 
horses, but walked all the way do-ivn to the settle- 
ments. Father .and I were picking red-berries, 
near Scattered Lake,,at the time he was shot. It 
was near night. He was hit the first time in the 
side, just above the hip. His gun and mine were 
lying on the ground. He took up my gun and 
fired it first, and then fired his own. He was shot 
the second time when he was firing his own gun. 
The ball struck the stock of his gun, and then hit 
him in the sidf, near the shoulder. This was the 
shot that killed him. He told me that he was 
killed, and asked me for water, which I gave him. 
He died immediately after. When I heard the 



first shot fired I laid down, and the man did not 
see me before fathei' was killed. 

"A short time before father was killed an Indian 
named Hiuka, who married the daughter of my 
father's second wife, came to him. He had a 
horse with him — also a gray-colored coat that he 
had taken from a man that he had killed to the 
north of where father was killed. He gave the 
coat to father, telling him he might need it when 
it rained, as he had no coat with him. Hiuka said 
he h;;d a horse now, and was going back to the 
Indian country. 

"The Indians that went down with us separated. 
Eight of them and the squaw wont north; the 
other eight went further down. I have not seen 
any of them since. After father was killed I took 
both guns and the ammunition and started to go 
to Devil's Lake, where I expected to find some of 
my friends. When I got to Beaver creek I saw 
the tracks of two Indians, and at Standing 
Buffalo's village saw where the eight Indians that 
had gone north had crossed. 

"I carried both guns as far as the Shoyenue 
river, where I saw two men. I was scared, and 
threw my gun and the ammunition down. After 
that I traveled only in the night; and, as Iliad no 
ammunition to kill anything to eat, I had not 
strength enough to travel fast. I went on until I 
arrived near Devil's Lake, when I staid in one place 
three days, being so weak and hungry that I 
could go no further. I had picked up a cartridge 
near Big Stone Lake, which I still had with me, 
and loaded father's gun with it, cutting the ball 
iuto slugs. With this charge I shot a wolf, ate 
some of it, which gave me strength to travel, and 
went on up the lake until the day I was captured, 
which was twenty-six days from the day my 
father was killed." 

Here ends this wonderful episode iu our contact 
with the Indian race in Minnesota. It commenced 
with Little Crow, in this instance, and it is proper 
that it should end with his inglorious life. With 
the best means for becoming an exponent of In- 
dian civilization on this Continent, he has driven 
the missionaries from his people and become a 
standing example of the assertion: "Once an In- 
dian always an Indian." 

Little Crow has indeed given emphasis to the 
aphorism of Ferdousi, "For that which is unclean 
by nature, thou cans't entertain nohojje; no wash- 
ing will make the gypsy white." 



CHRONOLOGY. 



257 



CHRONOLOGY 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

PRINCIPAL EVENTS CHKONOLOGICALLT ARRANGED. 

1659. Groselliers (Gro-zay-yay) and Eadisson 
visit Minnesota. 

1661. Menard, a Jesuit missionary, ascends 
the Mississippi, according to Herrot, twelve years 
before Marquette saw this river. 

1665. Allouez, a Jesuit, visited the Minnesota 
shore of Lake Superior. 

1679. Du Luth planted the arms of France, 
one hundred and twenty leagues beyond Mille 
Lacs. 

1680. Dn Luth, the first to travel in a canoe 
from Lake Superior, by way of the St. Croix river, 
to the Mississippi. Descending the Mississippi, 
he writes to Signelay, 1683 : "I proceeded in a 
canoe two days and two nights, and the nest day, 
at ten o'clock in the morning, found Accoult, 
Augelle, and Father Hennepin, with a hunting 
party of Sioux." He writes: "The want of respect 
which they showed to the said Reverend Father 
provoked me, and this I showed them, telling 
them lie was my brother, and I had placed him in 
my canoe to come with me into the villages of said 
Nadouecioux." In September, Du Luth and Hen- 
nepin were at the Falls of St. Anthony on their 
way to Mackinaw. 

1683. Perrot and Le Sueur visit Lake Pepin. 
Perrot, with twenty men, builds a stockade at the 
base of a bluff, upon the east bank, just above the 
entrance of Lake Pepin. 

1688. Perrot re-occupies the post on Lake 
Pepin. 

1689. Perrot, at Green Bay, makes a formal 
record of taking possession of the Sioux country 
in the name cf the king of France 

17 



1693. Le Sueur at the extremity of Lake Su- 
perior. 

1694. Le Sueur builds a post, on a prairie 
island in the Mississippi, about nine mUes below 
Hastings. 

1695. Le Sueur brings the first Sioux chiefs 
who visit Canada. 

1700. Le Sueur ascends the Minnesota River. 
Fort L'Huillier built on a tributary of the Blue 
Earth River. 

1702. Fort L'Huillier abandoned. 

1727. Fort Beauharnois, in the fall of this 
year, erected in sight of Maiden's Rock, Lake 
Pepin, by La Perriere du Boucher. 

1728. Verendrye stationed at Lake Nepigon. 

1731. Verendrye's sons reach Rainy Lake. 
Fort St. Pierre erected at Rainy Lake. 

1732. Fort St. Charles erected at the south- 
west corner of the Lake of the Woods. 

1734. Fort Maurepas estabhshed on Winnipeg 
River. 

1736. Verendrye's sons and others massacred 
by the Sioux on an isle in the Lake of the Woods. 

1738. Lort La Reine on the Red River estab- 
lished. 

1743. Verendrye's sons reach the Rocky Moun- 
tains. 

1766. Jonathan Carver, on November 17th, 
reaches the Falls of St. Anthony. 

1794. Sandy Lake occupied by the Northwest 
Company. 

1802. William Morrison trades at Leach Lake. 

1804. William Morrison trades at Elk Lake, 
now Itasca. 

1805. Lieutenant Z. M. Pike purchases the 
site since occupied by Fort Snelling. 

1817. Earl of Selkirk passes through Minne- 
sota for Lake Winnipeg. 



258 



CIIHONOLOOT. 



Iilajor Stephen H. Long, U. S. A., visits Falls 
of St. Anthony. 

1818. Dakotah war party miJer Black Dog 
attack Ojibnays on tlie Pomme de Terra River. 

1819. Col. Leavenworth arrives on the 24th of 
August, with troops at Mendota. 

1820. J. B. Faribault brings up to Mendota, 
horses for Col. Leavenworth. 

Laidlow, sujierintendent of farming for Earl Sel- 
kirk, passes from Pembina to Prairie du Cbieii to 
purchase seed wheat. Upon the 1.5th of April, 
left Prairie du Chien with Mackinaw boats and 
ascended the Minnesota to Big Stone Lake, where 
the boats were placed on rollers and dragged a 
short distance to Lake Traverfee, and on the 3d of 
June reached Pembina. 

On the 5th of May, Col. Leavenworth estab- 
lished summer quarters at Camp Coldwater, Hen- 
nepin county. 

In July, Governor Cass, of Michigan, visits the 
camp. 

In August, Col. Snelling succeeds Leavenworth. 

September 20th, corner-stone laid under com- 
mand of Col. Snelling. 

First white marriage in Minnesota, Lieutenant 
Green to daughter of Captain Gooding. 

First white child born in Minnesota, daughter 
to Col. Snelliug; died following year. 

1821. Fort St. Anthony was sufficiently com- 
pleted to be occupied by troops. 

Mill at St. Anthony Falls constructed for the 
use of garrison, under the supervision of Lieuten- 
ant McCabe. 

1822. Col. Dickson attempted to take a drove 
of cattle to Pembina. 

1823. The first steamboat, the Virginia, on 
May 10th, arrived at the mouth of the Minnesota 
river. 

Mill stones for grinding Hour sent to St. An- 
thony Falls. 

Major Long, U. S. A., visits the northern bound- 
ary by way of the Minnesota and Bed River. 

Beltrami, the Italian traveler, explores the 
northernmost source of the Mississippi. 

1824. General Winfield Scott inspects Fort 
St. Anthony, &nd at his suggestion the War De- 
partment changed the name to Fort Snelling. 

1825. April 5th, steamboat Rutus Putnam 
reaches the Fort. May, steamboat Rufus Putnam 
arrives again and delivers freight at Land's End 
trading post on the Minnesota, about a mile above 
the Fort. 



1826. January 26th, first mail in five months 
received at the Fort. 

Deep snow during February and March. 

March 20th, snow from twelve to eighteen inches. 

April ."itli. snow-storm with flashes of lightning. 

April 10th, thermometer four degrees above zero. 

April 21st, ice began to move in the river at the 
Fort, and with twenty feet above low water mark. 

May 2d, first steamboat of the season, the Law- 
rence, Captain Reeder, took a ]jleasure party to 
within three miles of the Falls of St. Anthony. 

1826. Dakotahs kill an Ojibway near Fort 
Snelling. 

1827. Flat Mouth's party of Ojibways attacked 
at Fort Snelling, and Sioux delivered by Colonel 
Snelling to be killed by Ojibways, and their bodies 
thrown over the bluff into the river. 

General Gaines inspects Fort Snelling. 
Troops of the Fifth Regiment relieved by those 
of the First. 

1828. Colonel Snelling dies in Washington. 

1829. Rev. Alvin Coe and J. D. Stevens, Pres- 
byterian missionaries, visit the Indians around 
Fort Snelling. 

Major Taliaferro, Indian agent, estabUsbes a 
farm for the benefit of the Indians at Lake Cal- 
houn, which he called Eatonville, after the Secre- 
tary of War. 

Winter, Spring and Summer very dry. One 
inch was the average monthly fall of rain or snow 
for ten months. Vegetation more backward than 
it had been for ten years. 

1830. August 14tb, a sentinel at Fort Snelling. 
just before daylight, discovered the Indian council 
house on fire. Wa-pa-sha's son-in-law was the 
incendiary. 

1831. August 17th, an old trader Rocque, and 
his son arrived at Fort Snelling from Prairie du 
Chien, having been twenty-six days on the journey. 
Under the influence of whisky or stupidity, they 
ascended the St. Croix by mistake, and were lost 
for fifteen days. 

1832. May 12th, steamboat Versailles arrives 
at Fort Snelling. 

June IGth, William Carr arrives from Missouri 
at Fort Snelling, with a drove of cattle and horses. 

Henry B. Schoolcraft explores the sources of 
the Mississippi. 

1 833. Rev. W. T. Boutwell establishes a mission 
among the Ojibways at Leech Lake. 

E. F. Ely opens a mission school for Ojibways 
at Aitkin's trading post, Sandy Lake. 



CHRONOLOGY. 



259 



1834. May. Samuel W. and Gideon H. Pond 
arrive at Lake Calhoun as missionaries among the 
Sioux. 

November. Henry H. Sibley arrives at Mendota 
as agent of Fur Comjsany. 

1835. May. Kev. T. S. Williamson and J. D. 
Stevens arrive as Sioux missionaries, with Alex- 
ander G. Huggins as lay-assistant. 

June. Presbyterian Church at Fort Snelling 
organized. 

July 31st. A Red River train arrives at Fort 
Snelling with fifty or sixty head of cattle, and 
about twenty-five horses. 

Major J. L. Bean surveys the Sioux and Cbip- 
peway boundary line under treaty of 1825, as far 
as Otter Tail Lake. 

November. Col. S. C. Stambaugh arrives; is 
sutler at Fort Snelling. 

1836. May 6th, "Missouri Fulton," first steam- 
boat, arrives at Fort SneUing. 

May 29th. "Frontier," Capt. Harris, arrives. 

June 1st. "Palmyra" arrives. 

July 2d. "Saint Peters" arrives with J. N. 
Nicollet as passenger. 

July 30. Sacs and Foxes kill twenty-four 
Winnebagoes on Root River. 

1837. Rev. Stephen R. Riggs and wife join 
Lake Harriet Mission. 

Rev. A. Brunson and David King establish 
Kaposia Missirm. 

Commissioners Dodge and Smith at Port Snel- 
ling make a treaty with the Chipjjeways to cede 
lands east of the Mississippi. 

Franklin Steele and others make claims at Falls 
of St. Croix and St. Anthony. 

September 29th. Sioux chiefs at Washington 
sign a treaty. 

November 10th. ' Steamboat Rolla arrives at 
Fort Snelling with the Sioux on their return from 
Washington. 

December 12th. Jeremiah Russell and L. W. 
Stratton make the first claim at Marine, in St. 
Croix valley. 

1838. April, Hole-iu-the-Day and party kill 
thirteen of the Lac-qui-parle Sioux. Martin Mc- 
Leod from Pembina, after twenty-eight days of 
exposure to snow, reaches Lake Traverse. 

May 25th, Steamboat Burlington arrives at Fort 
Snelling with J. N. Nicollet and J. 0. Fremont on 
a scientific expedition. 

June 11th, Marryat, the British novelist, Frank- 



lin Steele and others rode from the Fort to view 
Falls of St. Anthony. 

July 12th, steamboat Palmyra arrives at Fort 
Snelling with an ofBcial notice of the ratification 
of treaty. Men arrived to develop the St. Croix 
Valley. 

August 2d, Hole-in the- Day encamped with a 
party of Chippeways near Fort Snelling, and was 
attacked by Sioux from Mud Lake, and one killed 
and another wounded. 

August 27tb, Steamboat Ariel arrives with com- 
missioners Pease and Ewing to examine half-breed 
claims. 

September 30th, steamboat Ariel makes the first 
trip up the St. Croix river. 

October 26th, steamboat Gypsy first to arrive at 
Falls of St. Croix with annuity goods for the 
Chippeways. In passing through Lake St. Croix 
grounded near the townsita laid out by S. C. 
Stambaugh and called Stambaughville. 

1839. April 11th, the first steamboat at Fort 
Snelling, the Ariel, Capt. Lyon. 

Henry M. Rice arrives at Fort Snelling. 

May 2d, Rev. E. G. Gear, of the Protestant 
Episcopal church, recently appointed chajjlain, ar- 
rived at Fort Snelling in the steamboat Gipsy. 

May I2th, steamboat Fayette arrives on the St' 
Croix, having been at Fort Snelling, with members 
of Marine Mill Company. 

May 21st, the Glancus, Gapt. Atchinson, arrives 
at Fort Snelling. 

June 1st, the Pennsylvania, Capt. Stone, arrives 
at Fort Snelling. 

June 5th, the Glancus arrives again. 

June 6th, the Ariel arrives. 

June 12th, at Lake Harriet mission. Rev. D. 
Gavin, Swiss missionary among the Sioux at Red 
Wing, was married to Cordelia Stevens, teacher at 
Lake Harriet mission. 

June 25th, steamboat "Knickerbocker," arrived 
at Fort Snelling. 

June 26th, steamboat Ariel, on third trip. 

June 27th, a train of Red River carts, under 
Mr. Sinclair, with emigrants, who encamped near 
the fort. 

July 2d, Chippeways killed a Sioux of Lake Cal- 
houn band. 

July 3d, Sioux attack Chippeways in ravine 
above Stillwater. 

1840. April, Rev. Luoian Galtier, of the Roman 
Catholic church, arrives at Mendota. 



260 



CHRONOLOar. 



May 6th, squatters removed on military reser- 
vation. 

June 15th, Thomas Simpson, Artie explorer, 
shoots himself near Turtle River, under aberration 
of the mind. 

June 17th, four Chippeways kill and scalp a 
Sioux man and woman. 

1841. March 6th, wild geese appeared at the 
fort. 

March 20th, Mississippi opened. 

April 6th, steamboat Otter, Capt. Harris, arrived. 
Kaboka, an old chief of Lake Calhoun band, killed 
by Chippeways. 

May 24th, Sioux attack Chippeways at Lake 
Pokeguma, of Snake river. Methodist mission 
moved from Kaposia to Red Rock, Rev. B. F. 
Kavenaugh, superintendent. 

November 1st, Father Galtier completes the log 
chapel of St. Paul, which gave the name to the 
capital of Minnesota. Rev. Augustin Ravoux ar- 
rives. 

1842. July, the Chippeways attack the Kapo- 
sia Sioux. 

1843. Stillwater laid out. Ayer, Spencer and 
Ely establish a Chippeway mission at Red lake. 

July 15th, Thomas Longly, brother-in-law of 
Rev. S. R. Riggs, drowned at Traverse des Sioux 
mission station. 

1844. August, Captain Allen with fifty dra- 
goons marches from Fort Des Moines through 
southwestern Minnesota, and on the 10th of Sep- 
tember reaches the Big Sioux River. Sisseton war 
party kill an American named Watson, driving 
cattle to Fort Snelling. 

1845. June 25th, Captain Sumner reaches 
Traverse des Sioux, and proceeding northward 
arrested three of the murderers of Watson. 

1846. Dr. Williamson, Sioux missionary, moves 
from Lac-qui-parle to Kaposia. March 31st, 
steamboat Lynx, Capt. Atchinson, arrives at Fort 
Snelling. 

1847. St. Croix county, Wisconsin, organized. 
Stillwater the county seat. Harriet E. Bishop 
estabUshes a school at St. Paul. Saw-mills begim 
at St. Anthony Falls. 

August, Commissioner Verplanck and Henry M. 
Rice make treaties with the Chippeways at Fond 
du Lac and Leech Lake. The town of St. Paul 
surveyed, platted, and recorded in the St. Croix 
county Register of Deeds office. 

1848. Henry H. Sibley Delegate to Congress 
from Wisconsin territory. 



May 29th, Wisconsin admitted, leaving Minne- 
sota (with its present boundaries) without a gov- 
ern raont. 

.\ugust 26th, -'Stillwater convention" held to 
take measures for a separate territorial organiza- 
tion. 

October 30th, H. H. Sibley, elected Delegate to 

Congress. 

1849. March, act of Congress creating Minne- 
sota Territory. 

April 9th, Highlimd Mary, Capt. Atchinson, ar- 
rives at St. Paul. 

April 18th, James M. Goodhue nrri%'es at St. 
Paul with first newspaper press. 

May 27th, Gov. Alexander Ramsey arrives at 
Mendota. 

June 1st, Gov. Ramsey issues proclamation de- 
claring the territory duly organized. 

August 1st, H. H. Sibley elected Delegate to 
Congress from Minnesota. 

September 3d, first Legislatvire convened. 

November, First Presbyterian church, St. Paul, 
organized. 

December, first literary address at Falls of St. 
Anthony. 

1850. January 1st, Historical Society meeting. 
June 11th, Indian council at Fort Snelling. 
June 14tli, steamer Governor Ramsey makes 

first trip above Falls of St. Anthony. 

Juue 26th, the Anthony Wayne reaches the 
Falls of St. Anthony. 

July 18th, steamboat Anthony Wayne ascends 
the Minnesota to the vicinity of Traverse des 
Sioux. 

July 25th, steamboat Yankee goes beyond Blue 
Earth River. 

September, H. H. Sibley elected Delegate to 
Congress. 

October, Fredrika Bremer, Swedish novelist 
visits Minnesota. 

November, the Dakotah Friend, a monthly pa- 
per appeared. 

December, Colonel D. A. Robertson establishes 
Minnesota Democrat. 

December 26th, first public Thanksgiving Day. 

1851. May, St. Anthony Express newspaper 
begins its career. 

July, treaty concluded with the Sioux at Tra- 
verse des Sioux. 

July, Rev. Robert Hopkins, Sioux missionary 
drowned. 



OHRONOLOar. 



261 



August, treaty concluded with the Sioux at 
Maukato. 

September l9tb, the Minnesotian, of St. Paul, 
edited by J. P. Owens, appeared. 

November, Jerome Fuller, Chief Justice in place 
of Aaron Goodrich, arrives. 

December 18th, Thanksgiving Day. 

1852. Hennepin county created. 

February 14th, Dr. Rae, Arctic explorer, arrives 
at St. Paul with dog train. 

May 14th, land slide at Stillwater. 

August, James M. Goodhue, pioneer editor, dies. 

November, Yuhazee, an Indian, convicted of 
murder. 

1853. April 27th, Chippewas and Sioux fight 
in streets of St. Paul. Governor Willis A. Gor- 
man succeeds Governor Ramsey. 

October, Henry M. Rice elected delegate to con- 
gress. The Capitol building completed. 

1854. March 3d, Presbyterian mission house 
near Lac-qui-parle burned. 

June 8th, great excursion from Chicago to St. 
Paul and St. Anthony Falls. 

December 27th, Yuhazee, the Indian, hung at 
St. Paul. 

1855. January, first bridge over Mississippi 
completed at Falls of St. Anthony. 

October, H. M. Rice re-elected to Congress. 

December 12, James Stewart arrives in St. Paul 
direct from Arctic regions, with relics of Sir John 
FrankUn. 

1856. Erection of State University building 
was begun. 

1857. Congress passes an act authorizing peo- 
ple of Minnesota to vote for a constitution. 

March. Inkpadootah slaughters settlers in 
southwest Minnesota. 

Governor Samuel Medary succeeds Governor W. 
A. Gorman. 

March 5th. Land-grant by congress for rail- 
ways. 

April 27th. Special session of legislature con- 
venes. 

July. On second Monday convention to form 
a constitution assembles at Capitol. 

October 13th. Election for State officers, and 
ratifying of the constitution. 

H. H. Sibley first governor under the State con- 
stitution. 

December. On first Wednesday, first State 
legislature assembles. 



December. Henry M. Rice and James Shields 
elected United States senators. 

1858, April 15th. People approve act of legis- 
lature loaning the public credit for five millions of 
dollars to certain railway companies. 

May 11th. Minnesota becomes one of the 
United States of America. 

June 2d. Adjourned meeting of legislature 
held. 

November. Supreme court of State orders Gov- 
ernor Sibley to issue Railroad bonds. 

1859. Normal school law passed. 

June. Burbank and Company place the first 
steamboart on Red River of the North. 

August. Bishop T. L. Grace arrived in St. 
Paul. 

1859. October 11th, State election, Alexander 
Ramsey chosen governor. 

1860. March 23d, Anna Bilanski hung at St! 
Paul for the murder of her husband, the first white 
person executed in Minnesota. 

1861. April 14th, Governor Ramsey calls upon 
President in Washington and ofiiers a regiment of 
volunteers. 

June 21st, First Minnesota Regiment, Col. W. 
A. Gorman, leaves for Washington. 

July 21st, First Minnesota in battle of Bull 
Run. 

October 13th, Second Minnesota Infantry, Col. 
H. P. Van Cleve, leaves Fort SnelUng. 

November 16th, Third Minnesota Infantry, H. 
C. Lester, go to seat of war. 

1862. January 19th, Second Minnesota in bat- 
tle at Mill Spring, Kentucky. 

April 6th. First Minnesota Battery, Captaid 
Munch, at Pittsburg Landing. 

April 21st, Second Minnesota Battery goes to 
seat of war. 

April 2l8t, Fourth Minnesota Infantry Volun- 
teers. Col. J. B. Sanborn, leaves Fort Snelling. 

May 13th, Fifth Regiment Volunteers, Col. Bor- 
gensrode, leaves for the seat of war. 

May 28th, Second, Fourth, and Fifth in battle 
near Corinth, Mississippi. 

May 31st, First Minnesota in battle at Fair 
Oaks, Virginia. 

June 29th, First Minnesota in battle at Savage 
Station. 

June 30th, First Minnesota in battle near WU- 
lis' Church. 

July 1st, First Minnesota in battle at Malvern 
Hill. 



262 



CnRONOLOGT. 



August, Sixth Eegiment, Col. Crooks, organized. 

August, Seventh Begiment, Col. Miller, organ- 
ized. 

August, Eighth Regiment, Col, Thomas, organ- 
ized. 

August, Ninth Regiment, Col. Wilkm, organ- 
ized. 

August 18th, Sioux attack wliites at lower 
Sioux Agency. 

September 23d, Col. Sibley defeats Sioux at 
Mud Lake. 

December 26th, Thirty-eight Sioux executed on 
the same scaffold at Mankato. 

1863. .January, Alexander Ramsey elected 
United States Senator. 

May 14th, Fourth and Fifth Regiment in battle 
near Jackson, Mississippi. 

July 2d, First Minnesota Infantry in battle at 
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 

September 19th, Second Minnesota Infantry en- 
gaged at Chickamaiiga, Tennessee. 

November 23d, Second Minnesota Infantry en- 
gaged at Mission Ridge. 

1864. January, Col. Stephen Miller inaugur- 
ated Governor of Minnesota. 

March 30th; Third Minnesota Infantry engaged 
at Fitzhugh's Wooods. 

.Tune 6th, Fifth Minnesota Infantry engaged at 
Lake Chicot, Arkansas. 

July 13th, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth, with por- 
tion of the Fifth Minnesota Infantry, engaged at 
Tupelo, Mississippi. 

July 14th, Col. Alex. Wilkin, of the Ninth, 
killed. 

October 15th, Fourth Eegiment engaged near 
Altoona, Georgia. 

December 7th, Eighth Regiment engaged near 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 

Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Regiments at 
Nashville, Tennessee. 

1865. January 10th, Daniel S. Norton, elected 
United States Senator. 

April 9th, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and 
Tenth at the siege of Mobile. 

November 10th, Shakpedan, Sioux chief, and 
Medicine Bottle executed at Fort SnoUing. 

1866. January 8th, Col. William R. Marshall 
inaugurated Governor of Minnesota. 

1867. Preparatory dej)artment of the State 
University opened. 

1868. January, Governor Marshall enters upon 
second term. 



1869. Bill passed by legislature, removing sea 
of Government to spot near Big Kandiyohi Lake 
— vetoed by Governor Marshall. 

1870. January 7th, Horace Austin inaugurated 
as Governor. 

1871. January, Wm. Windom elected United 
States Senator. In the fall destructive fires, oc- 
casioned by high winds, swept over frontier coun- 
ties. 

1872. January, Governor Austin enters upon a 
second term. 

1873. January 7th, 8th, and 9th, polar wave 
sweeps over the State, seventy persons perishing. 

May 22d, the senate of Minnesota convicts State 
Treasurer of corruption in office. 

September, grasshopper raid began, and con- 
tinued iive seasons. Jay Cooke failure occasions a 
financial panic. 

1874. January 9th, Cushman K. Davis inaug- 
urated Governor. William S. King elected to con- 
gress. 

1875. February 19th, 8. J. R. McMiUan elected 
United States senator. 

November, amendment to State constitution, al- 
lowing any women twenty-one years of age to vote 
for school ofiBcers, and to be eligible for school of- 
fices. Rocky Mountain locusts destroy crops in 
southwestern Minnesota. 

1876. January 7th, John S. PUlsbury inaug- 
urated Governor. 

September, 6th, outlaws from Missouri kill the 
cashier of the Northfield Bank. 

1879. November, State constitution amended 
forbidding public moneys to be used for the sup- 
port of schools wherein the distinctive creeds or 
tenets of any particular Christian or other religions 
sect are taught. J. H. Stewart, M. D., elected to 
congress. Biennial sessions of the legislature 
adopted. 

1878. January, Governor Pillsbury enters 
upon a second term. 

May 2d, explosion in the Washburn and other 
flour mills at Minneapolis. One hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars appropriated to purchase seed 
grain for destitute settlers. 

1880. November 15th, a portion of the Insane 
Asylum at St. Peter was destroyed by fire and 
twenty -seven inmates lost their lives. 

1881. March 1st, Capitol at St. Paul destroyed 
by fire. 

November. Lucius F. Hubbard elected Gov- 
ernor. 



HISTORY OP FREEBORN COUNTY. 



263 



HISTORY 



OF 



FREEBORN COUNTY 



CHAPTER XLV. 
Location — Topogbaphicai, aud physical 

. TUBES GeOIiOGICAL CoAL MINING. 



Freeborn is on the southern tier of Minnesota 
counties, the fourth from the Mississippi, and next 
to Mower county; on the south it has Winnebago 
and Worth counties in Iowa; on the west it is the 
sixth from the Dakota line, and nest to Faribault; 
and Steele and Waseca are the northern neigh- 
bors. 

There are thirty or more lakes in its territory, 
the most prominent among which are Lake Albert 
Lea, Geneva Lake, Kice Lake, . Freeborn Lake, 
Twin Lakes, and Pickerel Lake. It is well water- 
ed, being really on a divide, with waters flowing 
north and south. Among the more noted streams 
are the Shell Rook River, Cobb River, Goose 
Creek, Turtle Creek, Deer Creek, Bancroft Creek, 
Stewart's Creek, and State Line Creek, with sever- 
al others. These, with the lakes and other topo- 
graphical features, receive special mention in the 
geological sketch and in the town histories. The 
twenty townships all coincide with the govern- 
ment survey, and have corresponding political or- 
ganizations. 

The following geological description is taken 
from the very able report of Prof. N. H, Winch- 
ell, State Geologist: 

SITUATION AND AREA. 

, Freeborn county borders on the state of Iowa, 
and is very near the center of the southern boun- 
dary line of Miunesota. It has the form of a 



rectangle, having a length, east and west, of five 
government towns, and north and south, a width 
of four, making an area of 720 square miles, or 
449,23.5.63 acres, after deducting the areas covered 
by water. 

NATUBAL DBAINAGE. 

With the exception of Freeborn, Hartland, and 
Carlston townships, the surface drainage is to- 
wards the south and southeast. The county em- 
braces the headwaters of the Shell Rock and 
Cedar Rivers of Iowa, and those of the Cobb 
River which joins the Minnesota toward the 
north. Hence it lies on the watershed between 
two great drainage slopes. For the same reason 
none of its streams are large; the Shell Rock, 
where it leaves the State, being its largest. The 
streams have not much fall, but afford some water- 
power, which has been improved in the construc- 
tion of flouring mills. Such are found at Albert 
Lea and Twin Lakes. In these cases the body of 
water confined in the upjjer lake serves as the 
water-head and the reservoir, mills being con- 
structed near their outlets. Tiiere is also an 
available water-power at Shell Rock village, but 
its use would cause the flooding of a large body 
of land adjoining the river. 

SUEFAOB FEATUBBS. 

The surface of the county, although having no 
remarkable and sudden changes of level, yet is 
considerably diversified as a rolling prairie, more 
or less covered with sparse oaks and oak bushes. 
The plats of the United States surveyors, on file 



264 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



in the Register's office at Albert Lea, indicate 
considerably more area covered with timber, or as 
"oak openings," when the county was surveyed 
by them (1854), than is now the case. The fol- 
lowing minutes are based on an examination of 
their plats, and will give a pretty correct idea of 
the distribution of the oak openings and the 
prairie tracts throughout the county. 

London. — The most of this township is prairie, 
a belt of oak openings and timber entering it 
from the north, about three miles wide, in the 
center of the town, and extending to the center, 
bearing off to the southeast, and terminating in 
section twenty-four. The magnetic variation 
throughout the town was, when surveyed, from 8 
deg. 20 min. to 10 deg. 42 min., the greatest be- 
ing in sections thirty-three and thirty-four. 

Oakland. — A little more than a half of this 
township consists of oak openings, an area in the 
eastern half only being prairie, with a small patch 
also in section thirty-one. Two large sloughs 
cross the town, one through sections thirty, thirty- 
one, and thirty-two, and the other through sections 
four, five, tight, seven, and eighteen. Magnetic 
variation about 9 deg., varying from 8 deg. 12 
min. to 10 deg. 8 min. 

Moscow. — Nearly the whole of this township is 
taken up with oak openings and marshes. Turtle 
Greek crosses it from northwest to southeast. A 
large portion of the northern half of the town is a 
floating marsh, containing a great quantity of peat. 
Magnetic variation 8 deg. 20 min. to 10 deg. 20 
min. 

Newrt. — There is a small patch of prairie in 
the north-east part of this town, in sections one, 
twelve, thirteen, and twenty-four, and a small area 
in sections twenty and twenty-one. There is an- 
other in the northwest corner, embracing sections 
six and seven and parts of five, thirteen, and 
eighteen. The rest is openings and marsh, par- 
ticularly in the northwest corner. Magnetic 
variation, 8 deg. 20 min. to 9 deg. 40 min. 

Shellrock. — A belt about one and one-half 
miles wide along the west side of this town, ac- 
companying the Shellrock River, constitutes the 
only openings occuring in sections three, ten, and 
fifteen. The northwest part of the township is 
rolling, and the southeast is level and wet with 
marshes. Magnetic variation, 11 deg. 30 min. 
to 13 deg. 40 min. 



Alden. — This town is all prairie, with scattered 
small marshes. Magnetic variation, 11 deg. 27 
min. to 13 deg. 15 min. 

Carlston. — This town is all prairie, except a 
narrow belt of sparse timber about Freeborn Lake. 
Long narrow marshes spread irregularly over the 
central and eastern portions of the town. In the 
southeast quarter of section thirty-six there is also 
a small area of sparse timber. Magnetic varia- 
tion, 11 deg. 13 min. to 13 deg. 

Freeborn. — In this town there is a little sparse 
timber about the north part. Magnetic varia- 
tion, 8 deg. 50 min. to 10 deg. 15 min. 

Bath. — An area of openings comprising about 
half of this town, in the central and eastern por- 
tion, is nearly surrounded by a belt of prairie. 
Small marshes are scattered through the town. 
Magnetic variation, 8 deg. 45 min. to 10 deg. 
35 min. 

NuNDA. — This town is also mostly openings, 
but an area of prairie occurs in sections four, five, 
nine, and three, and another lies southwest of Bear 
Lake. Considerable marsh land is embraced 
within the area of openings. Magnetic varia- 
tion, 10 deg. 5 min. to 12 deg. 15 min., the latter 
in section thirty-one. 

Pickerel Lake. — The west half of this town- 
ship is prairie, and the eastern is devoted to open- 
ings with lakes and marshes. Magnetic varia- 
tion. 9 deg. 45 min. to 11 deg. 50 min. 

Manchester. — About one-half of this town is 
prairie, the remainder being oak openings. The 
prairie lies in the northwestern and southern por- 
tions. Small marshes occur both in the prairie 
and openings. Magnetic variations, 10 deg. to 
12 deg. 15 min. 

Hartl.^nd. — This town is almost entirely com- 
posed of prairie, the only timber being about Lake 
Mule, and in the southern portions of sections 
thirty-four, thirty-five, and thirty -six. There is 
not much marsh in the town. Magnetic varia- 
tion, 9 deg. 45 min. to 12 deg. 25 min. 

Mansfield. — This town is nearly all prairie. 
Magnetic variation, 8 deg. 45 min. to 10 deg. 15 
min. 

Hatward. — A wide belt of prairie occupies 
about two-thirds of this town, running north and 
south through the center. On the west of this is 
a rolling tract embracing a portion of Lake Albert 
Lea and some tributary marshes, while on the 



PHT8I0AL FEATURES. 



265 



east a large marsh covers sections twelve and four- 
teen, and portions of thirteen, eleven, fifteen, 
twenty-two, and twenty-three. There is also a 
prairie tract in section one. 

RiCEL,.\ND. — This township is about equally 
divided between prairie, openings, and marsh, the 
first being in the south central portion, the second 
in the northwest and central, bordering on Eice 
Lake, and the marsh in the northeastern part of 
the town. Magnetic variation, from 8 deg. 45 
min. to 10 deg. 30 min. 

Geneva. — There is but little prairie in this 
town, the southern portion being comprised in a 
large marsh which is crossed by Turtle Creek, the 
outlet of Walnut Lake. The central portion is 
occupied by oak openings which also extend to 
the northwest and west boundaries. The prairie 
is in the northern and eastern portions. Mag- 
netic variation, 9 deg. 10 min. to 10 deg. 23 min. 

Freeman. — This township contains no prairie. 
It is mostly devoted to oak openings, but a series 
of marshes, drained by the tributaries of the Shell 
Eock that crosses it toward the southeast, take up 
a considerable area in the central and eastern 
portion. Magnetic variation 9 deg. to 10 deg. 
40 min., the greatest being in section thirty-one. 

Albert Lea. — This township is nearly all taken 
up with oak openings, but a few small marshes, 
trending northwest and southeast., are found in 
different portions. There is also a small patch of 
prairie in section six, and another in the south 
east corner of the county. The western arm of 
Albert Lea Lake, through which the Shell Rock 
River runs, is in the central and eastern part of 
this town, and adds greatly to the variety and 
beauty of its natural scenery. Pickerel Lake is 
also partly in this township. Magnetic variation 
8 deg. 46 min. to 10 deg. 8 min. 

Bancroft. — A little more than one-fourth of 
this township is prairie, situated in the center and 
southwestern portions. The rest of the town is 
covered with oak openings. The source of the 
Shell Eock is in the northwestern ends of Free- 
born and Spicer Lakes, and a little adjoining 
Spicer Lake on the east. There are also some 
openings in section twenty-six, where the arms of 
the marsh protect the timber from the prairie 
fires. The rest is of prairie with spreading 
marshes. Magneitc variation 11 deg. 5.5 min. to 
12 deg. 50 min. North and west of Albert Lea is 
a very broken and rolling surface of sparse timber. 



This tract consists of bold hills and deep valleys 
wrought in the common drift of the country. On 
some of these hills are granitic boulders, but the 
country generally does not show many boulders. 
The drift is generally, in this broken tract, a 
gravel-clay. In some of the street-cuts for grad- 
ing, a gravel is found, containing a good deal of 
limestone. 

A great many of the marshes of the county are 
surrounded with tracts of oak openings, a fact 
which indicates that the marshes serve as barriers 
to the prairie fires. Such marshes are really filled 
with water, and quake with a heavy peat deposit 
on being trod on. They are very different from 
those of counties further west, as in Nobles coun- 
ty, which, in the summer, are apt to become 
dried, and are annually clothed with a growth of 
coarse grass, which feeds the fires that pass over 
the country in the fall. As a general rule, but 
little or no grass grows on a good peat marsh. 

The county contains some of the highest land 
in the State. Some of the counties farther west, 
particularly Nobles and Mower counties on the 
east, rise from one to two hundred feet higher. 
There is also a high and rolling tract in the north 
central portion of the State, covering Otter Tail 
county, which rises to about the same level, as 
shown by railroad profiles. The greater portion 
of the State, however, lies several hundred feet 
lower than Freeborn county. 

SOIL AND TIMBER. 

Throughout the county the soil depends on the 
nature of the drift, combined with the various 
modifying local circumstances. There is nothing 
in the county that can properly be designated a 
limestone or a sandstone soil. The materials of 
which it is composed have been transported, per- 
haps, several hundred miles, and are so abundantly 
and universally spread over the underlying rock 
that they receive no influence from it. The sub- 
soil is a gravelly clay, and in much of the county 
that also constitutes the surface soil. In low 
ground this, of course, is disguised by a wash 
from the higher ground, causing sometimes a 
loam and sometimes a tough fine clay; the latter 
is particularly in those tracts that are subject to 
inundation by standing water. On an undulating 
prairie, with a close clay, or clayey sub-soil, such 
low spots are apt to leave a black, rich loam or 
clayey loam, the colored being derived from the 
annual prairie fires that leave charred grass and 



266 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN GOUNTT. 



other vegetation to mingle with the soil. The 
same takes place on wide tracts of flat prairie. In 
these may l)e, but rarely, a stone of any kind— in- 
deed that is usually the case — but below the im- 
mediate surface, a foot or eighteen inches, a 
gravelly clay is always met with. This at first 
doubtless formed the soil, the disintegrating forces 
of frost, rain, and wind, combined with the calcin- 
ing effects of the prairie fires, having reduced the 
atones and gravel to powder, leaving a finely pul- 
verized substance for a surface soil. 

In a rolling tract of country, while the low 
ground is being filled slowly with the wash from 
the hills, and furnished with a fine soil, the hills 
are left covered with a coarse and stony surface 
soil. For that reason a great many boulders are 
sometimes seen on the tops of drift knolls. Along 
streams and about the shores of lakes, the action 
of the water has carried away the clay of the 
soil and often eaten into the original drift, letting 
the stones and boulders tumble down to the bot- 
tom of the bank, where they are often very nu- 
merous. Along streams they are sometimes again 
covered with alluvium — indeed are apt to be — but 
along the shores of lakes they are kept near the 
beach line by the action of the winter ice. After 
a lapse of time sufficient, the banks themselves 
become rounded off and finally turfed over or 
covered with trees. These lakes sometimes extend 
their limits laterally, but slowly become shallower. 
This county is furnished with a number of beau- 
tiful lakes. These are generally in the midst of a 
rolling country, and some of their banks are high. 

In the survey of the county the following spec- 
ies of trees and shrubs are noticed growing native: 

Burr Oak. Quercua macrocarpa. Michx. 

Red Oak. Quercus rubra. /,. (This species 
is not satisfactorily indentified. ) 

Aspen. Populus tremuloides. Midu: 

Elm. Ulmus Americana, ( PI. Clayt. ) Wilhl. 

Black cherry. Pruuusserotina. E/ir. 

American Crab. Pyrus coronaria. L. 

Bitternut. Carya amara. .Uutf. 

Black Walnut. Juglans nigra. L. 

Wild Plum. Prunus Ameeicana. .U<ir.<<!i. 

White Ash. Fraximus Americana. //. 

Butternut. Juglans cinerea. L. 

Hazlenut. Corylus Americana. Wnlt. 

Forest Grape. Vitis cordifolia. Mii-h.v. 

Bittersweet. Celastrus scandens. L. 

Smooth Sumach. Rhus glabra. L. 



Bed Raspberry. Bnbus strigosus. Mirhx. 

Rose. Rosa blanda. Ait. 

Wolfberry. Symphoricarpus ocdidentalis. R. 
Br. 

Bass. Tilia Americana. L. 

Prickley Ash. Zanthoxylum Americanum. 
Mill. 

Cornel. (Dififerent species.) 

Willow. (Different species.) 

Gooseberry ( prickley.) Ribes cynosbati. L. 

Thorn. Crataegus coccinea. L. 

Hackberry. Celtis occidentalis. L. 

Sugar Maple. Acer sacchariuum. Wann. 

Cottonwood. Populus monilifera. Ait. 

Soft Maple. Acer rubruin. /.. 

Cockspur Thorn. Crstaagus Crus-galli. L. 

Slippery Elm. Ulmus fulva. Michx. 

Black Ash. Fraximus sambucifolia. Lam. 

High-bush Cranberry. Niburnum Opuvus. L. 

Choke Cherry. Prunus Virginiana. L. 

Shagbark Hickory. Crrya alba. Xutt. On 
M. L. BuUis' land in Moscow township, near the 
county line. — A. A. Huncood. ) 

Besides the foregoing, the following list em- 
braces trees that are fre<[uently seen in cultiva- 
tion in Freeborn county: 

Spruce. 

Red Cedar. Juniperus Virginiana. /.. 

Mountain Ash. Pyrus Americana. I). C. 

Balsam Poplar. Populus balsamifera. /,. Var. 
candicans. 

Lombardy Poplar, dilatata. Ail. 

Locu.st. Robinia Pseudacacia. /,. [The 
Locust dies out in Freeborn county. | 

Hackmatack. Larix Americana. .Mii-hx. 

Arbor Vitw. Thuja occidentalis. 

THE GEOLOGICAI, STBUCTUBE. 

There is not a naturrl exposure of the underly- 
ing rock in Freeborn county. Hence the details 
of its geological structure are wholly luiknown. 
It is only by an examination of outcrops in Mower 
county and in the adjoining counties of Iowa, to- 
gether with a knowledge of the general geology 
of that portion of the State, that anything 
can be known of the geology of Freeborn county. 
In the absence of actual outcrops of rock within 
the county, there are still some evidences of the 
character of rock that underlies the county, in the 
nature and position of the drift materials. There 
is, besides, a shaft that has struck the Cretaceous 



QEOLOaWAL STRUCTURE. 



267 



in the northwestern portion of the county, in ex- 
ploration of coal. 

Although the drift is heavy it lies in such posi- 
tions that it shows some changes in the surface of 
the bed rock. It is a principle pretty well estab- 
lished that any sudden great alternation in the 
rock from hardness to softness, as from a heavy 
limestone layer to a layer of erosible shales, or 
from shales to more enduring sandstone, each 
stratum having a considerable thickness, is ex- 
pressed on the drift by changes from a rough and 
rolling, more or less stony surface, to a flat and 
nearly smooth surface, or viae verita. It some- 
times happens that the non-outcropping line of 
superposition of one important formation with 
another, either above or below, can be traced 
across a wide tract of drift covered country by 
following up a series of gravel knolls or ridges 
that accompany it, or by some similar feature of 
the topography. Again, the unusual frequency 
of any kind of rock in the di'ift at a certain place, 
especially if it be one not capable of bearing long 
transportation, is pretty good evidence of the 
proximity of the parent rock to that locality. 

Applying these principles to Freeborn county, 
we find throughout the county a great many bould- 
ers of a hard, white, compact magnesian limestone , 
that have been extensively burned for quicklime. 
These attracted the attention of early settlers, and 
before the construction of the Southern Minneso- 
ta railroad.supplied aU the lime used in the county. 
Although these boulders are capable of being 
transported a great distance, their great abun- 
dance points to the existence of the source of siip- 
ply in the underlying bed-rock. In the drift also 
are frequently found pieces of lignite or Cretace- 
ous coal, which cannot be far transported by 
glacier agencies. This also indicates the existence 
of the Cretaceous lignites in Freeborn county. 
In regard to changes in the character of the 
natural surface, we see an evenly flat and prairie 
surface in the western tier of towns, and in the 
southeastern part of the county, and a hilly and 
gravelly tract of irregular shape in the central 
portion. There are two ridges or divides, formed 
superficially of drift, that occur in the central 
part of the county, one north of Albert Lea, and 
the other south of it, separated about eleven miles, 
as shown by a series of elevations from a prelimi- 
nary railroad survey by Mr. William Morin. 
What may be their directions at points further re- 



moved from Albert Lea it is not possible to state 
with certainty, but on one side they seem to trend 
toward the northwest. Indeed there seems to be 
a northwest and southeast trend to the surface 
features of Freeborn county generally. Such 
rough surfaces, and especially the ridges of drift, 
are more stony and gravelly than the fiat por- 
tions of the county. They mark the location of 
great inequalities in the upper surface of the un- 
derlying rock, the exact nature of which cannot 
be known. 

In addition to these general indications of the 
character of the rock of the county, the shaft sunk 
for coal at Freeborn, reveals the presence of the 
Cretaceous in that portion of the county, and 
examinations of the nearest exposures in the 
neighboring county of Iowa, discloses the Hamil- 
ton limestone of the Devonian age. This lime- 
stone is exactly like that found so abundantly in 
the form of boulders in Freeborn county. As the 
general direction of the drift forces was toward 
the south, and as the trend of the Hamilton in 
Iowa, according to Dr. C. A. White { see his 
map of the geology of Iowa, final Keport, 1870,) 
is toward the northwest, there is abundant reason 
for concluding that that formation also extends 
under Freeborn county. The preluninary geologi- 
cal map of the state of Minnesota, published in 
1872, indicates Freeborn county almost entirely 
underlain by the Devonian, the only exception 
being in the northwestern corner. How much 
farther toward the northwest these limestone 
boulders can be traced with equal abundance, the 
explorations of the survey have not yet revealed. 

The northwestern corner of Freeborn county 
has been regarded as underlain by a limestone of 
the age of Niagara, belonging to the Upper 
Silurian, that formation in the northwest coming 
directly below the limestones of the Devonian. 
That may be correct; but it is certain that there 
is in the neighborhood of Freeborn an area of the 
Cretaceous, which must, in that case, overlie the 
Silurian limestones. This Cretaceous area is be- 
lieved to extend north and south across the west 
end of the county, and to be roughly coincident 
with the flat and prairie portion in the western 
part, in which case it overlaps the Devonian. 

EXPLORATIONS OF COAI;. 

In common with many other places in Southern 
Minnesota, Freeborn township, in the northwestern 



268 



HISTORY i)F FREEBORN COUNTY. 



corner of the county, has famished from the drift 
pieces of cretacous lignite that resemble coal. 
These have, in a number of instances, incited ar 
dent expectations of coal, and led to the outlay of 
money in explorations. Such pieces are taken 
out in digging wells. The opinion seems to grow 
in a community where such fragments are found, 
that coal of the Carboniferous age exists in the 
rocks below. In sinking a drill for an artesian 
well at Freeborn village, very general attention 
wa.s directed to the reported occurrence of this 
coal in a regular bed, in connection with slate 
rock. This locality was carefully examined, and 
all the information gathered bearing on the sub- 
ject that could l)e found. The record of the first 
well drilled is given below, as reported by the 
gentleman who did the work: 

feet inches 

1. Soil and subsoil, clay 15 .... 

2. Blue clay 35 

3. "Conglomerated rock" (had to 

drill) 2 

4. Sand with water 5 .... 

5. Fine clay, tough, hurd to drill, with 

gravel and limestone pebbles ... 60 .... 

6. Sand with watsr 4 

7. "Slate rock," probably cretaceous 7 .... 

8. "Coal," " "54 

Total depth 127 10 

This indication of coal induced the drilling of 
another well, situated 100 feet distant, toward the 
northeast. In this the record was as follows, 
given by the same authority: 

feet inches 

1. Soil and subsoil, clay 15 .... 

1. Blue clay 33 .... 

3. "Conglomerated rock" 2 

4. Sand with water, and pieces of coal.l2 .... 

Total depth 60 2 

When the drill here reached the "conglomer- 
ated rock," it was supposed to have reached the 
"slate rock," No. 7 of the previous section. The 
amount of coal in the sand of No. 4 was also 
enough to cause it to be taken for No. 8 of the 
previous section. Hence the boring was stopped; 
and having thus demonstrated the existence of a 
coal-bed, to the satisfaction of the proprietors, the 
enterprise was pushed further in the sinking of a 
shaft. In sinking this shaft the water troubled 



the workmen so that at thirty-five it had to be 
abandoned. 

Three-quarters of a mile north of these drills a 
shaft was sunk 57 feet, but not finding the coal as 
expected, according to the developments of the 
last section above given, the explorers stopped 
here. In this shaft the overseer reports the same 
strata passed tlirough in the drift as met with in 
the first well drilled, l>ut the so called "conglome- 
rated rock" was met at a depth of 45 feet. The 
sand below the " conglomerated rock " here held 
no water, but was full of fine pieces of coal. Be- 
fore sinking a shaft at this place a drill was made 
to test the strata. These being found " all 
right " the shaft was begun. In that drill gas 
was first met. It rose up in the drill hole, and 
being ignited it Hamed up eight or ten feet with a 
roaring sound. The shaft was so near the drill 
hole that it drew off the gas gradually, allowing 
the intermixture of more air, thus preventing 
rapid burning. From this place the exploration 
was redirected to the first situation, where another 
shaft was begun. This was in search for the 
'■ lower rock," so called, or the " slate rock," sup- 
posed to overlie the " coal." Here they went 
through the same materials, shutting off the water 
in the five foot sand-bed, and 60 feet of fine clay, 
when water rose so copiously from the second 
sand-bed (No. 6 of the first section given) as to 
compell a cessation of the work. In this shaft 
were found small pieces of the same coal, all the 
way. These pieces had sharp corners and fresh 
surfaces. The total depth here was 106 feet, and 
the water seems to have been impregnated with 
the same gas as that which arose in the drill at 
the point three-fourths of a mile distant. Such 
water is also found in the well at the hotel in 
Freeborn. With sugar of lead it does not present 
the reaction.'< for sulphurated hydrogen, and the 
gas is presumed to be carbonated hydrogen. 
This account of explorations for coal is but a 
repetition of what has taken place in numerous 
instances in Minnesota. The cretaceous lignites 
have deceived a great many, and considerable ex- 
pense has been needlessly incurred in fruitless 
search for good coal. 

In the early discovery of these lignites, some 
exploration and experimentation within the limits 
of the State, were justifiable, but after the tests 
that have already been made it can pretty confi- 
dently be stated that these lignites are at 



GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE. 



269 



present of no economical value. This, not in 
ignorance of the fact that they will burn, or that 
they contain, in some proportion, all the valuable 
ingredients that characterize coal and carbonace- 
ous shales, but in the light of the competing 
prices of other fuels, the cost of mining them, and 
the comparative inferiority of the lignites them- 
selves. It they were situated in Greenland they 
would probably be pretty thoroughly explored, 
and extensively mined, and even then they would 
havea powerful competitor in the oil in use there. 

THE DRIFT. 

This deposit covers the entire county and con- 
ceals the rock from sight. It consists of the 
usual ingredients, but varies with the general 
character of the surface. In rolling tracts it is 
very stony and has much more gravel. In flat 
tracts it is clayey. It everywhere contains a great 
many boulders, and these are shown abundantly 
along the beaches of the numerous lakes of the 
county. The frequency of limestone boulders, 
and their signiflcancy, have already been men- 
tioned. Thousands of bushels of lime have been 
made from such loose boulder masses, mainly 
gathered about the shores of the lakes. In gen- 
eral the drift of Freeborn county consists of a 

glacier hard-pan, or unmodified drift. Yet, in 
some places, the upper portion is of gravel and 
sand that show all the effects of running water in 
violent currents. The beds here are oblique, and 
subject to sudden transitions from one material to 
another. At Albert Lea the following section was 



observed. It occurs just west of the center of the 
town. It covers eight feet perpendicular, and 
eight feet east and west. 

1. Earth and soil gravelly,below twenty inches. 

2. Gravel, unstratified, with considerable lime- 
stone, six inches. 

3. Stratified gravel, eighteen inches. 

4. Regular strata of coarse gravel, two feet. 

5. Unstratified. 

6. Fine sand seen two feet. 

In a gravel bank at Albert Lea, according to 
Mr. Wiliam Morin, the jaw bone of a Mastodon 
was found a number of years ago. It was sent to 
St. Paul and is supposed to be preserved. 

The average thickness of the drift in Freeborn 
county would not vary much, probably, from one 
hundred feet. In the survey of the county, con- 
siderable attention was paid to the phenomena of 
common wells, with a view to learn the nature and 
thickness of this deposit, and the following list is 
the result of notes made. 

Wells of Freebokn County. — Good water is 
generally found throughout the county, in the 
drift, at depths less than eighty feet; but some 
deep wells that occur within the Cretaceous belt, 
in the western part of the county, are spoiled by 
carburetted hydrogen. This must rise from car- 
bonaceous shales in the Cretaceous, and indicates 
the extent of that formation. Much of the infor- 
mation contained in the following tabulated list 
of wells was obtained of W. A. Higgins, well 
borer, of Albert Lea: 



OWNER'S NAME. 


Location. 


Depth 
g Feet. 


Kind of Water 


Eemarks. 


W. P. Sargent 


Sec. 29 Albert Lea 


Good 


One-half bushel of coal at 26 feet 


Geo. Stevens 


Freeborn 


47 


Carburetted . . 


Pieces of coal in the blue clay, 


T. A. Southwick.... 


" 


46 


Soft 


44 ft. of water. [26ft water. 


Ezra Sterns 


Ju'm w. of Freeborn 


30 


Good 


Found pieces of coal. 


Ezra Sterns 


t, n 


42 


ti 


" " " 


James Hanson 


Im nw. of Freeborn ... . 


50 


Carburetted . . 


(( 1, (. 


F. D. Drake 


Sec. 13, Freeborn 


90 


(( 


Water stands 5 feet from the top. 


0. U. Wescott 


Byron, Waseca 


94 


Soft 


[and gravel. 


L. C.Taylor 


6ms nw. Freeborn 


96 


Good 


Artesian : at first bringing stones 


Geo. Snyder, Jr 


2ms nw. Freeborn 


61 


Carburetted . 




A. M. Trigg 


Alden 


37 


(( 


Found pieces of coal in clay. 


H. M. Foot 


(1 


50 


Good 




John Melender 


t( 


50 


t( 


« a (t 


L. C. Taylor 


6ms nw. Freeborn 


96 


Carburetted . . 


Artesian. 


Wm. Comstock 


3ms ne Alden 


48 
125 


.< 




Chas. Ayers 


Nw. cor. Freeborn 


Bore for coal. 


John Ayers 


Trenton : . . 


142 




" " lost tools. 


T. A. Southwick.... 


Freeborn 


35 


Carburetted . . 


Blue clay— water in sand&gravel 


J. F. Jones 


Geneva 


20 


Good 


Water in quicksand. 


Nelson Kengsley . . . 


i( 


12 


Soft 


" " " 



270 



uiSToar OF frbebohn county. 



ownpk's name. 


Location. 


5€ 


1 
Kind of Water 


Remarks. 


John Farrell 


Geneva 


Vi 
12 

72 
38 
52 
25 
72 

30 
28 
7'2 
42 
:H 
28 
(i5 
28 
28 
32 
65 
44 
80 
80 
75 
40 
30 


Soft 

Good 


Water in quicksand. 

.( (( .( 

Struck gravel below the blue clay 


A. Chamberlain 

D.G.Parker 


Albert Ijea 


Dr. C.W.Ballard... 

Ja mes Barker 

C. W. Leveus 

H. Kowell 


(1 

Sec . 4, Albert Lea 

Albert Lea 


<4 
(( 
(( 

Not good 

Good 

if 

No water 

Good 

(( 

t( 

Ci 

Not Good.... 


In gravel. 

Small bed of gravel in blue clay 

In grave'. 

In gravel below the blue clay. 

Sfk bl'k clay, no sticks nor grit. 

In very fine blue sandy clay. 


W. W. Cargi'l 

Chas. Ostron 


H . Rowell 


Yellow and blue clay, then grav^l 

Gravel and sand, water in ([uick- 

" " " [sand 

Water in gravel. [rook. 

Gravelly clay, fine sandy clay, on 

Water in green sand. 
(( (f >( 

Gravel in sand, then quicksand. 


Col. S. A. Hatch.... 
Ole Knutson 


W. W. CargUl 

Geo. Topon 

And. Palmer 

Dr. A. C. Wedge... 
W. C. Lincoln 


Sec. 28, Albert Lea 

Sec. 29, 

Sec. 8 

Albert Lea 


Frank Hall 


Aldeu 


Town well 


In gravel. 

Drift clay, water in gravel. 
"Tastes like kerosene." 
Clay only. 

Lump of coal at 27 feet. 


A. W. .Tohnson 


Rev. G. W. Prescott 
Town well 




A. Palmer, Jr 


Alden 

Sec. 29, Albert Lea 



In some wells at Albert Lea a muck is struck, 
and such wells atTord a water that is unfit for use. 
This muck is reported to contain sticks, and is 
about thirty -eight or forty feet below the surface. 
It may indicate a former bed of the river, or an 
interglacial marsh, as Mr. James Geikie has ex- 
plained in Scotland. (See "The Great Ice Age.") 
It is by some called slutsh, and seems not to uni- 
formly hold sticks and leaves, but to be rather a 
fine sand of a dark color. The well-diggers call 
it (juicksaud. This indicates that it is either a 
bed of Cretaceous black clay, arenaceous, or Creta- 
ceous debris. Dr. Wedge, of Albert Lea, thinks 
the site of the city was once covered by a lake, 
and that this uliisli was its sediment; and that the 
overlying gravel, which is about thirty -eight feet 
thick, has since been thrown onto it by a later 
force, perhaps by currents. There is no doubt 
that the overlying gravel was thus deposited, 
those currents being derived from the ice of a re- 
tiring glacier. 

Wells at Geneva are generally not ov(m- twentv 
feet in depth. They also pass through a gravel 
that overlies a tjuicksaud. This village is situated 
with reference to Geneva Lake as Albert Lea is 
with Albert Lea Lake, both being at the northern 
extremities of those lakes. The phenomena of 
wells at the two places are noticeably similar, and 



in the same way different from the usual phenom- 
ena of wells throughout the county, 

At Albert Lea, gravel, about thirty feet, quick- 
sand with water, sometimes black and mucky. 

At Geneva, gravel, twelve to fifteen feet, quick- 
sand and water. 

It would seem that the history of the drift at 
Albert Lea was repeated at Geneva. These tilla- 
ges being both situated at the northern end of 
lake basins, are probably located where pre- glac- 
ial lakes existed. On all sides, both about Albert 
Lea and Geneva, the usual drift clay, hard and 
blue, is met in wells and has a thickness of about 
one hundred feet. 

MATERIATj resoukces. 

In addition to the soil, Freeborn county has 
very little to depend on as a source of material 
prosperity. As already stated, there is not a sin- 
gle exposure of the bed-rock in the county. All 
building stone and quicklime have to be im- 
ported. The former comes by the South- 
ern Minnesota railroad from Lanesboro and 
Fountain in Fillmore county, though it is very 
likely that the Shakopee stone from Mankato will 
also be introduced. The latter comes from Iowa 
largely (Mason City and Mitchell ). and from kilns 
at Mankato and Shakopee. Some building stone 



MATERIAL RESOURCES. 



271 



is also introduced into the eastei'n part of the 
county from the Cretaceous quarries at Austin. 

Lime. — At Twin Lakes three or four thousand 
bushels of lime have been burned by Mr. Carter 
from boulders picked up around the lake shores. 
This lime sold for seventy-five cents per bushel. It 
was a very fine lime, purely white. The construc- 
tion of railroads put a stop to his profits, as the 
Shakopee lime could then be introduced and sold 
cheaper. The boulders burned were almost en- 
tirely of the same kind as those that are so nu- 
merous in McLeod county. They are fine, close 
grained, nearly white, on old weathered surfaces, 
and of a dirty cream color on the fractured sur- 
faces. They very rarely show a little graniilar or 
rougher texture, like a maguesian limestone, 
though this grain is intermixed with the closer 
grain . They hold but few fossils. There are a 
few impressions of shells, and by some effort a 
globular mass of a course Pavusitoid coral was 
obtained. 

Besides the above, which are distinguished as 
"white limestone," there are also a few bluish 
green limestone boulders. One of these, which 
now lies near Twin Lakes, is about seven feet long, 
by five or six feet broad, its thickness being at 
least two and one-half feet. It has been blasted 
into smaller pieces tor making quicklime; but 
nearly all of it yet lies in its old bed, the frag- 
ments being too large to be moved. This stone 
is also very close-grained. It is heavier than tlie 
other and more evidently crystalline. It holds 
small particles of pyrites. It is not porous, nor 
apparently bedded. On its outer surface it Invks 
like a withered dim'ite, and it would be taken, at 
a glance, for a boujder of that kind. It is said to 
make a very fine lime. Several hundred bushels 
of lime were formerly burned at Geiieva. 

The clay used, which is about five feet below 
the surface, is fine and of a yellowish ashy color. 
It is underlain by gravel. The clay itself locally 
passes into a sand that looks like "the bluff." At 
other places it is a common, fine clay-loam, with 
a few gravel-stones. There is but little delete- 
rious to the brick in the clay, although some of 
the brick are, on fractured surfaces, somewhat 
spotted with poor mixing, and with masses of 
what appear like concretions. The clay itself is 
apparently massive, but it is really indistinctly 
bedded, rarely showing a horizontal or oblique, 
thin layer of yellow sand. In other places the 



clay shows to better advantage, and is plainly 
bedded. It contains sticks, the largest observed 
being a little over half an inch in diameter. These 
sticks ore plainly endogenous in cellular structure, 
but have a bark. They are not oxydized so as to 
be brittle, but are flexible still, with small branches 
like rootlets hanging to them. It is uncertain 
whether they belong to the deposit, or are the 
roots of vegetation that grew on surface since the 
drift. There are no boulders of any size in the 
drift; but a few granitoid gravel-stones. 

Brick was formerly made at Geneva, and at a 
point two and one-half miles east of that place. 
At Geneva the clay was taken from the bank of 
Allen Creek, about eighteen inches lielow the sur- 
face. It was a drift clay, with small pebbles. 
That used two and one-half miles east of Geneva 
was of the same kind. In both places snnd had 
to be mixed with the clay. About Geneva sand is 
abundant, taken from the gravel and sand knolls, 
and from the banks of the creek. 

Peat. — In Freeborn county there is an abund- 
ance of peat. The most of the marshes, of which 
some are large, are peat-bearing. In this respect 
the county differs very remarkably from those in 
the western portion of the same tier of counties 
which were specially examined for peat in the 
season of 1873, and which, being entirely desti- 
tute of native trees, are most in need of peat for 
domestic fuel. 

The peat of the county is generally formed en- 
tirely of herbaceous plants, thougli the marshes 
are often in the midst of oak-o])enings. The 
peat-moss constitutes by far the larger portion. 

There is no observed difference in peat-produc- 
ing qualities between the marshes of the prairie 
districts and those of the more rolling woodland 
tracts of the county. 

.\t Alden village, in the midst of the open prai- 
rie, the peat of a large marsh rose to the surface 
and floated, when, for certain purposes, the marsh 
was flooded. The water now stand.s ten feet deep 
lielow the floating peat, which is about three feet 
thick. 

At Freeborn, peat has been taken out on John 
Scovill's land. Here it is eight feet thick, two 
rods from the edge, and it is probably much 
thicker toward the center of the marsh. That 
below the surface of the water now standing in 
the drain is too pulpy to shovel out; and after 
being dipped out and dried on boards, it is cut 



272 



HISTORY OF FREEnoliN COUNTY. 



into blocks and hauled to town. That above the 
water is more fibrous, and can be taken out with 
a spade and cut into convenient blocks. Yet the 
level of the water varies, and that datum is not 
constant. It appears as if there were here a stratum 
of more fibrous peat that separates from the low- 
er, about twenty inches thick, and floats above it 
at certain times In tlie peat at this place a 
sound Elk horn was taken out at the depth of 
six feet. 

There is a large peat marsh in section eleven, 
Hay ward, owned by non-residents. 

coaij mining. 

As a kind of supplement to this account of the 
natural history and the geology of the county, 
an account of the " Freeborn Consolidated Coal 
and Mining Company " is added, for, notwith- 
standing the discouraging opinion of the State 
geologist, who, of course, deals with facts as he 
knows and stes them, with few conjectures as to 
what is not potent, there are men of discrimina- 
tion, intelligence, and means, who believe there is 
valuable mineral there, and propose to test the 
question. 

In November, 1879, Mr. E. B. Clark com- 
menced prospecting for coal, and employed F. D. 
Drake to put down a four inch mining pipe. Mr. 
Drake had been prospecting more or less at Free- 
born for five years. At one time, in connection 
with L. T. Scott and E. D. Rogers, he had par- 
tially organized a coal conpany and taken leases 
of several hundred acres of laud in that vicinity 
for coal purposes. This comjiany bored in sev- 
eral places as far down as the second vein of 
water, about 100 feet, where they struck quick- 
sand, and not having any tubing could go no 
farther; oon8e([Uently, when they bored the last 
time they knew no more about the existence of 
coal than when they bored at first. 

A man named A. Short, from La Crosse, Wis- 
consin, came to Freeborn and leased about 2,000 
acres of laud for jirospecting purposes, worked a 
short time to make his leases hold good, and left. 
This was in 187t. After it became evident that 
he would do no more towards developing what 
coal or other substances might be there, Mr. E. 
B. Clark bought his interest in the leases, and in 
the fall of 1879, together with E. G. Perkins and 
W. W. Cargill of La Crosse, commenced pros- 
pecting, and hired Mr. Drake to put down the 
pipe. He not having had any experience in sink- 



iog such wells did not start the bore plumb, and 
after expending a large amount of labor, first by 
Drake and then by Mr. P. Morse, of Wells, and 
Geo. Cross, of Freeborn, the work in that well had 
to be abandoned in consequence of trouble in the 
fall of 1880. In April, 1881, Mr. E. B. Clark, 
together with E. G. Perkins and W. W. Cargill, 
organized the Freeborn Consolidated Coal and 
Mining Company, and in July following held its 
first meeting for election of officers, since which 
time there has been developed a vein of gypsum, 
eight feet thick, which is considered by experts to 
be a sure indication of coal. The company will 
soon sink a .shaft to the gypsum, and mine the 
same while they sink the shaft on down. The 
gypsum is 11.5 feet below the surface in the pres- 
ent well, as well as in the well put down in 1881; 
in the former well they went through a vein of 
mineral, supposed to be Galena, which lies about 
130 feet below the surface. Experts who have 
been there generally concede that with the many 
indications found in the locality there must be 
large quantities of lead deposits underlaying the 
gypsum. The company held its annual meeting 
at Alden, where the general office is located, on 
the .31st of July, 1882, at which time the follow- 
ing officers were elected: 

President, L. T. Walker; Secretary, E. B.Clark; 
Treasurer, O. S. Gilmore; Superintendent, E. B. 
Clark. 

Directors: L. T. Walker, J. Goward, O. S. Gil- 
more, N. P. Jacobson, E. B. Clark, A. K. Walker, 
C. K. Clark. 

Great credit is due, and universally conceded to 
Mr. E. B. Clark, whose zeal and untiring energy 
and perseverance is the moving power through 
which all the present developments have been 
made, and in all future operations he will, in all 
probability, be prominently identified with what 
we hope will be the successful termination of fur- 
ther efforts. 

When prospecting, blue clay is found about 
fifteen feet from the surface, interspersed with 
pieces of coal and soapstone, slate, sulphur balls, 
and gas in abut: dance, as well as oil. When a 
distance of forty-five to fifty feet from the surface 
is reached, a vein of water is found in all places 
except one, in which dry sand was found, and a 
vein of gas came in so strong that it raised the 
rods being used for boring several feet. The 
men at work supjjosed they had struck a fiowing 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 



273 



vein of water by the noise down in the well, a 
roaring, gurgling sound being heard. Mr. E. D. 
Rogers, who smokes occasionally, remarked that 
he would take a smoke, and scratched a match up- 
on the bowl of his pipe; this ignited the gas 
which was the cause of all the noise, and it was 
thought by those present that a blaze the full size 
of the tube, which was six inches, shot up in the 
air about fifteen feet and gradually settled down 
to about six feet. It burned for an hour or two 
when it was smothered out by placing a sod over 
the hole. For several weeks afterward it was vis- 
ited by people from the surrounding country, who 
would remove the sod and apply a match to see it 
burn. This vein of gas was found at the same 
depth that a vein of water is usually found in 
other localities where boring has been done, and 
water thus found is strongly impregnated with 
gas; in some places so much so that it is not fit 
for use, A tin pail was lost in one well and taken 
out in a few days after covered with a black greasy 
substance that could not be removed until sub- 
jected to a hard scouring with soap and sand. 
Coal has been found in every bore put down far 
enough to reach the blue clay. Mr. L. T. Scott 
says he found in a well put down on his place a 
piece of coal the length of a spade and handle, 
and about as large square as his spade blade was 
wide, which is the largest piece yet found. All 
those indications, with the gypsum found, are sup- 
posed to point to coal when a sufficient depth is 
reached. 



CHAPTEB XLVI. 



EABLT EXPLORATIONS COL. ALBERT LEA EARLI- 
EST SETTLEMENT EARLY INCIDENTS RUBLE'S 

LETTER FROM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN GENERAL 

REMARKS. 

In March, 1857, a letter was written to Samuel 
M. Thompson by Col. Albert M. Lea, in relation 
to the Black Hawk purchase, and so much of this 
autogram, as relates to the early history of Free- 
born county, will be transcribed here : 

Knoxville, Tenn., March 6th, 1857. 
Dear Sir — Your favor of the 26th of January 
reached me a few days since, and I may as well 
confess that I was both surprised and gratified by 
it. You ask for information about " Lake Albert 
Lea." In the year 1835, being a Lieutenant in 
18 



the Twelfth Regiment, U. S. Dragoons, stationed 
at Fort Des Moines, now Montrose, on the Iowa 
side of the Mississippi, I accompanied an expedi- 
tion from that part of the Sioux country, com- 
posed of three companies of troops under Lieut. 
Col. Kearney, afterwards a General and killed at 
Chantilly, Sept. 1st, 1862. The detachment 
marched up the tablelands laying east of the Des 
Moines River to the "neutral grounds," and then 
turning more eastwardly crossed the Iowa and 
Cedar Rivers and struck the Mississippi at Wa- 
basha's village, below Lake Pej^in, and thence, 
taking a west course, touched some of the tribu- 
taries of the St. Peter's River, struck the Des 
Moines above the upper forks, and then followed 
the general course of the stream back to the fort. 

Although during this long march I was the 
only officer attached to the command, I sketched 
the whole route topographically ,taking the courses 
with a pocket compass, and computing the dis- 
tances by the time and rate of marching. On the 
return to quarters I made out a map of the country 
traversed, accompanied by a memoir which was 
sent by Col. Kearney to the Adjutant General, 
and the next year, having obtained additional 
material, I made a more full majj, and wrote an 
extended description of the country, which was 
published by H. S. Tanner, of Philadelphia, in 
18 mo. form, under the title of "Notes on the 
Iowa District of Wisconsin Territory." I have 
one copy of this work that I will send you. 

On our march westward from Wabasha's villagt 
we passed through that beautiful region of lakes, 
open woods, and prairie, in which the head waters 
of the Blue Earth and Cedar Rivers intertwine, 
and having passed one breezy day across a deep 
creek, connecting, as we supposed, two of these 
lakes, we came out upon an elevated promontory 
descending rather abruptly to the edge of the 
most beautiful sheet of water that we had ever 
seen. We stopped for an hour on that exquisite 
spot, and took a sketch of the lake as I could from 
that point. In making out my map, the form I 
gave the lake, but which the lithographer did not 
preserve, suggested to me the idea of a military 
chapeau, and I gave it that name. 

In 1841, when Nicollet was making out his 
map of the region between the Mississippi and the 
Missouri rivers, he filled in a large part of it by 
copying mine, and in acknowledgement to me for 
such material, gave my name to the pretty piece 



274 



iiisniHY OF frkkhojin coLwry. 



of water I had called "Lake Chapeau" and which 
I had described to him somewhat enthusiastically. 
Several years since a friend sent me a slip from a 
newspaper containing an extract from a letter 
written by some one in lowa.stating that the writer 
had been all over where Lake Albert Loa ought 
to be, but fovind no sign of such water, and I con- 
cluded that either I had failed to give it the pro- 
per position on the map, or it had been so mis- 
placed in the transfer to Nicollefs map, that the 
original would never again ba recognized. Hence 
my surprise and gratification on the receipt of 
your letter giving me the first information that 
my pet lake was not lost. * * -i; * 

Very respectfully your ol)edient servant, 

Albert Milleb Lea. 

On referring to the map of Lieut. Lea, it is 
found that the Lake now called Albert Lea was 
originally Fox Lake, and is not the one originally 
called Albert Lea by Nicollet. The lake Lieut. 
Lea named Lake Chapeau, and changed by Nicol- 
let, is that beautilul sheet of water, a short dis- 
tance west of the village, known as White's Lake, 
near the residence of A. W. White. 

The early settlers found, when they arrived at 
the camping spot of Lieut. Lea Und hia command 
near White's Lake, an inscription out on a tree 
which was deciphered as " Lake Aullolin." By 
whom this was cut, is very uncertain, as it oould 
hardly have been done by Lea, or any of his party, 
because he gave the name of Lake Chapeau to 
this channing sheet of water, and the name Albert 
Lea was proposed some years afterwards by 
Nicollet, as already mentioned. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

Up to the spring of 1853, as far as known, no 
white man liad planted a home in this county, now 
80 well filled with a thriving population. The ex- 
pansive prairies and beautiful groves bordering 
the placid lakes and beautiful streams, up to that 
time were in a state of repose, and only occupied 
by animal life and perhaps a few of the aborigin- 
al race, which was in a condition of senility, 
ready to depart and give place to a superior race. 

At the time above mentioned, Ole Gulbrandson, 
whose name reveals his nationality, with his 
family, entered in and took possassion of a moder- 
ate portion of this goodly land in section thirty- 
throe in the township of Hhell Rock, and rolled 
up some logs in the form of a cabin, whicli still 



stands on the farm of P. J. Miller, who is himself 
a well known old settler. Mr. Gulbrandson went 
to work, and when the next settler came along, 
two years afterwards, he had provided for him- 
self and family, and could also siijiply liis neigh- 
bors witli the necessities of life. A passing notice 
should be made of the courage of this man, to 
thus plant himself so far beyond the confines of 
civilization, wliere, for aught he knew, they were 
liable to be devoured by wild boasts, and where 
the .savages might have blotted him and his 
araily from the face of the earth, with no one to 
follow on the avenging trail. And some credit is 
also due the Indians themselves, that thoy did not 
molest him as they certainly were aware of his 
presence. In the fall of 1854, a daughter was 
bom in their little log house, which must have 
been the very first, whatever rival claims may be 
put in. 

In the early spring of 1855, Mr. William Rice 
came straggling along and secured a place in 
section eight in the same township, near where 
Joseph Landis now resides. In June Mr. Rice 
was followed by his family and his wife's relatives 
with families, and they placed their claims whore 
Shell Rock City now is, and during that summer 
settlements were made in various parts of the 
county. 

LyBrand and Thompson located within the 
township of Albert Lea and laid out as a town 
site the village of St Nicholas, which was the fir.st 
of this brood that was soon hatched out in such 
rapid succession. Here the first store was opened 
with a large stock of goods, a hotel, a saw-mill, a 
blacksmith shop, and other improvements rapidly 
followed, and the impression went out that this 
was be the great metropolis of this section, the 
energy of its founders, with the wealth of Mr. Ly 
Brand, encouraging this idea. But to-day not a 
vestige of its greatness remains, not a relic can be 
picked up as a remainder of its ini|)rovement. 
Oblivion has marked -it for its own, and it remains 
only as a recollection. 

In the fall of 1855, Lorenzo Merry and George 
S. Ruble located and founded Albert Lea, the 
shire town of the county. Geneva was also settled 
this year, and also Freeborn Lake and Moscow. 

In September Mrs. Fanny Andrews, the wife of 
William Andrews, a prominent old settler, died, 
and this must have been the first death in the 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 



275 



county, which was after a brief two months' resi- 
dence. 

In November Willie Andrews, son of Oliver 
and Mary Andrews, was ushered into the light of 
this world, in the township of Hayward, his 
parents having come the July previous. This 
was the first son l)orn, and the second child. 

We have thus rapidly sketched the earliest set- 
tlements in the county, and a continuation of 
when the various locations were peopled, will be 
found in the several town histories. 

Hon. A. H. Bartlett, in his old settlers' address, 
thus speaks of events at this period : 

"The Territory of Minnesota had been organ- 
ized, and its delegate to the National congress, 
Hon. H. H. Sibley, had been admitted to a seat in 
the National halls of legislation, and Freeborn 
county had been organized into a voting precinct, 
for the election of Territorial officers, and on the 
3d day of November, A. D. 1856, the first elec- 
tion in the county was held at the house of Oliver 
Andrews, situated on the town line, between the 
townships of Hayward and Shell Rock. Said 
spot being the established voting place in this 
precinct. At this election the entire voting pop- 
ulation of the county turned out, and a total of 
forty -four votes were polled. Post-offices were 
now established in various parts of the county, 
mail facilities being supplied by private enter- 
prise from Mitchell, in Mitchell county, Iowa. On 
the 3d day of December, A. D. 1856, William 
Rice ( the second settler in Freeborn county ) , 
while carrying the mail across the broad and 
bleak prairie, lying between the Cedar and Shell 
Rock rivers, was caught in a severe snow storm 
and lost his way. He wandered around over the 
trackless prairie, without shelter or protection 
from the storm, iintil he froze to that extent that 
he died of his injuries some three or four days 
afterwards. This calamity was followed in quick 
succession, on the 20th day of the same month, 
by Byron Packard and Charles Walker ( a part of 
the company who laid out and founded Shell 
Rock City) being caught in a terrific storm on 
the same broad prairie, while hauling a steam 
boiler to its destination at Shell Rock, and both 
perished from the severity of the storm and the 
e.xtreme cold. Their bodies, frozen stiff and cold 
in deatb, were found four days afterwards, lying 
upon the frozen crust of the deep snow. Their 
bodies were carried to Shell Rock, and there bur- 



ied upon the town site they had so lately helped to 
lay out and form. No relatives were there to at- 
tend their funeral obsequeis and mourn their sad 
fate, yet sorrowing and bereaved friends and 
brother pioneers, composing the then entire com- 
munity, assisted in performing the last duty to 
the untimely departed. No preacher of the Gos- 
pel could be found in the county to speak words 
of consolation to sorrowing and bereaved friends 
and associates, and our friend Jacob Hostetter, 
one of Freeborn county's earliest pioneers, feel- 
ingly and eloquently addressed the early pioneers 
there gathered, upon the sadness and suddenness 
of their bereavement, upon the mysterious and 
inscrutable ways of an overshadowing providence, 
in which no one could tell why, in the prime of 
vigorous manhood, when hope, the ministry of 
life is most buoyant, and future expectations in 
the coming life of usefulness is most prominent, 
that a mysterious providence should step in with 
its dread mandates, and the brightest and most 
promising life should be consigned to oblivion 
and the grave. These sad bereavments and 
others which happened in the county about that 
time, caused by the unparalleled severity of the 
memorable winter of A. V). 1856, cast a sad and 
sorrowing gloom over the young settlement of 
Freeborn county. Some few of the settlers be- 
came disheartened and discouraged, and early the 
following spring returned to their former eastern 
homes." 

About the first judicial proceedings in the 
county were in January, 1857, in which Henry 
Boulton was plaintiff, and C. T. Knapp, defendant, 
and the case came before William Andrews, who 
must have been the first Justice of the Peace. Mr. 
Bartlett was counsel for both parties, who were 
beaten by the decision of the court. 

At Shell Rock City the first schoolhouse in the 
county was built and finished in the style of civil- 
ization, on the 18th of August, 1857, and immedi- 
ately thereafter a common school therein was put 
in full blast, with Miss Emily Streeter as teacher, 
being the first school put in operation in the 
county. Great interest was taken by the early 
settlers in everything pertaining to a civilized life. 
Churches were organized and religious services 
held in the schoolhouses and private dwellings of 
the inhabitants. Thus the nucleus was formed 
from which our present proud position in the arts 
and sciences, moral and religious intelligence, and 



276 



HrSTORT OF FUEEBORN COL'NTY. 



in short everything that pertains to a civilized and 
intelligent people, has emanated. 

The first permanent_bridge!.built in the county 
was at Shell Kock, I)y subscription, the document 
bearing date on the 9tli of June, 1857. The sums 
given were from two to twenty-five dollars, each 
designating as to whether it was to be paid in 
money, work, or material. The men who signed 
the paper were: Edward P. Skinner, A. M. Burn- 
ham, A. H. Bartlett, F. L. Cutler, G. Cottrell. J. 
W. Smith, C. W. Phillips, Lars Severson, David 
L. Phillips, Almon M. Cottrell, C. T. Kuapp, 
Jaraes LafF, I. S. Homing, George Gardner, Wil- 
liam Andrews, Robert Budlong, Thomas Budlong, 
C. Tarbell, E. S. Anderson, William C. Ellsworth, 
Elijah Young, James Andrews, George P. Holmes, 

J. M. Sannes, R. I. Frank, Swarthout. J. 

Hostetter, Jacob LyBrand, and S. M. Thompson. 

Bids were received until June 15th, when it was 
begun and built by Dr. Burnham in nine days. 
The whole sum subscribed was S277. There can 
be no question as to these men being old settlers. 
Some of them are still living in the county, and 
some are in other counties or States, and many of 
them are well situated. In relation to the name 
of the founder of St. Nicholas, while it is said 
that he subseciuently wrote it differently, his sig- 
ature here is "Jacob LyBrand." 

At an early day there was considerable trouble 
to have legal documents executed. Magistrates 
were often scores of miles apart, iind getting mar- 
ried involved difficulties we can hardly compre- 
hend in these days. The first trouble arose from 
the scarcity of marriagable women, but having 
secured that indespensible pre-requisite, the trou- 
ble of finding a minister or a justice to legalize 
the union was often most exasperating to the vic- 
tims of "loves young dream." 

Mr. McReynolds had not been ordained, and 
therefore was not vested by the prospective State 
of Minnesota with authority to pronounce single 
ladies and gentlemen, husbands and wives, with 
the admonition that no man should put them 
asunder. But he was not iinfrequently called 
upon to perform this service, and on one occasion 
he was hailed as he passed a log house, on the 
way to fill an appointment, and requested to step 
as he came back and "join two hearts that beat as 
one." Several men were then just starting out to 
shoot some ducks for the wedding feast. This was 
near Bear Lake, and Mr. McRevnolds on his re- 



turn brought a Justice, and the happy pair were 
duly and legally started in the journey of life 
hand in hand; and bo the society papers the next 
week might have read, "Marriage in high life — On 
the 7th inst., at the home of the bride's parents, 
by Frederick McOall, Esquire, assisted by Rev. 
Isaac W. McReynolds, Mr. J. H. Bluberson to 
Miss Mary Jane Clark, no cards. 

A great many strories are told about securing 
timber by borrowing it when the owner was away, 
and while the stories that are told are for the 
most part fabrications, a large number of instances 
might be related that will never see the light. 
Dr. Burnham says that he owned thirteen acres of 
land near Albert Lea, and cut a lot of logs and 
hauled them out on the flat, and every one mys- 
teriously disappeared. His idea was that the 
business men of Albert Lea thought it would be 
a good joke, after beating him for the county seat, 
to compel him involuntarily to furnish timber for 
the county buildings. 

After the saw-mil] was in operation, Mr. 
Sheehan, who was a robust young man, was told 
by Mr. Ruble that he had a fine yoke of cattle, 
and if Sheehan would take them and haul in logs 
from where ever he could find them, they would 
go shares on the lumber after it was sawed out. 
So the young man went to work and did a good 
business, and when the settlement came in the 
spring, Sheehan was not quite satisfied nnth the 
lumber turned over to his share, and entered a 
mild protest at the inequality of the division: but 
Ruble politely invited him to take that or noth 
ing. Seeing no method of redress he accepted 
his allotment , which having secured, he got even 
by remarking "well Mr. Ruble you are not so far 
ahead as you may think, for I got every one of 
those logs off of your own land." This incident 
is related on account of its intrinsic merit, for both 
"George" and "Tim" declare that nothing of the 
kind ever happened. 

George S. Ruble was one of the settlers of 1855. 
Tlie first time he visited Freeborn ccmnty was in 
.June, 1854, and slept under a tree near one of the 
little lakes in Albert Lea. At that time there was 
not a house in the county. The few people here 
lived in wagons, happy and contented, at least 
for a time. 

At the sixth annual reunion of the old settlers, 
a letter was received from Mr. Ruble, who was 
then at Lookout Mountain, Tenneesee, and as it 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 



277 



relates to the early history, some portion of it 
will be printed here. 

"When, for the first time, I saw the country, I 
loved it well enough to make it my future home, 
with a few others to denote the energies of my 
life, to redeem it from its wild state, and help to 
lay the stepping stones into the garden spot of the 
Northwest. As I look around upon the general 
improvements, in both city and country, I con- 
clude that I have never seen them equalled, and 
can scarcely realize that the days of my absence 
have witnessed it all. Those who have read "The 
Mysteries of Metropolisville " will understand my 
feelings in 1855, for I, of course, like hundreds of 
others, had sought the West to find a city des- 
tined in the future to l)e the "great business cen- 
ter." You certainly will remember the little 
towns that sprung up all around, and that in a 
few years, like Metropolisville, in Rice county, 
were compelled to yield to the force of circum- 
stances, for they could not all be County Seats, 
and in this vitality alone seemed centered. I had 
come with my head full of towns, and with this 
all absorbing idea began hunting immediately for 
desirable locations. With such material at hand, it 
took me but a short time to find " just what I 
wanted. Having made all arrangements I left, 
and in the fall returned with my family and a 
gang of men, and began at once the erection of 
the old saw-mill, which was, by the way, when 
completed, the finest frame building ever erected 
in Minnesota. About this time St. Nicholas was 
founded, under the chief auspices of Jacob Ly 
Brand, as doubtless many will remember. One 
day I went and looked over the jsosition, and 
came to the conclusion that the situation of St. 
Nicholas was in every way equal to Albert Lea, and 
the mill power was ever so much better than tbe 
one I was improving. I therefore made a propo- 
sition to Ly Brand to unite town interests and in- 
fluences, build the mill, procure the County Seat, 
and make the future metropolis at St. Nicholas, 
instead of Albert Lea. My proposition was re- 
ceived with indignation by that confident individ- 
ual, who informed me that I might abandon my 
town if I chose to do so, at any rate he proposed 
to have both mill and County Seat at his place, 
and did not propose to have any partnership 
about it, either. So I left him and went my way. 
The intervening years tell the story with its re- 
sults. Some may rem >mber tlie dances and very 



good entertainments we enjoyed for a short time 
at this point, at the hotel, which, like the one at 
Itasca, the old settlers will all remember, has long 
since been removed. In relation to Itasca, it 
should be remembered that it was the strongest 
opponent in the County Seat contest, and it was 
at one time hard to tell what the result would be. 
So the saw-mill progressed. I still have in my 
possession the old day book used in the transac- 
tion of this business, and I prize it as a choice 
relic. The first entry is as follows : 

Albert Lea, Oct. 27, 1855. 
Lewis Osgood, Dr. 

To cash given him by Willford in advance 

for work on mill $30 . 00 

Saxon C. Roberts, Dr. 

To cash for work $6 . 00 

One half pound tobacco 20 

One box caps 12 J^ 

One comb 12J^ 

16.45 
These were the first book entries of business 
done here. Two years later this entry appears: 

Oct. 28, 1857. 
I. T. Adrianne, Dr. 

To goods bought of A. B. Webber, as per 
bill !li!1.50 

Webber was our first Attorney, and poor Adri- 
anne came to a sad end. Under the same date 
was a charge to the printing office for seventeen 
and one half pounds of nails at 10 cents per 
pound, $1.75. The book runs up to May, 1859, 
and almost the last charge is : 

Town of Albert Lea, Dr. 

To 60 feet of plank $1.75 

Now, as I fail to find any credit, I think that 
the town still owes me that bill, but I might be 
induced to sign a receipt. 

On the fly leaf I find this memorandum: 
"Swineford and Gray arrived in Albert Lea on the 
28th of March, 1857." Albert Lea was named not 
long after I arrived. Merry, WUlford, myself, 
and others were sitting in a tent one evening, and 
then and there the present name was decided up- 
on, and the handsome li.ttle city with its peculiarly 
odd name has attained as wide-spread popularity 
as any place of its size in the country, and it is 
justly entitled to it. The principal object of the 
meeting in the tent was to make application for a 
Post-ofBce, and the name for it was arrived at af- 
ter considerable discussion, when at my sugges- 



278 



HISrORY OF FREKBOliN CUUNTT. 



tion, Albert Lea was finally chosen, with Mr. 
Merry as Postmaster. How many of us will re- 
member our first (lance in the old log house, with 
Charley Colby for our musician, and how we all 
enjoyed it. Calico was in demand then, and I 
venture to say that not a single lady complained 
of some awkward booby's treading on her train. 
It is true the old roughly hewn plank floor was 
not as smooth as the waxed affairs over which the 
dancers of the present day now glide, but it was 
the best the country afforded, and all participat- 
ing had the good sense to appreciate the situation 
and find hearty enjoyment in the afTairs, as they 
then existed. 

So also we remember the first fourth of July 
celebration, followed by the dance at the log 
house now standing on lot four, block twelve. In 
this same house old Uncle McReynolds, in his 
plain, earnest manner would expound to us the 
gospel, and always found an attentive and apj)re- 
ciative audience. In this house also was taught 
our first school, and I doubt not that many 
persons who have come to man's estate in these 
later years, have children as old as they them- 
selves were when they attended our first school with 
Lucy Parker for a teacher. So will many re- 
member the school that followed, taught in Clark's 
old log store room on Clark street. Certain I am, 
that the teacher of that school, if present, will re- 
member it. * * * 

On the occasion of oiir first celebration, our 
first liberty pole wsis raised near where Brown's 
bank now is, and a view of it was obstructed in 
no direction by buildings at that time. During 
those times we had a few old-fashioned camp, 
meetings over on what is now known as Ballard's 
Point, and the number that attended satisfied the 
faithful that our country was fast peopling. * * 

Long years of plenty and prosperity could 
never obliterate from the minds of the old settlers 
of Freeborn county the days when hunger and 
want were daily in sight. No money to buy with 
and nothing to buy if money was plenty. Our 
only possessions were health and energy, with a 
determination to find in the end better days. 

How we all looked forward to the completion of 
the saw-miU, with a longing intensified by in- 
adequate house accommodations and the excite- 
ment on the day of starting was intense. After 
that got in operation it was found necessary to 
have a grinding aj)paratus also, and the old 



iron com cracker was then added. How quick- 
ly the mill sprung into popularity. Grists from 
all parts of the country came pouring in, and 
what grists they were, ranging from four quarts 
to two bushels, and usually far from first quaUty, 
not unfrequeutly being half rotten. I well re- 
member one man who came on foot fifteen miles 
with a little less than a peck of corn in his grist; 
to this, instead of taking toll, was added two 
(juarts extra. On his return home some one re- 
marked about the smallness of his grist, whereupon 
they were informed that Ruble had stolen three- 
fourths of it while grinding. There is no doubt 
that the old corn cracker is entitled to member- 
ship in the old settlers' association. 

Not a few will remember the big seine knitted 
by the old man ^\'ard, and the mighty hauls, we 
made with it below the dam. I well remember 
one haul made by us that filled a common wagon 
box. Suckers were largely in the majority sand- 
wiched thinly with pickerel. Suckers and milk 
were the staples, with a scanty allowance of corn 
bread for desert. Hard fare it seems now, but 
providence gave us an appetite to enjoy even that, 
and I think I am safe in saying that those days 
witnessed some of the happiest ones in the history 
of Freeborn county. 

The years '58 and '59 might be called the 
"sucker period." When I came, in July, 1855, 
there was no house in the county. Bill Rice, 
Cottrell, Gardner, and Hostetter were living in 
their wagons. While at Freeborn Lake I found 
Miller and Bickford camping out. When I star- 
ted for St. Paul, in the winter of 1856-57, to do 
some County Seat log rolling, which was not al- 
together useless, I found it necessary to go 
down to Merry's Ford in Iowa, on the Cedar 
Kiver, then strike the Austin road. From Austin 
I went toChatfield, thence up to Red Wing,thence 
up the Mississippi River on the ice to St. Paul. 
The same circuitous route was followed in March, 
on my return. A few days later, with my wife 
and son C. N., then a lad of five years, I went to 
Geneva around by the Iowa route, and brought 
in E. C. Stacy, S. N. Frisbie, and Wm. Andrews, 
the three Commissioners appointed by Governor 
Gorman to organize Freeborn county. They met 
in the old log house situated on what was known 
for years as the "Island" and performed the work 
for which they had been appointed, and the 
county was organized with your humble servant 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 



279 



as the first sheriff and tax collector. The bill to 
organize the county was rolled through in oppos. 
itiou to Morton S. Wilkinson, Ramsey, Emmett 
Smith, Brisbin, and others, and perhaps to its 
early passage Freeborn owes much of its advance- 
ment and prosperity. 

Upon my arrival last month, as the train passed 
behind the woods into full view ot our little city, 
f could scarcely realize, as I looked upon the 
church spires rising above the town, and the 
other many evidences of a healthy growth and 
prosperity, that this was the same place I had 
visited twenty-tive years before, and found with- 
out even a wagon road to mark a degree in civil- 
ization. But though I did not then exactly lo- 
cate a railroad, shortly after, when our town had 
been located, with a Post-oflice and a hotel, I be- 
gan to feel the necessity of a railroad, and the idea 
settled into conviction, that at some future day 
not so far distant, we would have it, and I am go- 
ing to do myself the credit to say that in that 
position I was nearly alone, for when I consulted 
A. B. Webber, for whose opinions we entertained 
much respect, he laughed and said, "Why Ruble, 
you are crazy on the subject of All)ert Lea, and 
are constantly imagining all sorts of impossible 
things about it ; you will never live to see a railroad 
in Albert Lea. But you see Webber was mistaken, 
as well as the others who, becoming dissatisfied, 
sold their property at a sacrifice and left, or what 
was worse, went away at a period when they 
should have stayed, leaving property here to the 
tender manipulation of those left behind." 

After some general reflections Mr. Ruble closed 
his admirable letter with the hope that the meet- 
ing of the old settlers might be a source of pleasure 
and a harbinger of many more equally enjoyable 
in the years to come. 

GENERAL BEMABKS. 

To any one who has lived in an old community, 
there is something of surprise and admiration in 
the remarkable transition from an expanse of wild- 
ness, solitude, and natural helplessness, to a living 
civilization; from barbarism to enlightenment, as 
presented in this region, which, within the remem- 
brance of the present generation has sprung 
from an unproductive domain into towns and 
cities equipped and enriched with all that makes 
life desirable. This wonderful change has been 
simply marvelous. 

The pioneers of this whole region were partic- 



ularly fortunate in their contact with the Indians. 
The scenes of the massacre, which began with 
the planting of the English colonies in Virginia 
and Massachusetts, and moved with the advancing 
civilization in a crimson line along the frontier 
with the most heart-rendering atrocities, seem to 
have stojiped at the Mississippi, although the 
terrible Sioux were reputed second to no others in 
bloodthirstiness, leaving this section in peace and 
quietness, to crop out, however, in all its original 
fierceness to the west of us in 1862, at that terri- 
ble Sioux massacre so forcibly depicted in the 
preceeding pages of this work. 

Although the tomahawk and scalping-knife 
were not a constant menace to the early comers, 
it must not be imagined that there was not toil, 
privation, cold, and hunger to undergo, for there 
was absolutely nothing in these wilds of Minne- 
sota, except the intrinsic merit of the location, to 
attract people from their more or less comfortable 
homes in the East, or on the other continent, from 
whence so many came. Those who first Rrrived 
were inspired with hope, which indeed " springs 
entemal in the liuman hooiii; ' but they were re- 
garded by their friends, who were left behind, as 
adventui'ers, soldiers of fortune, who, if they got 
through alive would certainly never be able to re- 
turn, as they would surely be anxious to do, un- 
less they were particularly fortunate. They were 
a sturdy race, who realized the inequalities of 
the struggles in the old States or Countries, 
where humanity on the one hand, claiming "the 
inaleinable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of aappiness;" and on the other hand the accum- 
ulations ot labor in vast aggregations, in sordidly 
avaricious clutches, hedged in with traditional 
precedents and barriers, with every facility for re- 
ceiving and gathering in, but with few and small 
outlets for distribution, and they resolved to es- 
tablish themselves where merit would not be dis- 
carded and supplanted by the antiquated, but 
still protent relics of feudalism. 

The men who come here to establish homes for 
themselves, their families, and their posterity, 
were as a rule, hard-working, open-hearted, clear- 
headed, and sympathizing. They were good 
neighbors, and so good neighborhoods were 
created, and they made a practical illustration of 
the great doctrine of the brotherhood of man, by 
actual example rather than by quoting creeds, or 
conforming to outward observances, which may 



280 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY 



or may not spring from motives of purity. With 
a bearing that never blanched in the presence of 
misfortune or danger, however appalling, they 
were nevertheless tender, kind, and considerate, 
when confronted by disaster and adversity, and it 
is certain that their deficiencies in the outward 
manifestations of piety, were more than compen- 
sated for by their love and regard for the claims of 
humanity. 

We who enjoy the blessings resulting from the 
efforts of these hardy pioneers, many of whom 
are around us in actual life, would be less than 
human if we were not filled with gratitude to 
these early settlers, who paved the way and made 
the condition of things we find a reality. The 
value of what they accomplished cannot be over- 
estimated, and it should be constantly remem- 
bered that whatever of romance attended the 
early colonists, was more than compensated for 
by hard work. 

If this meed of praise is justly due the men, as 
it assuredly is, what shall be said in commenda- 
tion of the heroic women, who learned the vicis- 
situdes of frontier life, endured the absence from 
home, friends, and old associations, whose tender 
ties, that only a woman's heart can feel, must have 
wrung all hearts as they were severed. The de- 
votion that would lead to such a breaking away 
to follow a father, a husband, or a son, into the 
trackless waste beyond the Mississippi, where 
dark and gloomy apprehensions must ha^•e over- 
shadowed the mind, is above all praise. The 
nature of the part taken by the noble women who 
first came to this uninhabited region cannot be 
fully appreciated. Although by nature and edu- 
cation, liberal if not lavish, they prRotioed the 
most rigid economy, and secured comforts from 
the most meager means. They often at crtical 
times preserved order, reclaipiing the men from 
utter despair during gloomy periods; and their 
constant example of frugal industry and cheerful- 
ness, continually admonished them to renewed 
exertions; the instincts of womanhood intermitt- 
ingly encouraging integrity and manhood. 

As to the effects of frontier life, socially and 
morally, upon those who have secured homes 
here in the West, a few observations may not be 
inappropriate. During the past generation a 
noted divine in the East, Dr. Bushnell, who will 
be remembered by those who came from there in 
the fifties, preached a sermon on the " barbarous 



tendencies of civilization in the West," and on this 
theme the reverend gentleman iiredicated au ur- 
gent and almost frantic appeal to Christianity to 
put forth renewed and strenuous exertions to save 
this region from a relapse into barbarism. This 
tendency, it was urged, must result from the dis- 
ruption of social and religious ties, the mingling 
of heterogeneous elements, and the removal of 
the external restraints so common, and supposed 
to be so potent in older communities. It is evi- 
dent, however, that Dr. liushnell did not have a 
sufficiently broad and extended view of the sub- 
ject; for the arbitrament of time has shown that 
his apprehensions were entirely groundless, for if 
he had even carefully surveyed the history of the 
past, he would have seen that in a nomadic con- 
dition, which emigration temporarily involves, 
there is never any real progress in civilization or 
refinement. Institutions for the improvement and 
elevation of the race must be planted deep in the 
soil before they can raise their battlements in 
grandeur and majesty toward heaven, and bear 
fruit for the enlightenment of the nations. The 
evils of which Dr. Bushnell was so alarmed were 
without a lasting impression, because merely tem- 
porary in character. The planting of a new 
colony where so much labor is imperative, where 
everything has to be constructed, involves an 
obvious increase of human freedom, which is some- 
times taken advantage of, and the conventionali- 
ties of society are necessarily disregarded to a 
great extent. But the elements composing a sin- 
cere regard for the feelings and welfare of others, 
and of self government, everywhere largely pre- 
dominates; and the fusion of the races modifies the 
asperities and the idiosyncrasies of each, and cer- 
tainly will in due time create a composite nation- 
ality, in which it is hoped in comformity with the 
spirit of this remarkable age, will produce a 
nationality or a race, as unlike as it must be 
superior to those that have preceded it. Even 
now, before the first generation has passed away, 
society here has outgrown the irritation of the 
transplanting, and there are not more vicious 
elements in it, if as many, as there are m the old 
communities, as the criminal statistics abundantly 
show. 

In a large majority of cases the men and 
women coming here had at first to struggle to 
meet the physical wants of themselves and little 
ones, and they had no time, even if they had an 



CENTENNIAL HISTORY. 



281 



inclination, to make protestations involving pos- 
tulates of doctrinal faith, but the results of what- 
ever teaching they had received was materialized 
in honest labor for the good of the whole com- 
munity, and in special acts of beneficence whenever 
occasion presented. It is no exaggeration to say 
that what has been accomplished here in thirty 
years, in the planting of educational and moral 
institutions, has been almost equal to what has 
been realized in New England in two hundred and 
fifty years. 

To one who has not been actually engaged in 
reclaiming a farm from a state of nature, and 
bringing it to a condition that will yield a com- 
fortable support tor a family, it is difficult to con- 
ceive the amount of toil required, which is often 
not represented by the difference between the 
government price of the land and its market value 
to-day. And as time goes on the estimation in 
which the settlers who formed the management of 
this northwestern civilization will be held, will be 
higher and higher; and the generation now so 
rapidly taking their places should appreciate the 
presence of those who remain, and endeavor to 
strew with flowers the pathways that are shorten- 
ing so certainly, and must all terminate at no dis- 
tant day. Let kindness and consideration wait 
upon them while they are still with us, and not 
heedlessly postpone our substantial appreciation 
of their merits, and between our remembrances of 
the toil, the privations, and the suffering they en- 
dured which has redounded to our benefit, until 
they are all gone, and then erect cold and pas- 
sionless monuments to their memory. 

"Be grateful, children, to your sires: 

Light up affection's fervent fires, 

And fan them with your love and care. 

Until their aged hearts grow warm. 

Close sheltered from want's chilling storm, 

And heads are bowed in thankful prayer." 



CHAPTER XL VII. 

CENTENNIAL HISTORY. 



The centenial history of the county is printed 
entire on account of the intrinsic value of the 
material it contains and because it is in itself a 
historical document. Without doubt there are 
some recapitulations of events in the part of the 
work recently compiled, and it is possible there 
may be discrepancy, as there always is between 



eye witnesses of any event, even when under oath 
in a court of justice. In the lists of county 
officers, they all are extended to the present time, to 
prevent repetition, otherwise the article is intact. 



CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



PBEPARED BY D. G. PAEKEK AT THE REQUEST OF 
THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS, FOB DELIVERY 
AT THS CELEBRATION IN ALBERT LEA, JULY 4, 
1876. 

Mr. Prexident and Fellow Citkena of Fret-born 
County: — A recommendation having been adop- 
ted by Congress, that the people make this Cen - 
tenial Anniversary one of historic interest, the 
committee to whom was referred the general man- 
agement of your local celebration, have extended 
to me the very flattering compliment of entrusting 
to my hands the delicate duty of compiling a 
brief record of Freeborn county. While appreci- 
ating the courtesy, and feeling grateful for the 
confidence thus reposed, I enter upon the work 
with hesitancy, fully conscious of the responsibil- 
ity which it entails, and not unmindful of the 
criticism which the historian is likely to provoke. 

The task is the more embarrassing from the 
fact that all history is dry, and he who looks for 
flower of romance or the poetry of song in the 
musty volumes of public records, has read history 
to no purpose. 

Nevertheless, it is fitting and proper that the 
100th anniversary of our National Independence 
should be invested with marks of special recogni- 
tion, to the end that the people may retrospect 
the past; post their growth and doings to the 
present, and so, like a reckoning upon the broad 
sea of life, take from this a new departure. 

EARLY EXPLORATIONS. 

Until the year 1835, the region now embracing 
Freeborn county, was comparatively unknown. 
In the summer of that year, the Government fit- 
ted out an exploring party, consisting of 164 men, 
under the command of Lieut. Albert Miller Lea, 
with instructions to make a triangular march, 
from Fort Des Moines, northwest to Lake Pepin, 
thence southwesterly to the Des Moines river, 
thence following the stream southward to the 
place of departure. On the 31st of July, of that 
year, Lieut. Lea crossed the Turtle River, at Mos- 



282 



r/LsTonr of FUKEmuN county. 



cow, and on the following day passed beyond the 
western line of our county, within the limits of 
Aldeu township. 

On this maroli he encamped for the night in 
Hayward, rested bis command the next afternoon 
on the east bank of what is known as White's Lake, 
and made copious notes of the conntry along the 
entire route. 

The solitude of this untrodden waste, impressed 
itself upon him. Sparkling liikes encircled by 
gently sloping woodlands, suggested the romance 
of nature. Smooth prairies, interspersed with 
shady groves, rich with the melody of feathered 
songsters, was a charm to his poetic spirit. Ever 
has he referred to this lo.'ality, as one of the most 
beautiful he has ever witnessed. Afterwards one 
Nicollet mapped out this section of country, using 
Lt. Lea's notes freely, and in the acknowledge- 
ment of the favor, gave the name of that brilliant 
officer to one of these Elysian gems. 

We can learn of no other white man visiting 
these parts, until 18-tl, when Henry j\l. Rice, con- 
conducting a party of trappers, encamped upon 
the shores of these enchanting waters, spending 
here a pjrt of four consecutive years, in a life of 
daring bravery, startling adventures, and rude as- 
sociations. That this was then, as now, Ihe para- 
dise of the sportsman, is attested by Mr. K., who 
affirms that in the summer of 1842 he saw over 
300 elk in one day, while making his peregrin- 
ations around these lakes, and that in 1843 he 
killed two of these Heet-footed animals, one morn- 
ing before breakfast. 

This tract of country was embraced within a 
neutral strip of territory, lying between two hos- 
tile bands of Indians, and was frequently made 
the scalping ground of both; nor were they par- 
ticular as to whose hair was lifted, provided they 
could exhibit some trophy of their savage propen- 
sity. Mr. Rice speaks of many a liair-breadth 
escape on the part of himself and company, during 
his hazardous adventures in this wild and unfre- 
quented region. 

TERBITORIAL ACTION. 

By an act of the Territorial Legislature ap- 
proved February 2()th, 1855, the county limits 
were designated by boundary lines, and the name 
chosen. It covers a territory of 30 miles from 
east to west, and 24 from north to south, embrac- 
ing 20 townships, 13 lakes, more or less important, 
and a tillable area of about 40(i,0()0 acres. A 



reasonably temperate climate, and an unsurpassed 
richness of soil, combine to make it one of the 
most productive regions on the inhabitable globe. 

It was named in honor of Wm. Freeborn, one 
of the pioneers of Goodhue county, and a worthy 
member of the early Territorial Legislature. 

By a subsequent act of the same year, the 
county was attached to Dodge and Goodhue for 
Legislative purposes, which constituted the Fourth 
Council District. 

According to the Land Office abstracts, the 
first entry of land was made in January 1855, by 
Nelson Everest, and thirty-four of the first con- 
veyances, by deed, were recorded in Dodge 
county, between April '56 and March '57, thoi'gh 
I find nothing in the general laws to indicate by 
what authority this was done. In February of 
1859, however, these records were transcribed 
and brought home to their own county. 

POLITICAL HISTOBY. 

Although the county limits were defined at so 
early a date; it had no political organization until 
March, 1857, when the Territorial Legislature 
made provision for its independent government, 
authorizing (tov. (Jorman to carry the act into 
ellect, which he did by appointing E. C. Stacy, 
S. N. Erisbie, and Wm. Andrews, as temporary 
Commissioners. 

It may be here stated that the county was or- 
ganized into one general election precinct, by au- 
thority of the State Department, in the fall pre- 
vious, and forty-four votes polled in the election 
of that year; the same being held at the house o 
Wm. Andrews, in Shell Rock. 

The Commissioners referred to assembled on 
the 3d of March, 1857, and proceeded te appoint 
the various County Officers, as follows: 

Register of Deeds, Samuel M. Thompson; 
Treasurer, Thomas C. Thorne; Sheriff, Geo. S. 
Ruble; Probate Judge, E. C. Stacy; Coroner, A. 
H. Bartlett; Co. Attoriiey, J. W. Heath; Sur- 
veyor, E. P. Skinner; Justices, Geo. Watson, I. 
P. Linde, Elias Stanton, Patrick Fitzsimmons. 

These appointments took effect on the 20th of the 
same month, except that of Fitzsimmons, who re- 
ceived his authority afterwards. In April follow- 
ing, Wm Morin was appointed Register of Deeds 
in place of Mr. Thompson, who declined to qual- 
ify. The Coroner's office also went begging, and 
was tendered in succession to Geo. Watson and C. 



CENTENNIAL HISTORY. 



28 3 



S. Tarbell, after Mr. Bartlett had signified his un- 
willJDgness to serve. 

At tbe April session, the Commissioners author- 
ized the clerk to procure all necessary books and 
the Surveyor's field notes of the'public surveys; 
but as there were no taxes assessed, or other pub- 
lic revenue to draw upon, we have yet to learn 
which one of these generous officers donated the 
money. It is fair to presume that neither of them 
were in a hurry to lay his purse upon the public 
altar, for we find that the minutes of the Board 
were long kept upon sheets of foolscap, stitched 
together, and that field notes were not obtained 
until years afterward. It may also be presumed 
that the Commissioners felt the weight of their 
great responsibility, for it appears that no less 
than seven sessions were held between March, 
1857, and November of the same year. 

I do not refer to this sluringly. Everything 
was in a chaotic state, out of which they were ex- 
pected to bring regularity and order. There 
were assessments to be made, districts to organ- 
ize, towns to officer, precincts to form, roads to 
survey^in short, everything to be done, and the 
obligation resting upon themselves. Between the 
various meetings of the Board, during the spring 
and summer of 1857, there were eleven voting 
precincts organized and the judges duly ap- 
pointed. 

The first general election was held in October, 

1857, at which 646 votes were polled in the county, 
and the following officers chosen: Register of 
Deeds, Wm. Morin; Treasurer, Henry King; 
Sheriff, J. W. Heath; Probate Judge, A. W. 
White; Clerk of Court, E. P. Skinner; Surveyor, 
H. D. Brown; Coroner, A. M. Burnham; Com- 
missioners, S. N. Frisbie, Joseph Rickard, Peter 
Clauson.. 

The Legislature of 1857-58 changed the County 
Governments, and provided for what is known as 
the Supervisor system, by which each organized 
town was represented on the County Board, 
through its chairman. Several of the towns in 
this county being either unorganized or attached 
to others for township purposes, necessarily lim- 
ited the representation, so that the first Board 
under the Supervisor system, which met in June, 

1858, was composed of ten delegates, as follows: 
Shell Rock, William Andrews; Moscow, Theop. 

Lowry; Geneva, E. C. Stacy; Riceland, Isaac 
Baker; Hartland, B. J. Boardman; Freeborn, C. 



D. Giddings; Albert Lea, A. C. Wedge; Pickerel 
Lake, A. W. White; Manchester, H. W. Allen; 
Nuuda, Patrick Fitzsimmons. 

Of this Board, E. C. Stacy was elected 
Chairman. 

The Supervisor system continued tmtil the win- 
ter of 1860, when its complicated and expensive 
character induced a return to the Commissioner 
plan, and in June following, the Board elected 
under this law, consisting of Wm. N. Goslee, G. 
W. Skinner, and Asa Walker, met and organized 
with the latter as Chairman. 

COnNTT OFFICHSS. 

The county offices, other than the Commission- 
ers, have been filled as follows : 

Auditor.— Wra. Morin, from 1859 to 1861; E. 
C. Stacy, from 1861 to 1865; C. C. Colby, from 
1865 to 1867; E. C. Stacy, from 1867 to 1869; 
Samuel Bachelder, from 1869 to 1877; then WU- 
liam Lincoln and Giles Q. Slocum, to the present 
time. 

Register of Deeds. — Wm. Morin, from 1857 
to 1862; John Wood, from 1862 to 1872; August 

Peterson, from 1872 to ; then Ole Simonson 

and Gurs Hanson, to the present time . 

It will bs seen from this, that from 1859 to 
1861, Mr. Morin performed the double duty of 
Register of Deeds and Auditor. 

Tke.\surer. — T. C. Thorne, from March, 1857 
to 1858: Henry King, from 1858 to 1860; Ole I. 
Ellingson, from 1860 to 1862; J. E. Smith, from 
1862 to 1866; D. G. Parker, from 1866 to 1868; 
Charles Kittleson, from 1868 to 1877; since then, 
Frank W. Barlow. 

Probate Judge! — E. C. Stacy, from March, 
1857 to 1858; A. W. White, from 1858 to 1860; 
B. J. House, from 1860 to 1862; A. H. Bartlett, 
from 1862 to 1866; B. J. House, from 1866 to 
1870; A. M. Tyrer, from 1870 to 1872; G. Gul- 

brandson, from 1872 to ; and then James H. 

Parker, and now Ira W. Towne. 

Sheriff. — Geo. S. Ruble, from March, 1857 to 
1858; John W. Heath, from 1858 to 1860; J. A. 
Robson, from 1860 to 1862; R. K. Crum, from 
1862 to 1864; Leander Cooley, from 1864 to 1866; 
A. W. St. John, from 1866 to October, 1867; John 
Brownsill from October, 1867 to 1868; E. D. 
Porter from 1868 to 1872; T. J. Sheehan, from 
1872 to the present time. 

Clerk of the Court. — A. Armstrong, from 
August, 1857 to 1858; E. P. Skinner, from 1858 



284 



HISTORY (IF FREE BORN COUNTY. 



to 1862; H. D. Brown, from 1862 to October, 
1871: John Weed from October, 1871 to 1873; A. 

W. White, from 1873 to ; and George T. (larJ- 

ner to the present time. 

CofNTT Attorney. — J. W. Heath, from March, 
1857 to 1858. 

From that time until 1860 the office was not 
known to the law, it having lioen abolished by the 
adoption of the State Constitution, and a District 
Prosecuting Attorney substituted, which office 
was held by Mr. Perkins, of Faribault . 

In 1860, the office having again been provided 
for, J. U. Perry held, by appointment, from March 
until December of that year. D. (t. Parker, 
from December, 1860 to December, 1862 ; 
A. Armstrong, from 1862 to 1865 ; H. B. 
Collins, from 1865 to 1869 ; J. A. Lovely, from 
1869 to 1873; A. G. Wedge, from 1873 to the 
election of John A. Lovely, who is the present in- 
cnmbent. 

Court Commissioner. — A. W. White held this 
in connection with the Probate office, from Au- 
gust, 1858 to 1861; J. M. Drake, from 1861 to 
1862; Samuel Eaton, from 1862 to 1874; B. H. 
Carter, from 1874 to 1876; R. B. Spicer, from Jan- 
uary, 1876 to 1878; then .John Anderson, and now 
Herman Blaekmer. 

Much of this time, the office existed more in 
name than in fact. 

CoKONEK.— C. S. Tarbell, from April, 1857 to 
1858. At the general election of 1857, Dr. A. M. 
Buruham was chosen to this office, but he did not 
qualify, and it stood vacant for a ])eriod of ten 
years. Geo. S. Ruble was elected in 1861, but did 
not serve; Samuel Eaton, from 1868 to 1872; W. W. 
Cargill, from 1872 to 1874; N. H. Ellickson, from 
1874 to 1876; Dr. John Froshaug, from 1876 to 
the present time. 

School Superintendent. — Up to July, 1865, 
no well defined management of schools existed. 
In speculating upon the best system, the Legisla- 
ture created first a town Superintendcy, then an 
Examiner for each Commissioner district, and 
lastly the present plan of one general Superin- 
tendent for each county. Under this, S. Baichel- 
der was appointed July, 1865, and served until 
1869. E. C. Stacy, from 1869 to 1870; H. Thurston, 
from 1870 to the election of Charles W. Levens, 
the present official. 

Surveyor. — E. P. Skinner, from March, 1857 
to 1858; H. D. Brown, from 18.-)8 to 1860; C. C. 



Colby was elected to this office in the fall of 1859, 
and for the two subsequent terms, holding until 
1865. From this time nobody seems to have aspired 
to the place until the fall of 1867, when Levi 
Pierce was invested with that honor and held un- 
til 1872. W. G. Kellar, from 1872 to 1874; H. 
C. Lacy, from 1874 to 1876; W. G. Kellar, from 
1876 to to the present time. 

state representation. 

Passing from our county politics, I will next 
refer to our legislative representation and the va- 
rious changes of district boundary. Your atten- 
tion has already been called to the connection of 
our county under the Territorial Government, and 
it is unnecessary to refer to it again. 

In the early part of 1857, Congress passed an 
act authorizing the people to form a State Consti- 
tution, and in .July a convention was held at Mau- 
torville, to nominate delegates to the district and 
to agree upon a division of them among the three 
counties. From some cause, Freeborn was not 
repre.sented in that convention, and the other two 
magnanimously awarded to her one out of the six 
delegates to be elected; but ever true to her local 
interest, she threw off on Dodge, defeating Isaac 
Turtlott, of that county, thereby securing two 
representiitives in the constitutional convention, 
viz : Geo. Watson and E. C. Stacy. 

By the provision of the Constitution that year 
adopted, our representative boundary was changed, 
an<l we became attached to Faribault county, the 
two being known as the Fourteenth Senatorial 
District, entitled to one Senator and three Repre- 
sentatives, and of these Freeborn elected the Sen- 
ator, Dr. Watson, and one Representative, A. H. 
Bartlett, as the first delegation under this appor- 
tionment. 

In 1860, another change was made, connecting 
the county with Steele and Waseca, entitled the 
Sixteenth Senatorial District, which was awarded 
one Senator and two Representatives. Under 
this apportionment, Geo. Watson was sent to the 
Senate while J. E. Child, of Waseca, and W. F. 
Pettit, of Steele, were honored with seats in the 
House, as the first Representatives. 

In 1871, the representation of the State was 
enlarged, Freeborn county made an independent 
district numbered Five, and awarded one Senator 
and two Representatives, which still continues to 
be the status of the county. 



CENTENNIAL IHl^TOn T. 



285 



A view of our representation in the Legislature 
shows the following: 

Senators. — Dr. Geo. Watson, from 1858 to 
1862; A. B. Webber, from 1862 to 1863; M. A. 
Daley, of Steele, from 1863 to 1864. This latter 
filling the vacancy occasioned by Mr. Wabber's 
enlistment in the army, as a commissary officer. F. 
J. Stevens, of Steele, from 1864 to 1865; B. A. 
Lowell, of Waseca, from 1865 to 1867; Aug. 
Armstrong, from 1867 to 1869; J. B. Crocker, of 
Steele, from 1869 to 1871; W. C. Young, of 
Waseca, from 1871 to 1872; H. D. Brown, from 
1872 to 1873; T. G. Jonsrud, from 1873 to 1875; 
T. H. Armstrong, from 1875 to the pre.sent time. 
It will be noticed that a number of these served 
only one year, which is accounted for by entries 
into the Government service during the war, or 
by vacancies occasioned through a change of dis- 
trict. I give the names of the Senators of the 
counties with which we have been connected, 
because we had an equal interest in their repre- 
sentation, and therefore the record would not be 
complete without them. 

Repre.sentatives. — A. H. Bartlett, from 1858 
to 1859; T. H. Purdie, from 1859 to 1860; A. B. 
Webber, from 1860 to 1861. It may be remarked 
that Mr. Webber's election was a bestowment of 
cheap honor, <ts there was no session of the Leg- 
islature during his term. J. E. Child, of Waseca, 
and F. W. Pettit, of Steele, from 1861 to 1862; 
H. C. Magoon, of Steele, and P. 0. Bailey, of 
Waseca, from 1862 to 1863; Asa Walker, from 
1863 to 1864; J. L. Gibbs, from 1864 to 1866; 
Aug. Armstrong, from 1866 to 1867; J. E. Smith, 
from 1867 to 1869; Aug. Armstrong, from 1869 
to 1870; A. C. Wedge, from 1870 to 1872; E. D. 
Rogers and Wm. Wilson, from 1872 to 1873; J. 
W. Devereaux and E. D. Rogers; from 1873 to 
1874; Even Morgan and Warren Buel, from 1874 
to 1875; H. Tuuell and R. Fitzgerald, from 1875 
to 1876; H. Tunell and J. L. Gibbs ,from 1876 to 
the present time. This covers substantially our 
political history. We might revive the memory 
of some stormy conventions, but that won Id be 
productive of no good, and the animosities there 
engendered may well be allowed to die with tbe 
issues which inspired them. 

FIVE MILLION LOAN. 

We would not be doing justice to our people, 
did we not refer to their noble act in unitedly op- 
posing what was known as the Five Million Loan 



Bill, under which the State, in 1858, unwisely 
pledged its credit to the railroad companies, and 
entailed a debt which, just or unjust, threatens a 
burdensome taxation, or the stigma of repudia- 
tion. To the credit of Freeborn county, be it 
said that she saw the danger, and opposed the 
measure by a negative vote of 455 to 18. 

We have yet to learn what became of those 
eiyldven. If, iudeed, they .still survive, there are 
none among them who now refer with any degree 
of pride to that ill conceived ballot, and long 
before this would gladly have obliterated the 
record. 

We will next call in review our 

OODNTY SEAT CONTESTS. 

The act of March, 1857, organizing the county, 
authorized the commissioners appointed by the 
Governor, to select a temporary county seat 
until the (juestion should be determined by a vote 
of the people. Under this autliority, the Board, 
on the second day of its session, March 4th, 1857, 
called up the question, and Mr. Frisbie moved to 
make Bancroft the seat of honor. Mr. Stacy pro- 
posed an amendment striking out Bancroft and 
inserting St. Nicholas ; lost. He then moved to 
insert Geneva, which was also defeated. Mr. 
Andrews then moved to insert Albert Lea in place 
of Bancroft, and this carried unanimously. In 
this, we are free to say that we think the Commis- 
sioners acted wisely and well; but it will always 
remain a mystery, what inspiring light concentra- 
ted them so suddenly upon a point which seems 
to have escaped their notice in the first instance. 

On the 19th of May following, a special session 
of the Legislature passed an act incorporating 
Bancroft, and a proviso was sandwiched into the 
bill making that town the county seat. The bill 
passed in this shape, apparently without being 
understood by a majority of those who voted for 
it; for it appears that the members having leen 
apprised of what they had done, recalled their 
their votes and expunged the objectionable pro- 
viso on the same day. 

At the general election in October of that year 
the question was submitted to the people. Four 
towns entered the contest, viz: Shell Rock, Ban- 
croft, St. Nicholas, and Albert Lea, which resul- 
ted in favor of tbe later, by a majority of 165 over 
all, on a total vote of 642. 

The next contest was in 1860. In September 
of that year, a petition was presented to the 



28H 



UfSTiiJiV OF FliKEBdliX CdVMY. 



County Board, asking for another vote. A. S. 
Everest a})peareil for tlie petitioners, and Aug. 
Armstrong opposed tlieir prayer. The decision 
was postponed until the 22(1 of October, at which 
meeting the petition was granted, and a vote of 
the people followed. Itasca alone entered the 
arena with .\lbert Lea, resulting again in favor of 
the latter, by 198 majority, on a total vote of 
770. 

Passing from this, we will nest notice our 

JUDICIAL RECORD. 

Under the Territoj-ial Crovernniout,, Freeborn 
county, with fifteen others, constituted the Third 
Judicial District, and Judge Flandreau, after ap- 
pointing Aug. Armstrong clerk, which he did in 
the summer of 1857, advertised to hold court at 
Albert Lea in October following; but as there was 
no business at that time, the announcement was 
only formal, and no court was in fact called. 

By the constitution of 1857, the di.><trict was 
changed in form and size, so that Freeborn, with 
eight other counties, became the Fifth Judicial 
District, and Hon. N. M. Donaldson, of Owatonna, 
was elected in the fall of that year, presiding 
Judge. In the fall of 1871, the Hon. Samuel 
Lord, of Mantorville, was elected Judge in place 
of Donaldson, but his association with our people 
was of short duration, for in 1872 the Legislature 
created a new district called the Tenth, composed 
of Freeborn and all the counties in the southern 
tier, east of it. Over this District, Hon. Sherman 
Page, of Austin, was called to preside, and then 
J. Q. Farmer, who still holds that position. 

Under those organizations, courts have been 
held twice a year regularly, with one or two ex- 
ceptions. 

Among the important cases disposed of, was that 
of Henry Kregler, who was charged with the 
murder of Nelson Boughton, near the State line, 
in September, 1859, and tried in Steele county, 
under change of venue, in January, 1801. He 
was convicted, brought back to this county 
and executed at Albert Lea, in March following, 
being about one and a ludf years after the otfense 
was committed. 

LOY.\LTV AND PATRIOTISM. 

No county in the State, if indeed in the coun- 
try, has displayed a greater loyalty, or a truer 
patriotism. In the first year of its organization, 
when settlement was in disorder, weakness, and 



poverty, the people, though few in number, did 
not forget the noble example of their ancestry, 
and on the first return of this Anniversary of their 
Nati.)nal holiday, the 4th of July, 1857. they as- 
sembled entmisse, at Shell Bock, to celebrate this 
time-honored event. At that celebration, Samuel 
Batchelder delivered the address, being tlie first 
oration ever made in the county. From that year 
to the present, nearly every return of the day has 
been marked by some appropriate honor. 

At the first call for troops when war broke out, 
men left thenr farms, their shops, their stores, and 
their offices, to engage in the defense of their 
common country, leaving scarcely any but old 
men and boys to care for and defend their homes 
against the Indian outbreak, which threatened 
the entire State. 

Two companies, made up almost entirely from 
this county, constituted some of the best fighting 
stock of the -ith and 5th Regiments of Infantry, 
while the third, in their zeal to get into service, 
accepted the first opening and joined a Wiscon- 
sin brigade. 

Other detachments of men connected them- 
selves with commands in this, or in other States, 
as duty dictated or fancy led them. Although 
this scattering of individuals or squads renders it 
difficult to determine the number exactly, a rea- 
sonably correct approximation will fix it aluiut 
400 persons, which, as an act of patriotism, to 
fully appreciate, it is necessary to bear in mind 
our sparse settlement and limited population. 

To place the matter in a still clearer light, it is 
only necessary to state that the quota assigned to 
the ecuinty at the last call for troops by the -Ad- 
jutant General in 1864, was 273, and that we had 
already furnished -and received credit for 292, be- 
ing an excess over all demands upon us, of 19 men, 
besides an estimate of 100 who are known to have 
gone into commands of other States, for which 
the enlistment officers gave us no credit. I sub- 
mit that a fairer or more creditable record cannot 
•be produced by any county, sharing the fortunes 
of the late war. Nor were the ladies less true to 
the interests of their country. On every occasion 
which presented itself, they encouraged enlist- 
ments, and cheered their brothers on to the con- 
flict. The silken banner carried by company F, 
of the 4th Eegiment throughnut tlieir hmg and 
faitliful services, upon which is inscribed the 
memorable name of manv a bloody battle field, 



CENTENNIAL HISTORY. 



a87 



was presented by these noble women, as the a])- 
propriate offering of anxious and sympathizing 
mothers, wives, and sisters, and will ever be sac- 
redly preserved and treasured as a lasting memo- 
rial of their patriotic devotion. 

SCHOOLS AND CH0ROHBS. 

This county has shared its full benefit of the 
liberal public provision made for fostering the 
common school system. Nor have the people 
been less enterprising in their etforts to encourage 
public education. In fact, the greater part of 
our taxation has been for the erection of new 
schoolhouses, and the employment of qualified 
teachers. In 1858 there were but two school- 
houses of any character in the county. There 
are now 100 districts, 74 of which can boast of 
fine frame or brick houses, whOe in nearly all, the 
buildings are good and substantial. In Albert 
Lea there is a graded school which ranks among 
the best in the State, while a seminary of learning 
at this place and at Alden are also mantained 
a part of the time by private contributions. In 
addition to this, there is a charter which was 
early granted by the Legislature, creating a Col- 
lege Board at Albert Lea, and which will doubt- 
less be revived in due time. The first enumera- 
tion was made in January, 1858, and showed a 
total of 222 scholars. The last, taken in the fall 
of 1875, gives 5,136, being an increase, in 17 
years, of 4,914, or at the rate of about eight per 
cent, per annum. 

The churches are well represented and liberally 
sustained, nearly every town in the county having 
one or more organizations for public worship. 
These societies do a creditable mission work, and 
sustain 23 Sabbath Schools through the summer 
months, while about half of them are continued 
the year through. 

SECRET SOCIETIES. 

A Masonic Lodge, nearly as old as the county, 
is established at Albert Lea, which enjoys a 
membership in good standing of 74 persons. 
Growing out of this is a Royal Arch Chapter of 
15 members. 

Twenty-four Granges, with a membership of 
about 960. 

One division of the Sons of Temperance, having 
about 80 members. 

There are eight Good Templar's lodges in the 
county, with an aggregate membership of over 
700. " 



NEWSPAPERS. 

The history of our newspaper interest is a 
checkered one, and has ofteu been referred to. 
Of the five that have had an existence, two, the 
first and tlie last, remain, apparently well sup- 
ported, and otfer their weekly budgets to an 
appreciative public. 

TAXATION. 

In March, 1857, the first board of Commis- 
sioners divided the county into three assessment 
districts, as follows: 

The first was compo.sed of Newry, Geneva, 
Bath, Hartland, Freeborn, and Carlston, over 
which J. M. Drake was appointed assessor. 

Second, Moscow, Kiceland, Bancroft, Manches- 
ter, Oakland, London, under the charge of John 
Dunning, as assessor. 

The third was composed of Hayward, Shell 
Rock, Freeman, Pickerel Lake, Nunda, Alden, 
Mansfield, and Albert Lea, with Walter Scott, as 
assessor. 

In July following these officers completed and 
returned their rolls, the aggregate of which 
footed up, $212,088. Spon this was levied a tax 
for school, county, and Territorial purposes of 
$4,449, or 20^ mills on each dollar valuation. 

A year or two after that, each organized town 
became a district, and has steadily shown an 
increase of wealth. The last assessment reported, 
that of 1875, aggregated a valuation, of .f .3,183,822, 
with a tax for all purposes of $65,602, showing 
an increase of property at the rate of about 16 
per cent, per annum, and a marked decrease in 
the rate of taxation, when we consider that rail- 
roads, bridges, and other matters, have increased 
the objects for which we are taxed. 

RAILROADS. 

In 1859, the Southern Minnesota railroad was 
built through the county, in a westerly direction, 
touching the towns of Moscow, Oakland, Hay- 
ward, Albert Lea, Pickerel Lake, Alden, and 
Carlston, and establishing, theu and subsequently, 
four stations, viz; Oakland, Hayward, Albert 
Lea, and Alden. This enterprise has had a marked 
influence upon the property and growth of the 
county, and while its management has been gener- 
ally satisfactory to our people, that of the present 
period is so in the highest degree. 

Crossing this line at Albert Lea, is another 
survey, termed the North and South Koad, which 



288 



HIsrORV Oh- FliEEliOHN Vol NT Y. 



is designed to connect Minneapolis with St. Louis, 
and when bniJt will touch Shell Rook. Albert Lea, 
Manchester, and Hartland. Still a third com- 
pany, under the auspices of the Central Railroad 
of Minnesota, acting in connection with the 
Burlington & Cedar Rapids Line, have already 
graded from Albert Lea to a point near the State 
line, and it is only a question of time, when the 
iron will be laid thereon. 

COMMERCE. 

Another evidenca of our prosperity as a coun- 
ty, may be seen in its rapidly increasing jjroduc- 
tious. 

The first three years of settlement, say from 
18.57 to ISGO, was an era of importation of food, 
and marked the most trying times. From 1860 
to the close of the war, little, if anything was 
raised beyond home needs ; so that really the 
last ten years cover the period of prosperity. 
How rapidly that has been, is seen in the reports 
of last year, which show that, in addition to feed- 
ing our population, we exported 1,099,986 bushels 
of wheat, besides a fair pioportion of other 
products. The freight reports of our station 
agents show that these exportations are increasing 
at the rate of about 20 per cent, per annum. 

The richness of this, as a grazing county, was 
early recognized and is now duly appreciated. The 
area and luxuriance of our nutritious grasses 
have encouraged our people to deversify their in- 
dustry, and to make stock growing not only one 
of the leading, but a very profitable branch. A 
number of buyers make this a purchasing point, 
and thousands of cattle are driven to the Chicago 
and other markets spring and fall. Nor do our 
people show less sagacity in the improvement of 
of quality, many of the growers already dealing 
in none but the finest strains of blood, 

Wool is becoming a highly important article of 
export, while in the matter of dairying, some 
estimate may be formed of its value from the fact 
that one shipper, at Albert Lea, alone sends off 
about 200,000 pounds of butter per annum. 

POPULATION. 

A census of the county taken in November, 
1857, showed the population to be 2,486. That 
of 1875, the last whcih has been taken, aggregates 
our population at 13,171, showing a gain of 
about 47 per cent, in every five years. 



TOWNSHIP RECORDS. 

We have spent too much time in reviewing mat- 
ters pertaining to the county at large, to justify a 
critical examination of township organization and 
early settlement. The record, however, incomplete 
at best, could not be satisfactorily closed, without 
presenting a few of the prominent facts connected 
with their history. 

At the .Tanuary session of the County Board, 
in 1858, London, Moscow, Newry, Carlston, Rice- 
land, Bath, and Manchester, were organized, 
though most of them under other names. 
Whether any official action was ever taken in re- 
gard to Albert Lea, Nunda, Shell Rock, and 
Geneva, is not clear, but it seems that their politi- 
cal status as towns was recognized even previous 
to this, and their representatives occupied promi- 
nent places in the councils of the County Board. 
Various changes were made, and towns organized 
from this time until January, 1866, when the last 
one, Mansfield, assumed an independent govern- 
ment. 

London was onganized under the name of 
Asher, thus conferring an honor upon one of her 
citizens of that name, now deceased. In June, 
1858, the town was attached to Shell Rock for 
township piirposes. In October following, it 
again assumed an independent organizBtion, and 
changed its name to London, The first election 
was held at the house of H. B. Riggs. 

Shell Rock occupies a high post of honor in 
many of the events of our early settlement. One 
of the first Commissioners, Wm. Andrews, was 
appointed from this town, and he became the first 
chairman of the County Board. It was here that 
the first schoolhouse was erected, June, 1857, in 
the district now known as 49. The building was 
a frame, also the first of the kind put up. 
Although the records do not support it, it is 
nevertheless believed that the first title to land 
was acquired in this town, by Clark Andrews, 
which occurred November 3, 1855. We have 
already mentioned the fact that here the first pat- 
riotic demonstration was made, as early as 1857, 
and we may add, that here also, the first suit was 
tried, being a case of one Boulton against C. T. 
Knapp, before justice Andrews, in the spring of 
1857, in which A. H. Bartlett appeared as attor- 
ney for both parties, and, as he admits, was beaten 
at last. 

As alreadv noticed. Shell Rock was the scene 



CENTENNIAL HISTORY. 



289 



of the first election, November 4tli, 1850, when 
the whole county constituted b\it one precinct, 
and 44 votes indicated nearly the total strength of 
our adult male population. George Gardner, 
William and Madison Eice, and Gardner Cottrell, 
were the first settlers and date their entry on the 
9th of June, 1855. 

Fre3m:in, after its organization, was divided; 
the east half being attached to Shell Rock, and 
the west half to Nuuda, for townshij) purposes. 
It was named in honor of the Freeman family, 
who were the first to move into the central por- 
tion of the town. In December, 1860, it was 
granted a separate organization, and the name 
changed to Green, but it nevertheless continued to 
be called by its first title and has ever been known 
as Freeman. This town is supposed to have re- 
ceived the first settler of the county, in the per- 
son of Ole Olenhouse, as early as the summer of 
1854, who, also, is claimed to have erected the 
first house, in the same season. 

Nunda was first known as Bear Lake, but was 
afterwards changed at the suggestion of Patrick 
Fitzsimmons, who was anxious to honor a favorite 
town in McHenry county, 111. This town is 
watered by three important lakes. Tlie first 
settler was Anthony Bright, who made his claim 
in the spring of 1856. 

Twin Lake village, in the northern part, is a 
thriving town, having a mill, store, Post-office, 
hotel, etc. It was surveyed iuto lots as early as 
1857. The long legal controversy between Wm. 
Banning and a Mr. Forbes, growing out of claims 
of each upon the millsite, will long be remembered 
by some of the old settlers. 

Mansfield was early attached to Nunda for 
township purposes, and was the last in the county 
to ask for a separate organization. Its name was 
suggested by Geo. S. Kuble, now of Chattanooga, 
Tenn. John and Henry Tuuell entered upon 
their claims in June, 1856, and were the first 
settlers. 

Oakland was divided in Jan., 1858, and the 
north half attached to Moscow, while the south 
half was assigned to Loudon for township pur- 
poses. In June following, when London became 
attached to Shell Rock, the County Board ordered 
that the whole of Oakland be attached to Moscow, 
then known as Guildford. In September, 1858, 
the town was granted an independent orgauiza- 
19 



tion. Its large area of oak openings suggested 
the name. 

Hayward, so called in compliment to one of 
her citizens of that name, was, in January, 1858, 
divided into three parts. Tlie northeast quarter 
of the town being assigned to Riceland, then 
known as Beardsley; the northwest to Albert 
Lea, and tlie south half to Shell Rock. In Sep- 
tember following, the town was granted a separate 
organization. At a subsequent session of the 
County Board, the name was changed to Doug- 
lass, in honor of the distinguished Illinois Senator, 
of that period. At the same meeting the 
southern tier of sections was set off to Shell Rock 
for township purpo.ses. 

In September, 1859, these sections were set 
back to the control of the town, and the name 
again changed from Douglass to Hayward. The 
first settler was Wm. Andrews, who located in the 
suminer of 1855, but afterwards moved across the 
line into Shell Rock. 

Albert Lea is the shire and central town. It is 
located between two picturesque lakes, and was 
named in honor of the distinguished explorer 
previousl-y mentioned. It was first settled in 
July, 1855, by Lorenzo Merry, who took the first 
claim, did the first breaking, erected the first 
house, and opened the first hotel. St. Nicholas, 
in the southern part of the town, was at one time 
a village of considerable importance, and aspired 
to the county teat. Nothing now remains of the 
village, and the land has been converted into a 
stock farm. 

The report of the Southern Minnesota Railroad 
Company for 1875, shows that the revenue of 
this station, as well as the amount of freight 
received and forwarded, is largely in excess of any 
other town upon the entire line of the road. 

Pickerel Lake was attached to Albert Lea for 
township purposes, in 1858. In the following 
year, it was voted a separate organization. In 
October, 1860, it was attached to Manchester for 
election purposes, but afterwards became a part 
of Albert Lea, and remained so until September, 
1865, when the citizens petitioned for an inde- 
pendent government, which was granted. The 
name of the fine lake within its borders, first 
suggested that of the town. Charles and William 
iWilder and A. D. Pinkerton located in the summer 
of 1855, and were the first settlers. 

Alden was attached to Pickerel Lake for town- 



290 



n I STORY OF FHEEnoUN COUSTY. 



ship purposes, in Jan. 1858, but in October, 1860, 
it was detached, and miide a part of Oarlston. 
In September following a singular entry appears 
upon the record, showing that the Board granted 
a petition to detach Alden from Albert Lea, and 
attach it to Oarlston. How it became separated 
from Oarlston, after its connection of the previous 
year, or how it became part of Albert Lea, with 
Pickerel Lake intervening, the record is silent. 
In the ab.sence of furtlier light, we presume it to 
be an error. In March, 1866, the town was 
granted a separate organization. 

The village of Alden is located upon the 
Southern Minnesota Railroad, ten miles west of 
Albert Lea, and is second in size in the county. 
The station reports show, also, that it is second in 
importance in the receipt and shipment of freights. 

Moscow is one of the towns of distinguished 
prominence in the settlement, organization, and 
early political history of the county. S. N. 
Frisbie was one of the three first Oommissioners. 
Dr. Watson, also a citizen of this town, was not 
only one of the delegates to the Oonstitutioual 
Convention in 1857, but enjoyed the honor of a 
seat in the State Senate for the first three terms. 
The Rev. S. G. Lowry, also of this town, may be 
regarded as the pioneer clergyman, and for years 
answered calls, picking his trackless way to all 
parts of the county. 

A heavy body of timber, on section seventeen, 
was long previous known as the Moscow woods, 
and this suggested to the early settlers the name 
of the town, which so continued until its organiza- 
tion, when it took the name of Guildford, but in 
June, 1858, it was again changed to its original 
title. A colony, consisting of Thomas R. Morgan, 
Nathan Hunt, Robt. Spear, and Thos. Ellis, 
made the first settlement, on the 30th of May, 
1855. 

Biceland was organized under the name of 
Beardsley, in honor of Sam. Beardsley, one of the 
first settlers; but in October, 185?, it was changed 
to its present name, at the suggestion of Isaac 
Baker, who was then on the Oounty Board. 
Shortly after settlement, a small tract was survey- 
ed into town lots, under the name of Fairfield, but 
it never acquired the dignity of a village. Ole 0. 
Oleson and Ole Hanson located in August, 1856, 
and were the first settlers. < 

Bancroft village had its origin in wliat was 
known as the St. Paul Land Company, of which 



W. N. Oliver was agent. Afterwards, by gener- 
al consent, the name was apjilied to the whole 
township. To far as we can learn, this town has 
the honor of having erected the second school- 
house in the county, which was done in the fall of 
1857, by the'district now known as No. 20. 

The village of Bancroft was a sharp rival for 
the county seat in 1857, and at that time a place 
of considerable importance, having a newspaper, 
store, saw-mill, and other evidences of busy life, 
all of which has since disappeared. 

Manchester was first known by the name of 
Oldbnrg, but was christened Buckeye at its or- 
ganization. In May, 1858, it was changed to 
Liberty. Finally, in October fallowing, at the 
suggestion of Mathias Anderson, it was changed 
to Manchester, in honor of a place of the same 
name in Illinois, where Mr. A. had previously lived. 
S. S. Skilf entered this town in June, 1856 as the 
first settler. 

Oarlston was organized in .Tanuary, 1858, under 
the name of Stanton, out of respect to Elias Stan- 
ton, who had already suffered amputation on ac- 
count of frost-bitten feet, and who died of the 
same in the spring following. After its organiza- 
tion it was attached to Freeborn for township 
purposes. In June, 1858, the name was changed 
to Springfield, and in October following to 
Groton. In September, 1859, the citizens asked 
for aseperate organization, which was granted, 
and the name changed to Oarlston. This name 
was finally agreed upon, in respect to the memory 
of a distinguished Swede of that name, who set- 
tled in that town in an early day, and who was 
drowned in Freeborn lake. Robert H. Miller 
was the first settler, and located in August, 1855. 

Newry was first named Seward, as a mark of 
respect to the distinguished Senator from New 
York, and at the same time, January, 1858, was 
attached to Geneva for township purposes. In 
October following, the name was changed to 
Union, and the town granted a soparat"? organiza- 
tion. In the early part of 1859, the name was 
again changed to Dover, but from some cause 
this proved to be unsatisfactory to the State 
Auditor, and upon his recommendation another 
change took place, which resulted in adopting the 
present name. 

Geneva was among the prominent towns in or- 
ganizing the early affairs of the county. E. C. 
Stacy, one of her citizens, was among the three 



CENTENNIAL HISTORY. 



291 



first County Commissioners, and by tliem was ap- 
pointed tbe first Probate Judge. He was also 
elected a delegate to the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, to which we have already referred. It was 
also upon his suggestion that the town was named 
Geneva, in remembrance of Geneva, N. Y., for 
which pleasant recollections were entertained. 
The village of Geneva, situated upon the bank of 
a beautiful lake of that name, is a town of consid- 
erable prominence. Milton Morey was the first 
settler, locating in the fall of 1855. 

Bath was first organized under the name of 
Porter, in honor of E. D. Porter, who 
settled near Clark's Grove. The east half 
of the town was attached to Geneva, and the 
the west half to Hartland for township purposes, 
but in September, 1858, assumed an independent 
organization, and the name changed to Bath, at 
the instance of F. W. Calkins, who was desirous of 
perpetuating the memory of the town in which he 
was born. Mr. Calliins was the first settler of 
Bath, and made his entry in the spring or early 
summer of 1857. 

While the town of Hartland is one of the best 
agricultural districts in the county, it yields but 
few facts concerning early history. It is under- 
stood to have been named after a town in Wind- 
sor county, Vermont, and was first settled by two 
brothers by the name of Boardman, in the fall of 
1856. One of these, B. J. Boardman, erected the 
first house, and at one time represented the town 
on the County Board. 

Freeborn was among the early towns organized, 
and the first election held in May, 1858. The 
township and village, as well as the lake upon 
the bank of which the village is located, all seem 
to have followed, in name, that of the county. T. 
K. Page and Wm. Montgomery were the first set- 
tlers, and entered upon their claims in July, 1856. 
The village of Freeborn is handsomely located 
and is a town of considerable importance. It is in 
this town that the first entry of land appears on 
record, by Nelson Everet, as previously mention- 
ed, though the correctness of this is doubted. 

OBIGIN OF NAMES OF LAKES, RIVERS, AND TIMBER. 

A word will also be in place regarding the 
origin of names as applied to lakes, rivers, etc. 
Bear Lake should be properly known as Pickerel 
Lake. The story is this: Buffalo being found in 
this section as late as 1853, a party consisting of 
Joseph Hewitt, Joshua Jackson, and Joseph Kel- 



ley, visited the region of Ntinda, in quest of that 
game, in the summer of that year. Their hunt 
was rewarded by one or two buffalo calves, and 
some fine pickerel taken from that lake, which 
suggested the name, as mentioned. 

On the other hand Pickerel Lake should be 
known as Bear Lake. Some years previous to set- 
tlement, the Indians killed a large bear near that 
body of water, and ever afterwards called it Bear 
Lake. In 1854, one Austin Nichols, who had 
jjreviously obtained from the three buffalo hunt- 
ers glowing accounts of their beautiful Pinkerel 
Lake, made a tour through from the Cedar to 
the Blue Earth River, and struck Bear Lake in 
his route, of which he knew nothing. Supposing 
it to be the Pickerel Lake of which he had been 
told of, he so called it, and his acquaintances set- 
tling in soon after, accepted his impression with- 
out further inquiry. A year later, the pioneers 
who settled Nunda, knowing that their northern 
neighbors had got the Pickerel, supposed of course 
that the Bair belonged to them, and so the acci- 
dental change became a fixed fact. 

Lake Albert Lea was originally known as Fox 
Lake. In 1835, when the exploring command of 
Lieut. Lea approached this body of water a white 
fox ran past the head of the column, and thus un- 
consciously had his memory perpetuated. 

White Lake was first known as Lake Chapeau. 
From the bank of this, where Lieut. Lea rested 
his command a few hours, the lake presents the 
shape of a French military hat, and this suggest- 
ed the name. When this section of country was 
afterwards mapped out, Chapeau was dropped 
and Albert Lea appliecl. The early settlers 
knew but little about these lakes, and took it for 
granted that the large one bore the name of the 
distinguished explorer, and thus the For was 
finally allowed to escape. In the meantime, Capt. 
A. W. White settled upon the bank of the origi- 
nal Chapeau, and by common consent his name 
has become associated with that lake. 

Turtle Creek is said to have been so named in 
1854. A party crossing the same was stepping 
from one stone to another, when one of the num- 
ber suddenly lost his footing — the stone as he 
supposed gracefully sliding from under him. It 
proved to be a huge turtle, with which the river 
then abounded, and the stream was ever after- 
wards called Turtle River. It is noted in Lieut. 
Lea's minutes as Iowa River. 



•292 



HISTOnr OF FnEEBUliN f'lrxrv. 



Mule Lakp was discovered by the Boardmiiu 
brothers, who, as we have already said, first set- 
tled in Hartland. Their entry into that town was 
with a nrnk' team, driven across the country from 
Geneva. On their return they related their obser- 
vations, and the mules were at bnce dignified in 
the naminp; of the lake. 

Some years j)revious to settlement, the heavy 
body of timber which covered section sev- 
enteen, in Moscow, was set on fire in a dry season, 
creating such a couHagration as to suggest scenes 
in Russia under the great Napoleon. From thiit 
time it was known as the Moscow timber, and 
thus the name of the town had its origin. 

I have now passed in review the salient points in 
the history of our county, and although that re- 
view has been necessarily brief, it shows a record 
and a growth of which any people may feel justly 
proud, and calculated to inspire high hopes for 
future prosperity. Few agricultural regions have 
ever witnessed a more rapid advancement in jjop- 
ulition, growth of products, educational endow- 
ments, and general material wealth ; and I may 
add, that seldom has it fallen to the lot of man to 
have his destiny fixed in such an Eden of natural 
beauty. 

Looking back over the period of the last twenty 
years, we have little to regret. From a trackless 
and uninhabited region, we have sprung into a 
community of 15,000 souls, teaming with a busy 
life. Vineyards and groves rise up everywhere to 
please the eye and gratify the taste, while thous- 
ands of laughing grain fields wave their golden 
treasures to triumph to make glad the hearts of 
the husbandmen. Log cabins yield to the ad- 
vancing progress of wealth and civilization, and 
in their places rise up the homes of greater raa- 
tei'ial comfort, and domestic enjoyment; the rail 
pens have given away to substantial granaries, 
and straw stables are fast making room for spac- 
ious and costly bams. 

Schoolhouses alVord educational facilities at 
convenient intervals, while the green foliage, be- 
neath which they are embowered, offer their in- 
viting shade to thousands of promising children. 

Sloughs, inlets, and streams have lieen substan- 
tially bridged, while long rows of shade trees 
mark the line of the well-beaten turnpikes. 

Railroads and grain stations remind us that we 
have already passed the period of pioneer life, and 
that we are entering upon an area full of inspiring 
liope for the future. 



Looking upon our material prosijerity for the 
twenty years past, we may well encpiire what will 
be the condition of Freeborn county one hundred 
years hence. I will not undertake the specula- 
tion. None of us will be living, but remember 
that the present is always the parent of the future. 
As the twig is bent, so it will grow. Our influ- 
ence does not end with our lives. The uncounted 
generations to come, hold us largely responsible 
for their mtellectual, moral, and religions charac- 
ter ; for, be it known, that whether we will it or 
not, the broad or restricted philanthrojjhy of our 
own lives will impress itself upon all the distant 
future. 



CH.VPTER XLVIII. 

THE OlyD settlers' ASSOCIATION. 

As a continuation of the early history of the 
county, quite a full account of the meetings of the 
Old Settlei-s' Association is given here, with 
very full reports of some of the speeches or ad- 
dresses, which are rich in reminiscences and 
so well presented that a rewriting could not im- 
prove them. Coming in this form, it slightly in- 
terferes with the continuity of the plan of the 
work, but this is fully comijensateil for by a dis- 
ruption of the monotony which might otherwise 
become tedious in the perusal. 

The old settlers of Freeborn county who weie 
desirous of perpetuating the memory of the 
hardships, the trials, troubles, and privations on 
the one hand, and the pleasures and triumphs on 
the other, of pioneer times and frontier life, joined 
in a call to all those who came previous to 1,S()(), 
to meet on the 12th of ■Tuly, 1875, for the purpose 
of organizing an Old Settlers' Association. 

In response to this call a meeting was held at 
the Court House on the day mentioned, at two 
o'clock. The assembly was called to order by 1). 
G. Parker, who read the call that had been issued. 
On motion of John L. Melder, Mr. Parker was 
made temporary chairman. On motion of F. 
McCall, FI. T>. Brown was appointed secretary. 
On motion of Isaac Botsford, the following com- 
mittee oa resolutions was appointed : Henry 
Thurston, F. McCall, and H. G. Emmons; on 
nominations, Isaac Botsford, John L. Melder, and 
Jason Goward. While waiting for the reports of 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



293 



committees Mr. Melder, who was the original mover 
in the matter, was called upon for a speech, and 
responded in a facetious vein, relating amusing 
anecdotes. Remarks were made by Father Lowrj 
and others. 

The committee appointed for the purpose re- 
ported a constitution which, after discussion and 
amendment, was adopted. Its provisions were 
that any old settler could join by paying a nom- 
inal sum, who was here previous to January 1st, 

1859, and the limitation is advanced each year so 
that any one who has been a resident sixteen 
years can then join the association. 

The officers elected under this constitution 
were: President, D. G. Parker; vice-Presidents, 
J. L. Melder, H. Biekford, and O. C. Goodnature; 
Secretary, Henry Thurston; Treasurer, H. D. 
Brown; Chaplain, Rev. S. H. Lowry; Financial 
Committee, Ole Peterson. J. W. Ayers, and the 
President, Secretary, and Treasurer, es-officios. 
The constitution was then signed by thirty-nine 
persons; the President delivered an address which 
was requested for publication. Previous to ad- 
journment, a cordial invitation was extended to 
all the ladies and gentlemen of the county who 
were old settlers to become members. 

The second meeting was hehl on Tuesday, the 
2d of June, 1876, at the Court House in Albert 
Lea. The opportunity was given for joining the 
society, and sixty-five persons signed the consti- 
tution, who had come here previous to January, 

1860. Several amendments were presented and 
adopted, the most important of which was the 
appointment of a committee on obituary notices. 

The officers elected for the year were: Presi- 
dent, D. G. Parker; vice-Presidents, William N. 
Goslee, of Loudon; D. R. Young, Shell Rock; N. 
I. Lowthian, Freeman; H. G. Emmons, Nunda; 
Henry Tunell, Mansfield; C. E. Butler, Oakland; 
Ender Gulbrandson, Hay ward; I. Botsford, Al- 
bert Lea; J. H. Pace, Moscow; Lewis Bill, Rice- 
land; William H. Long, Bancroft; E. D. Hop- 
kins. Manchester; Asa Walker, Carlston; C. E. 
Johnson, Newry; J. T. Jones, Geneva; Richard 
Fitzpatrick, Bath; A. S. Purdie, Hartland; and 
Jason Goward, Freeborn; Secretary, H. Thurs- 
ton; Treasurer, H. D. Brown; Chaplain, S. G. 
Lowry; Finance Committee, Ole Peterson, J. W. 
Ayers, the President, Secretary, and Treasurer. E. 
C. Stacy was appointed on the obituaries for the 
ensuing year. 



Judge Cooley, of Minneapolis, delivered the 
annual address, which was entertaining, instruc- 
tive, and satisfactory. Judge Stacy read the 
obituary notices of those who had moved on to an 
unknown frontier during the year, and also men- 
tioned some of the old settlers who had gone be- 
fore the association was organized, and depicted 
the valuable services they had rendered while 
here. H. D. Brown read a j^oem prepared in 
another part of the State, but revised to suit the 
the conditions here presented. 

The question as to the earliest resident arose, 
and George Gardner and H. Biekford claimed 
the honor of being the oldest continuous settlers. 
Various reminiscences were brought out as to 
early political affairs; how majorities were rolled 
up; how men got elected delegates to conven- 
tions, and became candidates after they got 
there, with other points of interest. The siipper 
was at the Hall House, and the fare was in strik- 
ing contrast with the fare in the fifties. 

The third meeting was on the 13th of June, 
1877. A procession was formed and marched to 
the picnic ground in Albert Lea. Prayer was 
offered by Rev. Walter Scott, one of the pioneers 
of the county. A letter was read from A. P. 
Swineford regretting his inability to meet his old 
friends this year. Twenty-seven joined the asso- 
ciation. 

The officers chosen this year were; President, 
E. C. Stacy ; Treasurer, H. D. Brown ; Secretary, 
Henry Thurston; and a Vice President from each 
town in the county. The finance committee with 
the ex-officios were J. L. Melder and J. W. Ayers. 

A paper was read from Col. Albert M. Lea, 
giving an account of his early explorations and 
relating the incidents which gave his name to one 
of the lakes in the coijnty and subsequently to 
the county seat. A large portrait of the Colonel 
was also shown and he was unanimously elected 
an honorary member. Walter Scott gave an 
account of some transactions in his neighborhood 
in 1856 and '57. Other stories were told, and 
the basket dinner was eaten with enjoyment by 
all. Isaac Botsford was appointed to look after 
the honored dead of next year. I). G. Parker 
then read the history of the county prepared for 
this centennial year. 

The fourth annual meeting was on the second 
Friday in June, 1878. A procession headed by 
the Albert Lea Brass Band marched to the picnic 



294 



HISTORY OF FRBEBOliN COUNT 7. 



groand. President Stacy presided, and the ex- 
ercises commenced by singing the long Doxology, 
"Praise (rod from whom all blessingH How," and 
a song by the Purdie family. Alfred P. Swine- 
fonl was then introduced, the oldest printer in the 
county, who was guccessful in his attempt to sat- 
isfy the high expectations of those who remember 
the meteor-like scintillations of the "Southern 
Minnesota Star" during the first county election. 
It is presented in full: 

"If I have any apology to offer for having once 
failed to keep my engagement with you, and finally 
having come so far only, I fear, to dissapoint 
those who may have Ijeen led to expect an address 
worthy of the name and of the occasion, it is that 
in the first instance unexpected business compli- 
cations imperatively demanded my personal atten- 
tion at the time I had fondly hoped to be with 
you; and I hope and trust that the lingering de- 
sire that I have long felt to revisit the "scenes of 
my youth," will be accepted as a suiBoient apol- 
ogy for my presence now. For, though grown to 
man's estate when, a little more than twenty-one 
years ago, I came to the then almost absolutely 
vacant site of your beautiful, thriving young city 
of Albert Lea, I was, in fact, a mere boy in years 
as well as in experience of the world and its busi- 
ness affairs. Coming here, as I now have, in a 
palatial railway coach, borne along in ease and 
comfort, at the rate of twenty-five or thirty miles 
an hour, annihilating the distance between here 
and the Mississippi in less time than used to be re- 
quired to work up sufficient courage to attempt the 
trip, I could not avoid, as I came along, a mental 
contrast between the present coming, and that of 
twenty-one years agone. Never, while life lasts, 
shall I forget that first trip! 

I had been a journeyman printer out of an un- 
completed apprenticeship with the last governor 
of the Territory of Minnesota, and for a brief 
period before coming here, was foreman on a St. 
Paul weekly paper. The Railroad, Real Estate, 
and Financial Advertiser, was at least a part of its 
title, of which Charles H. Parker, a banker, was 
publisher, and Joe Wheelock the editor. What- 
ever time may have accomplished for him, Joe 
was then a dyspeptic, peevish, irascible individual, 
though a most vigorous, caustic writer. The pa- 
per invariably came out late on the day of pub- 
lication or the day after, for the reason that Whee- 
lock always had something of the utmost import- 



ance, at the very last moment, which must go in 
or there would be a row, and there generally was 
one. Joe laid the blame for the late ajjpearance 
of the paper on the foreman, and the forernan re- 
ciprocated his gentle insinuations in that regard 
by imputing the whole of it to the editor. Par- 
ker thought somebody lied; Wheelock felt sure of 
it, and the foreman, though an orphan of tender 
years, was certain of it, and that it wasn't him, 
and that anybody who said it was, was a horse- 
thief and a liar, and hadn't truth enough in him 
to make an ordinary gas meter. Wheelock, in his 
virtuous wrath, produced an old pepper-box re- 
volver, and with the most horrid oaths, threatened 
to fill your humble orator on this occasion, as full 
of holes as the useful article of table ware from 
which his implement of war took its name; but 
he didn't, for which forbearence on his part I have 
mentally thanked him innumerable times, and 
here and now. in this public manner I most cheer- 
fully and magnanimously forgive him, for if he 
had shot and hadn't told a whopper about it, he 
would have saved me all these after years of editor- 
ial drudgery, and you this infliction. If I were to 
meet him now, I really believe I should shake 
hands with him, and thank him most cordially for 
the wrong he did me in not shooting, though I 
doubt much if the pistol was loaded, or if he 
could have hit the gable end of the capitol at 
arm's length, it it had been double-shotted. How- 
ever, we continued together a few weeks longer, 
eyeing each other askance, instituting and pre- 
serving an armed truce, as it were, your humble 
servant all the time anxious to get away from the 
near vicinity of that pepper-box revolver, which 
he knew would shoot in all directions if it went 
off at all, and I have no doubt Joe was equally 
anxious to have him do so, when one morninj; an 
advertisement appeared in one of the daily papers 
calling for a priater to go into the south part of 
the Territory to establish a newspaper in a new 
town of great promise, and directed applicants to 
call at a certain room in the then leading hotel of 
St. Paul. Here was the coveted opportunity. I 
thirsted more for literary and editorial fame than 
for a personal encounter with Wheelock and his 
treacherous pepper-box, which I was assured by 
those who ought to know, scattered fearfully. I 
had, by dint of great perseverance and the prac- 
tice of the most rigid economy, managed to save 
a whole week's salary, and was ready to venture in 
search of other fields, "and pastures new." I did not 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



295 



stand on the order of my calling at the avertis- 
er's room, but called at once, and there I met for 
the first time, the founder of Albert Lea, rotund, 
jovial, large-hearted George S. Ruble, who had 
lately succeeded in having the place where 
he knew there ought to be a town, designated as 
the county seat of the newly organized county of 
Freeborn. I had heard the name of the place 
before. The weekly paper to which I have refer- 
red kept standing on its fourth page a large map 
of the territory, an electrotype plate, into which I 
would drill a hole large enough to permit the in- 
sertion of a small letter o to designate the sight, 
and close to it chisel through a space large enough 
to hold the name of any new town the proprietor 
of which was willing to pay for its insertion. I 
had only the week before put Albert Lea on the 
map, and I remember that the lake was not large 
enough to hold the bold faced letters, for the in- 
sertion of which I presume Ruble paid liberally. 
I think I can claim the honor of having placed 
Albert Lea on the first map upon which it ever 
appeared. 

I found some difficulty in convincing Ruble 
that the mole under my right optic was legitimate 
and not the result of any discretion on my part; 
but that matter finally settled to his satisfaction, 
the negotiations were easily concluded. George 
agreed to endorse notes with which to purchase 
an outfit, and also advanced funds with which to 
pay necessary expenses to Chicago. He also 
agreed to and did, deed to myself and N. T, 
Gray, who was desirous of embarking with me in 
the enterprise, a sufficient number of lots in the 
new town to have made me a richer man than I am 
to-day, had I remained here an 1 waited patiently 
for the coming of that era of prosperity which 
has since dawned upon you. And here let me re- 
mark (in a parenthesis, as it were,) that thoiigh I 
came here and went away again as poor as Job's 
turkey gobbler, I have, through strict integrity, 
untiring toil and perseverance, and the practice of 
close economy, managed to hold my own ever 
since. However, to return to my ower-true narra- 
tive, Ruble stipulated as a sort of side agreement, 
having an eye, I presume, to the more rapid 
growth of his new town, that I should get mar- 
ried, which stipulation I readily accepted, al- 
though I was not certain that " the girl I left be- 
hind me" would ratify the arrangement, but she 
did, came here with me to live, and regrets that 



she cannot be here with you to-day; the best 
she could do, under the circumstances, was 
to send her card in the shape of her daugh- 
ter, who was born in Minnesota, shortly 
after we left Freeborn county. But I'm afraid 
I'm getting the story mixed up. I went to Chi- 
cago, traversing the Mississippi most of the way 
on the ice, from St. Paul to Prairie du Chein, 
thence by stage to Boscobel, then the western 
termmus of the Milwaukee & Mississippi Rail- 
road; thence by rail to Janesville, then again by 
stage to a connection with what is now the Madi- 
son division of the Chicago k Northwestern Rail- 
way, and of which a former Albert Lea boy is Super- 
intendent. That was in February, 1857. Hav- 
ing purchased a hand press, type enough for a 
six column paper, and some job type, I then 
went up to Oshkosh to carry out the stipulation 
referred to, and early in March, accompanied by 
my wife, started on the return trip to Minnesota. 
Portage City was then the terminas of the old 
La Crosse <fc Milwaukee Railroad, and from that 
point we had to travel the entire distance by 
stage, over the devious route, through Sparta, 
Black River Falls, Eau Claire,-River Falls, to Pres- 
cott and Hastings, in doing which a whole week's 
time was consumed. At Hastings I was joined 
by my partner, Gray, and leaving Mrs. Swineford 
with some relatives, we set out by stage for Albert 
Lea. The route was through Northfield, Fari- 
bault, Owatonna, to Austin, where the stage route, 
so far as it benefitted us was at an end. Stopping 
here over night, we were fortumste enough to fall 
in with Dorr Stacy, then a half grown lad, who 
was there after the Geneva mail, which was car- 
ried semi -occasionally by Foot & Walker's line, 
Dorr being horses, driver, and all hands. Tak- 
ing the mail upon his back, he piloted us through 
to his father's, that being recommended to us as 
the best route, the road to Albert Lea not being 
open. An all day's walk brought us to the resi- 
dence of your honorable President, Judge Stacy, 
and I am postively certain that never before or 
since have I watched with such an absorbing in- 
terest a woman engaged in the arduous task of 
baking griddle cakes, as I did the Judge's estim- 
able wife that evening. 

The next morning, bright and early, we set out 
for Albert Lea, whose "tall spires and turrets 
crowned " were vividly pictured in our imagina- 
tions. Picture to yourself two lone sailors adrift 



296 



n I STORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



in an open boat on the trackless sea, ■with com- 
pass or rudder, and you have a true representa- 
tion of Gray and your humble servant, as they 
plodded their weary way over the trackless prai- 
ries and through the leafless tress of the oak 
openings in search of their final harbor of refuge. 
It was about the middle of March. The snow 
still lay on the ground to the depth of a foot or 
more, though the weather was mild and the snow 
was melting, and under it there appeared to be 
an equal depth of water, which the frost pre- 
vented the ground from absoibiug. We had 
started on the road jjointed out to us, but it had 
grown fainter and fainter, and we had not trav- 
eled an hour before it entirely disajipeared. Gray 
was a dogged determiuud sort of a fellow, and 
didn't have any new wife to grieve over bis loss 
in the wilderness, while she set her cap for an- 
other fellow, and I was determined, too , that mine 
should not ha^e a chance to laugh at me, as I 
knew she would do if we turned back, so we 
struck out in the direction we thought Albert 
Lea ought to lie. You who live here now in the 
enjoyment of all the ease and comfort of civilized 
life in your cozy and elegant homes, embellished 
with all the treasures of art, if you came at a 
later period, can have little appreciation of the 
feelings, of the hopes and fears, I might almost 
say, of the sighs and tears, of those two forlorn 
weary pilgrims, as they plodded their slow way 
along in search of the spot where now stands the 
beautiful, prosperous capital of your equally 
beautiful aud prosperous country. Over the hil- 
locks, through the sloughs, which toward night- 
fall became, to us, veritable "sloughs of despond," 
the feet sinking at every step through the snow 
into the water underneath, leg-weary and sore, it 
was little wonder that when we reached Ruble's 
the following day, we were not only lame aud 
halt, but blind as well. All day we traveled with- 
out meeting a single person or seeing a human 
habitation of any kind. All was a dreary, bar- 
ren waste: we were literally afloat on the wide 
and seemingly boundless prairie, without compass 
and "nary" a guide-board to direct us to a haven of 
rest. Just at dusk we came upon the bank, or 
low marshy shore, rather, of a lake; and were hes- 
itating whether to go around or attempt to cross 
it, when we heard the welcome report of a gun, 
apparently not over a dozen rods ofi' and on the 
other side of a low ridge or hillock. Talk about 



the music of the bells, or of the horn about din- 
ner time! If that gun had been aimed directly 
at us by an unseen foe or assassin, its report' 
would have been sweeter music by far, to our ears, 
than that of the laughter of the bubbling brook, 
or of a wind instrument under the gentle manip- 
ulation of a forty lung power operator of the 
teutonic persuasion. We were about used up, 
despaired indeed of ever being able to reach a 
human habitation, and King Richard the three 
times, never wanted somebody to bind iip his 
wounds and l)ritig a horse, half as bad as we did. 
Gray prayed accordingly, and I"m afraid I pro- 
faned, and used cuss-words all that memorable 
afternoon. Gray prayed for guidance to Albert 
Lea, and I swore I did not believe there was any 
such place, except on the map, tliat it was a myth, 
an irjniix futniis luring us on to a worse fate than 
that of the babes in the woods; only in this case 
it was babes on the inhospitable prairie, for I was 
morally certain we had traveled far enough to 
find a dozen Albert Leas, had they been as big as 
St. Paul or New York. The fact was we were 
only about six miles on a straiglit line from Ge- 
neva. With difficulty we dragged our weary 
limbs along in the direction from whence the re- 
port of the gun liad come, and shortly encount- 
ered a solitary indian who was lying low for wild 
geese, and by signs and facial gestures made him 
understand that we were lost, and didn't feel very 
well ourselves, when, instead of taking our scalps, 
as he might easily have done, and thus forever 
extinguished the brilliancy of that luminary, the 
Southern Minnesota Star, ere yet it had begun to 
illuminate the darkened earth, led us to a house 
in ii clump of trees not half a mile o if, owned and 
occupied, I believe, by a pioneer named Beards- 
ley. It was a primitive residence in the primeval 
forest, as it were, to which that primitive child of 
nature, Lo! the poor Indian, conducted us, but 
never since, even in the palatial hotels of Chicago 
or any of the great cities, have I feasted more 
sumptuously than I did that night in that little 
log cabin by the lake, on a bill of fare which con- 
sisted wholly of bread, salt pork, starch gravy, 
and a decoction of rye, not the rye that comes 
from the still, but still it was rye, coffee; nor do I 
think I ever slumbered more sweetly or peacefully 
on the costliest spring bed or hair mattress, with 
snowy sheets and embroidered counterpoint, than 
I did that night on a straw tick, spread upon the 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



297 



rough floor of that rude log hut. The nest day 
we made our grand entree into Albert Lea, just 
in time to break bread with its founder at his m«r- 
idianal meal, and sop it with him in the starch 
gravy, in the preparation of which, good, kind- 
hearted, eccentric Mrs. Riible was a real artist. 

You who liave come here in later years should 
have se«u Albert Lea then; it was a county seat 
without buildings, and literally without iuliabi- 
tants. One solitary little log building, occupied 
by Clark as a store and bachelor's hall, together 
with Ruble's log house on the isthmus, and Capt. 
Thome's frame shanty on his addition to a town 
that had no existence save on paper, constituted 
the whole of the wealth, and contained all of the 
inhabitants of your now handsome full-fledged 
city of 2,.500 people. Coming from Austin by 
the shortest route, you passed a single frame 
house on the way, and in the whole county, six 
months later, there were not voters enough to 
elect my respected friend and fellow pioneer, 
Judge Stacy, and your humble servant to the 
first State Legislature. It wasn't our fault, how- 
ever; simply a lack of votes, that was all — for 
even at this late day I am conscious of the fact 
that we were both willing, if not anxious, to serve 
the State in the capacity of law makers; that we 
were abundantly qualified to do so with credit to 
ourselves and profit to the then budding young 
commonwealth, nobody seemed to have a doubt — 
with the trifling exeption of the people who cast 
a majority of the ballots. Judge Stacy had been 
a member of the double barreled Constitutional 
Convention, in which he had acquitted himself 
well and ably. I was an editor, and — I was aliout 
to say, a lawyer — but that wouldn't be true; I 
was a member of the bar, but no lawyer — and 
what I didn't think I knew about the aifairs of 
State, most certainly has never since been learned 
by any one. And right here I want to thank 
any and all old settlers who may be here present, 
who conti'ibvited to the result of that first general 
election, and especially my old friend and suc- 
cessful competitor for legislative honors, for laying 
me out on that occasion colder than a wrought 
iron wedge in January. Had they endorsed my 
pretensions, I now know that it would have been 
the worse for me, and most probably for them — 
for that legislature did the five million loan 
business, which certainly has not redounded to 
the credit of the State, and it is quite probable 



that had I been a member I should have voted for 
it, or, who knows"? I might have gone on from 
bad to worse until I lauded in Congress or the 
penitentiary, it wouldn't have made much difference 
which — for, while there may not be any persons 
in our penitentiaries who ought to be in Congress, 
it is morally certain that a great many members 
of Congress are badly lied about, or else they 
ought to be in the penitentiary. The bare possi- 
bility of what might have followed in the wake of 
a different result in the first general election in 
Freeborn county, is, even at this distant day, 
fearful to contemplate. For, I have held not a 
few offices of trust and responsibility since that 
time, and have learned to rate the honor which 
an election or an appointment to official position 
is supposed to confer, at its real value. I have 
come to believe that in these degenerate days, 
with the ballot in the hands of the ignorant, the 
sordid, and the vicious elements of the country, 
who are either boiTght or driven to the polls, 
when legislators are bought and sold like sheep 
in the shambles, and ofiices of the highest trust 
and importance are made objects of barter and of 
sale to the highest bidders, when corruption 
rankles in every vein and has become a festering 
sore in the body politic, I have come to believe 
that at such a time and in such a generation the 
post of highest honor is, indeed, the private sta- 
tion. But were it otherwise, the holding of 
official position ought to be the highest ambition 
of the true American citizen. The man who has 
sufficient ability to discharge with promptness 
and efficiency, the duties of any office to which he 
may aspire, ought to be, and in ninety-nine cases 
out of a hundred is, able to make more money and 
live more comfortably, in the pursuit of some 
legitimate business, and if he isn't able to do so, 
he isn't fit to hold office. The man who seeks an 
office is, most generally, the one above all others 
who shouldn't have it; and there is no honor 
attached to the incumbency of an office which 
does not come to the holder as the free, unsought 
offering of an intelligent people. It's a funny 
thing though, this running for office, almost 
always. Two years ago I stumped the Congres- 
sional district in which I live in behalf of my 
party candidate for Congress. He was a good, 
honest fellow, not much of a talker himself, but 
unfortunately had a nasal protuberance of un- 
usual size and lustre, from the end of which a 



298 



IIISTORT OF FREEBORIT COUNTY. 



wart had been amputated by a rebel bullet, giviog 
it the appearance of having been through several 
dog fights and as many Indian wars. At every 
meeting I w;i8 compelled to explain, first of all, 
that this black eye of mine was perfectly legiti- 
mate, and not the logical result of having called 
the wrong man a liar, and that my friend, the 
candidate's olfactory organ hadn't really been 
mutilated in a dog or barrow fight, but that it 
had been shorn of a part of its original majesty 
by a minnie ball while he was leading the advance 
of a well conducted retreat, in tlie cause of his 
country, during the rebellion; and though I 
pledged my sacred honor, and my inaleinable 
right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, 
for the truth of both statements, those Michigan- 
ders gently waved their massive auriculars, smiled 
a sweet smile of incredulity, and then went to 
the polls and elected the other candidate. Those 
of you who know my politics, however, and sym- 
pathise with them will appreciate the remark 
when I say that Michigan has a jiainful habit of 
always electing the wrong man. Now, my party 
want me to stand for Congress, but I won't even 
"lay" for it; I haven't one-twentieth part the de- 
sire to go to Congress, as I once had to represent 
your county in the State legislature; and I have 
no more desire to meet and shoot off epithets at 
those Confederate brigadiers now, than I was 
anxious to go down and shoot bullets at them in 
1863^. 

But I'm afraid I'm getting this story badly 
mixed up. I wanted to tell you something about 
the early history of Albert Lea and Freeborn 
county, Init I've wandered so far from the subject 
and the early history was made so long ago, that 
it's hard to get back to it. I believe I was telling 
you what constituted the wealth and population 
of Albert Lea in March, 1857. It was Yankee 
Doodle who couldn't see a traditional town be- 
cause there were so many houses; but that wasn't 
the case with the founders of your first local news- 
paper; there wasn't any houses when they came 
to your town, to obstruct the vision, or mar the 
great natural beauty of the site ujxm which it has 
since been built, and if there had been, it would 
have made no material difference, for they hadn't 
been an hour at Ruble's before they were both as 
blind as herrings — herrings that are red — and 
didn't take any pleasure in viewing the landscape 
o'er, at least to not any considerable extent, until 



after a period of four or five days had elapsed. It 
was what is known as a snow blindness, and just 
as effectual for the time being as though the eye 
had been put out by an explosion of nitro-glycer- 
ine. Kuble was then busy completing his mill, 
but when it was about finished, the spring rains 
united with the melting snow in raising a Hood 
which carried away part of the dam. and he found 
himself in possession of "a mill by a dam site, but 
no dam by the mill site," and we all turned out 
and helped make the necessary repairs. When he 
finally got the mill started, the first cut of lumber 
was used for the erection of the printing olKce, 
which was, if my memory is not at fault, the first 
firame building on the original townsite. In the 
meantime I had gone back to Hastings after my 
wife, and returning, again commenced the erection 
of the second frame building, designed for a 
dwelling. It was a princely mansion, made of 
rough boards set up on end, and upon which, 
although I was no carpenter, I did the most of the 
work. In it my wife and I commenced house- 
keeping as soon as it was enclosed and roofed 
over with slabs instead of shingles; well do I re- 
member the primitive cupboard with which we 
commenced hfe; it was made out of a large dry 
goods box set on end, while the graceful festoons 
in which my wife arranged the quilts and cover- 
lets which were made to do duty as doors and 
windows, will never be forgotten. At that time, 
I verily believe that there wasn't such a thing as 
a carpet in the settlement, nor any but the rudest 
home made furniture. And right here I desire to 
relieve the tedious narrative with the relation of 
an incident which occured about that time. When 
I went back to Hastings after my wife, Ruble 
armed me with a well executed plat of the embryo 
city, and a power of attorney constituting me an 
agent for the sale of lots. While at Hastings I 
fell in with a Boston capitalist named Stowell, to 
whom I sold two or three lots, which, judging from 
the plat and site designated for the printing 
office, were quite eligibly located. Stowell was a 
rather convivial sort of a fellow, and had plenty 
of money which he was investing in wild lands 
and town lots in what he considered the best local- 
ities. The town plat of Albert Lea had been sur- 
veyed in the winter, and in order to preserve the 
symmetry of form which would be most 2:)leasing 
to the eye when it was placed on paper, a corner 
of the lake was taken in. I was not aware of the 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



299 



fact at the time, and the lots I sold to Stowell, 
happened to be that particular part of the plat. 
I had been back from Hastings only a few days 
when Stowell put in an appearance. I had said 
so much praise of the new town, pictured in glow- 
ing colors the great natural beauty of the loca- 
tion, that after buying the lots, he couldn't resist 
the temptation to come and see for himself. It 
was a very wet season; the river and lakes had 
over-tlown their banks, every slough was a lake 
in itself, and how the fellow got here when he did 
was a mystery. He said he swam most of the 
way, and I was inclined to believe him, for I re- 
membered that shortly afterwards I went on 
horse-back to Geneva after a cow I had purchased 
'rom Mr. Robson or John Heath, I don't remem- 
ber which, and I had a terrible time of it. The 
horse was a blooded animal; I don't remember 
exactly whether he was sired by old Duroc, Ham- 
bletonian, or Lucifer, but I do think he must have 
been, as Mark Twain would say, damned by every - 
bjly who ever rode him. I started ti drive the 
cow home, and whenever I came to a slough, I 
would drive her in and crack the whip at her till 
she got across, and then I would get off the horse 
start him in, and hang on to his tail so as to be 
ready to pull him out in case he got mired. 
Sometimes before I could get across, the cow 
would start back again, higher up or lower down, 
and then the horse and I would have to follow 
suit. When I finally got that cow home, she was 
blind of one eye, and couldn't see out of the other, 
had lost a horn, and had but a part of a tail to 
tell the story of her own muley-ishness, and man's 
inhumanity. But here again I've got two stories 
mixed. Before I got on the last tangent I was 
about to say that after Stowell had been here a 
day or two, he came to me and wanted to know if 
I had a boat or canoe, I told him my partner had 
a cauoe, and if he wanted to go duck shooting, I 
would get it and go with him. "Duck shooting 
be — blessed!" said he, "I want to go out and 
look at those d-ashed lots you sold me, that's all!" 
I went with him to Mr. Ruble, who very readily 
and willingly consented to make a fair exchange 
with him, gave him the same number of lots on 
terra firma, and he went away satisfied. I did 
not see him again till the latter part of summer, 
and from what then occurred I was led to believe 
that I was not the only person from whom he had 
bought water lots. I then met him at the Mer- 



chant's Hotel, St. Paul, not exactly in a beastly- 
state of sobriety, but a trifle the worse for liquor. 
Being obliged to remain over Sunday, myself and 
a friend or two conchided to attend divine service, 
just as we were leaving the hotel, Stowell accos- 
ted us with an inquiry as to where we were going. 
He had been imbibing rather freely during the 
previous night, and had more liquor aboard than 
one man ought to try to carry — unless he has a 
jug in which to put at least a part of it. Being 
told that we were going to church, ne said, "thash 
all right (hie) boys, guesh I'll go too," and it was 
impossible to get away from him, though we 
walked fast and left him following some distance 
behind. Reaching the church we entered and 
were shown a seat well up in front by the usher; 
just as we were sitting down Stowell stepped in- 
side the door, and the minister began lining out 
that old familiar hymn : 

"There is a land of pure delight 
Where saints immortal dwell," 

when he was interrupted and the congregation 
horrified by the emphatic exclamation from Stow- 
ell — "Yes, thash's another Minnesota story, sell 
wile lan's and water lots!" It is needless to remark 
that our friend Stowell didn't remain to hear the 
sermon, but was unceremoniously ushered out, 
and I have never heard of him from that day to 
this. The story went the rounds of the papers at 
the time, and perhajis some of you may remember 
having read it. 

I will not dwell upon the condition of afTairs in 
Albert Lea and Freeborn county at the time I left 
them, after a two years' residence. The town was 
a mere hamlet, with no piiblic buildings, churches 
or schools, and not even a wagon road worthy of 
the name. I had established a newspaper accord- 
ing to agreement with Mr. Ruble, and did all I 
could, considering my youth and inexperience, to 
advertise abroad the great natural advantages and 
attractions of the town and county; but looking 
back through the vista of years, I must say that 
I'm afraid that the Southern Minnesota Star illu- 
mined with rather a pale, flickering light, the re- 
gions round about; certain it was that its little 
light was soon extinguished, and for a time Free- 
born county was plunged into the depths of a 
literary darkness. A second paper — The Freeborn 
County Eagle — was started after the lapse of a 
few months, and soared for a time among the lit- 
erary clouds, passing into the hands of Mr. Bots- 



300 



niSTORT OF FREKBORN GOUNTY. 



ford, when I gave it up and left the county; the 
StanJanl, I am infornicil, is the legitimate ofTspring 
of the papers I founded upon the sands of the 
desert, as it were — two dollars a year strictly in 
advance. I could relate many incidents that oc- 
curred during my residence here; among th® 
laughable lawsuits, the fight for the county seat 
witli Bancroft, a mythical town which cotild ihen 
only be found with the aid nf a mariner's com- 
pass, though it had a larger local paper than Al- 
bert Laa — The Bancroft Pionaer — published by 
D. Blakely, afterwards Secretary of State; of 
the political s(juat)bles; the coi;gratulations ex- 
tended to me as the father of the first child born 
on the original town site; of tiie first funeral; but 
I will not weary your patience further than to re- 
late one anecdote which had its beginning when I 
was an apprentice boy with old Cxovernor Sam. 
Medary in Columbus, Ohio, and its ending after 
he came to St Paul as chief executive of the ter- 
ritory. As a boy I was generally credited with 
being able to concoct and execute more mischief 
in an hour than I would be able to atone for in 
a lifetime. As an apprentice with the governor; 
the order of business consisted principally in be- 
ing discharged one day and hired over again the 
next. I owed my frequent dismissals to the 
pranks I played on the Colonel, as he was then 
called, and my reinstatement, to the kind interpo- 
sition of his good wife, with whom, notwithstand- 
ing my mischievous propensities, I was something 
of a favorite. I slejjt in a room at the office, and 
took my meals at the Colonel's house, doing the 
little chores morning and evening, and sometimes 
hoeing up early corn, cabbages, and potatoes in 
the garden. I had played many tricks on the 
Colonel, who was at times, terribly profane, but 
the one I am about to relate broke the camel's 
back, and resulted in my coming west. An unruly 
cow was in the habit of breakfasting on the 
Colonel's tender young cabbages, and that, 
coupled with the fact that she could never get out 
the same way she got in, but had to have the 
gate opened for her, made him terribly angry. 
In a room in the printing office building was 
stored a lot of old tiint-lock muskets which be- 
longed to a defunct militia company, and which 
myself and another apprentice used to fire off, one 
after another, from the top of the building at an 
early hour in the morning to the annoyance of 
the whole town. One fine summer morning, when 



the cow was taking her regular matutinal meal, 
the Colonel ordered me to go to the office, load 
the musket with powder, and carry it to the house, 
so that, as he remarked, he could "pepper her 
cabbage for her." I went, not in the best of 
humor possible, and did as I was ordered. I put 
into that musket powder enongh to load a siege 
gun, put some dry paper on top of the powder, and 
rammed upon that some more paper which was not 
so dry, then put in a handful] of old type from 
the printers' "hell box" and some more paper on 
top of that. Going back to the house, I found 
the Colonel waiting impatiently with a handful 
of pe])per- berries, which I put into the musket 
with some more jiaper on top, in the meantime 
suggesting that the gun kicked, and he had bet- 
ter let me do the shooting, though I wouldn't 
have been behind that musket when it went off for 
the best dollar of the daddies that, ever came from 
the mint. He was indignant, and proposed to do 
his own cow killing — and he did. That cow for 
the first time went out of the garden the same way 
she got in — over the fence — with a long drawn 
out bellow, that would have gone to the heart of 
a less wicked boy than I now know myself to 
have been — and she didn't come back again either 
— but just went out on the commons and died. 
When the roar of the musket had died away, and 
the cloud of smoke began to soar heavenward, 
the Colonel was seen trying to pick himself up 
from between two rows of potatoes, livid with 
rage, and — but it is sufficient to say he paid for 
the cow, and I took Greeley's advice, and came 
west, after a few years bringing up at Albert Lea. 
In the fall of 1857, Judge Stacy and myself were 
delegates to the first Democratic State Convention, 
and I lost no time after reaching St. Paul to call 
on the Colonel, who was then governor. I had 
grown from a boy to man's estate, and was, of 
course, considerably changed. Without telling 
my name, I said to him that I was running a little 
paper in the south part of the territory, a 
delegate to the convention, and had called to see 
if he couldn't give me an appointment to help me 
along, if it was nothing more than that of notary 
public. He eyed me keenly for a moment and 
then remarked, 'It seems to me I ought to know 
you; your face is familiar, and yet I can't exactly 
place you.' I ventured to say that I thought he 
ought to remember me, 'don't you remember 
Colonel ' — 'Hold on. not another word!' said he, 'I 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOC I AT TON. 



301 



know you now! You're the infernal rascal who 
loaded that musket! Notary public! Why God 
bless me Alfred, I'd make you president if I 
could.' And he grasped my hand and shook it 
as cordially and heartily as he could have done 
had his arm never been partially paralyzed by the 
rebound of a musked loaded with a cannon 
charge. 

Up to the time I left here, not a dollar's worth 
of farm produce had been exported from the 
county, and but few if any of the farmers had 
grown more grain than would suffice for planting 
the following year. All the breadstuffs consumed 
by the population at that time were imported. 
There was no flouring mill, and I do not think 
there was a single reaper in the county, though 
there may have been one or two. Salt pork and 
starch gravy was the regular bill of fare. I re- 
member the first summer I was here I had oc- 
casion to go to Chatfield, and returning on foot, 
a short distance this side of that place I saw some 
pie-plant growing in a farmer's garden, a package 
of which I purchased at a fabulous price, and 
carried all the way home as a rare and not easily 
obtained luxury. And I so far remember those 
old pioneer days that sometimes when my wife 
suggests that there is little variety in our table 
bill of fare, and she would like a change, I go 
down town, carry up a piece of salt pork and say 
to her, 'there my dear; a little salt pork, with 
starch gravy, n la Albert Lea, if yoii please;' and 
we enjoy it as much and even more than we would 
have relished the luxuries which were not attain- 
able in those piiineer days. 

Now I am told that Freeborn county, instead of 
importing its breadstuffs, exports annually wheat 
to the extent of over a million and a quarter of 
bushels, and other farm products in proportion. 
Most heartily do I congratulate you. people of 
Freeborn county, and the old settlers particularly, 
upon what you have accomplished. Where 
twenty years ago was a dreary waste I see now a 
most beautiful city, with costly buildings, elegant 
residences, fine hotels, churches, and schools, 
thriving villages, and on every hand fields of 
waving grain, lowing herds, and unmistakable 
evidences of material prosperity and wealth. Your 
patient perseverance has conquered a signal suc- 
cess, of which you are in every way worthy and 
deserving. May you continue to prosper, and 
that Heaven's choicest blessings may continue to 



fall upon you and yours, is the earnest prayer of 
one who has oftimes regretted that he did not re- 
main to share the trials and hardships through 
which you have passed to a final jiarticipation in 
the grand triumph you have achieved. It is a 
beautiful custom you have inaugurated — this re- 
union of old settlers every year, when you meet 
like old soldiers, fight your battles over again, lay 
aside the cares of business, and forgetful of party 
strife and personal bickerings, cement anew the- 
bonds of friendship, and that unity of sentiment 
and endeavor which has enabled you to conquer 
all obstacles and make yours the garden county 
of the garden State of the Union. 

If I attempted to say to you all I would like 
to say ou this occasion, I kqpw I should tax your 
patience. I apprehend that my old pioneer 
friends wanted to see me more than they wanted 
to hear rne talk, and I am certain that I desired 
to see them once more before joining that memor- 
able caravan that has gone before : and I want to 
hear some of them talk too, I see about me some 
faces that were familiar twenty years ago ; but 
alas, I miss from among you many who shared 
with us the trials and hardships, the hopes and 
the fears of that early period in the history of 
Freeborn county. They have passed away to the 
silent and mysterious future; some died battling 
in their country's cause, others surrounded by 
their families in the homes they liad builded for 
themselves in the wilderness, which they and you 
have made to bloom as a garden and blossom as 
the rose. Of my old friend and partner I have 
heard Eothing since the war, in which he was a 
soldier, either from choice or compulsion, on the 
Confederate side. I miss from among you my old 
and valued friend, Armstrong, who died in the 
meridian of a noble manhood; William Andrews, 
the good Dr. Blackmer, and others I might name, 
friends of my younger years, are not here to ex- 
tend, as I know they would, if living, a friendly, 
cordial greeting. It may be tbat my old friend 
and partner still lives; I know not; but it is more 
than proable that he lies buried in an unknown 
grave, the unwilling victim of a cruel war. If 
indeed he be dead, sing, oh ye sirens, your saddest 
strains, and chant ye winds and birds a requiem 
over his tomb! Does he rest under a cairn of 
pebbles in the shadow of some grand old south- 
ern sierra, may some grieving Oread come by 
night to drop a tear of pity and place a garland 



3U2 



insTOltV OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



ou his barren ss^pvilcbre. Nor do I know where 
the others sleep. Wherever it be, may tlie eve- 
ning dews fall, oh so gently, and the Howers 
spread sweet perfume around ; may the tall trees 
make mournful music, and the forest songsters 
chant their evening hymns over the places where 
they rest. And whether they lie in the vast ocean, 
or somewhere in the broad bosom of this fair 
land of ours, may the crimson morning dawn 
softly, and the first rays of God's golden sun- 
shine rest long and lovingly over the places where 
they sleep." 

Mr. Botsford i)reseuted the obituaries, and some 
touching remarks were made l)y Father Lowry 
in relation to those who had passed away during 
the year. The song "No Night There" was sung. 
Forty-four joined the association this year. A 
letter from Rev. C. L Clausen was read and or- 
dered on file. Messrs. Jones, Goward, Swineford, 
Botsford and others related stories of the olden 
time. Mr. Parker read some town histories. The 
assembly was dismissed with the bene diction by 
Rev. Father McReynolds. 

The Fifth annual reunion. This unusually inter- 
esting aH'air took plaee on Tuesday, the IDth of 
June, 1879, at the Court House. At half past ten 
the procession formed, with the right in front of 
the building, and it is said that there were six 
hundred teams and not less than three thousand 
five hundred jieople present. Headed by the Al- 
bert Lea Cornet Band it marched to the picnic 
grounds where ample provision had been made 
for the exercises. After music by the band. Pres- 
ident Stai'y made a few remarks expressing his 
satisfaction at seeing so many familiar faces, and 
feelingly alluded to those who had gone upon the 
last joxirney of this life, and called upon the 
chaplain to invoke the divine presence in prayer. 
Mr. Lowry came forward and asked the audience 
to join in singing, "Praise Crod from whom all 
blessings How." He then ofl'ered a fervent prayer, 
which was followed by the song "Wake the Song 
oE .Tubilee," by the Purdie family. .Judge Stacy i 
then introduced Lieut Governor Wakefield, who 
gave a most admirable address, paying a high 
tribute of respect to the early public meu with 
whom he was associated in the early legislation 
of the Territory and State, and especial commen- 
dations were jjreseuted to the memory of Augus- 
tus Armstrong. The address was received with 
great ai)j)lause. Then came the lunches and 



laughter, with jest and joke, conversation, cakes, 
cookie.s, and confectionery. 

It was the largest basket pic-nic, perhaps, ever 
held in the State, certainly in southernMinnesota. 
At half past one o'clock the assembly was called 
to order by the president, who announced that the 
proudest duty which had devolved upon him since 
his connection with the association, was the intro- 
ducing of Colonel .\lbert Miller Lea, who, forty- 
four years ago, conducted a military expedition 
across the territory which now constitutes Free- 
born county, and who, without doubt, passed 
within one hundred feet of the spot where he now 
stands. The venerable and distinguished man 
now came forward, and was greeted with most 
hearty applause, and when it had subsided he 
made a most admirable address, which is preserv- 
ed in the archives of the association. 

He began as follows : "Mr. President and old 
settlersof Freeborn county, your worthy president 
has told you who I am and why I am here. As 
I am expected to give you personal reminiscences, 
I must necessarily mingle them with some egotism 
and so I shall talk with you as familiarly as with 
old friends. There is not a face in all this large 
assembly I ever saw before last Saturday, and yet, 
I venture to flatter my.silf that there is not a heart 
among you that does not throb kindly toward the 
old man whom you have so generously welcomed. 
After many solicitations, repeated from year to 
year, and after disappointments not a few, at 
length, last Thursday morning, still feeble from 
recent illness, I took a train at my home in Cen- 
tral Taxes, to meet you here to-day in this genial 
reunion. Traveling continuously over a tlious- 
and miles, across eleven degrees of latitude, in 
sixty-two hours I passed through five States; from 
green com and melons to the early ripening 
berries; from the land of cotton to the land of 
wheat. The glorious visions of fertility and pros- 
perity have dispelled from my system all traces 
of disease; and your cordial greetings extended 
through your committee even beyonJ the limits 
of your State, have made my heart, at three score 
and eleven, beat as warmly as when, in my 
younger days, it was stirred by the lovely scenes of 
the fair country which you have since come to 
possess and enjoy, and still more to beautify and 
adorn." 

Most of the historical part of his address ap- 
pears in the early history of the county. His 



OLD SErTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



303 



description of the incident connected with the 
giving of his name to the lake is worth transcrib- 
ing here. "I was brought in contact with J. N. 
Nicollet, then engaged in mapping the surveys 
made by him in the northern basin of the 
Mississippi. He had made free use of my 
map in filling up his owa, and invited me 
one morning to breakfast with him and 
to inspect his work. During a pleasant 
sitting I described the scene of that beautiful 
lake. He drank in tbe description enthusiastical- 
ly, and exclaimed 'Ah zat is magniflque ! what 
you call him ? ' I replied 'Lake Chapeau' 'Ah, 
zat is not ze name, it is Lake Albert Lea,' and he 
thus wrote it on the map. And thus originated 
the name of the lake, that of the township, and of 
this beautiful city." 

At the conclusion of this address, letters were 
read from Henry M. Rice, George S. Ruble, then 
at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, and from 
Horace Greene. Thirty three new members join- 
ed the association this year. John L. Melder 
made a proposition looking toward the establish- 
ment of an old settlers' home which was referred to 
the President, Secretary, and Treasurer. 

The officers elected for the year were: Presi- 
dent, A. C. Wedge; Secretary, Augustus Peterson; 
Treasurer, Samuel Batchelder; and a Vice-Presi- 
devt for each town; Financial Committee, H. D. 
Brown, Henry Thurston, with the three executive 
officers. 

Committee on obituaries: H. Thurston. This 
meeting was acknowledged to be a very success- 
full one. 

The sixth annual reunion was on the 8th of 
July, 1880. The longest procession ever seen in 
this city started from in front of the Court House 
at the appointed time. Two brass bands furnish- 
ed the music, and the concourse proceeded to the 
grove north of Fountain Lake, where a varied 
programme was carried out. Twenty-six joined 
the association this year. Hon. M. S. Wilkinson 
was the orator of the occasion, and quite a long 
historical letter was read from George S. Ruble, 
the substance of which appears in our sketch of 
the early history of the county. 

The following gentlemen were chosen as officers 
for the year: President, A. C. Wedge; Secretary 
Augustus Peterson: Treasurer, Samuel Batchel- 
der; and Obituarian, H. Thurston. 

Notices of the honored dead were then read. 



The occasion was one of enjoyment, as they have 
ever been from the inception of the society. 

The seventh annual reunion was held in Albert 
Lea on the 14th of .Tune, 1881, and its features 
were not unlike those of previous years. The 
Fireman's Band furnished the music, and the ex- 
ercises were on the pic-nic grounds north of Foun- 
tain Lake. The Hon. David Blakely, of Minne- 
apolis, delivered the annual address, the locally 
historic part of which is here given. 

The officers for the year were: President, 
Francis Hall; Secretary, Isaac Botsford; Treas- 
urer, D. G. Parker; Committee on Obituaries, H. 
Thurston, J. Goward, A. H. Bartlett, J. F. Jones, 
and S. N. Frisbie. 

There was singing liy the Glee Club, and short 
speeches by Judge Stacy and Hon. Mr. Purdie. 

No apology is deemed necessary that so miich 
space is given to the Old Settlers' Association, 
and to the addresses that were made from time to 
time, because it is from just such sources as this 
that the present and the future historian must 
gather his material, and where we have found 
facts to record in the transactions of the associa- 
tion we have used them without hesitation. 

Ilxtraois from the Address of Ron. David Blakely : 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Old Set- 
tlers and Old Friends: — Twenty -four years ago 
this coming fall there might have been seen cours- 
ing over the jsrairie a few miles north of this spot, 
a solitary prairie schooner, inhabited by a brace 
of gentlemen of whom many of you have heard, 
but few have ever seen. One of these gentlemen, 
you will already have anticipated me in guessing, 
was the pushing and energetic business agent of 
the town of Bancroft. The other was a young, 
unsophisticated, confiding companion of his, who, 
after a somewhat checkered career, of which this 
was the anticipated golden beginning, to-day, 
once more stands before you. I say once more, 
because there are many old settlers of Freeborn 
county within the sound of my voice, who will 
recall that twenty -three years, not far from this 
very spot, they suffered at my hands an afliiction 
akin to that with which they are again to-day 
threatened. The occasion was the fourth of July, 
and I was then, as I chance to be now, the honored 
orator of the day. I say they suffered on that 
occasion; and say it advisedly, because many of 
them were good, sound Democrats then, as they 
are good, sound Democrats now; and I was a red 



304 



IllsldliY OF FI!Ei:nni!N coryTY 



hot Republican then, and, if my fjnml old liii-uds 
will ])ardon me for saying it, I still obstinately con- 
tinue to be. Well, those times were times that 
tried men's souls, at least in a political sense. 
They were the times of the Kansas -Nebraska 
struggle, and antedated but a too brief period, 
the raid of old John Brown into Virginia, and the 
doom of the infamous institution of slavery con- 
sequent upon the mad assault upon Sumter. 

But to resume: As the solitary prairie schooner 
of which I made mention, neared the fiourishi'ng 
town of Bancroft, the unsophisticated but confid- 
ing traveller aforesaid, might have been observ- 
ed by tlie wayfarers along the road, if there had 
been any wayfarers along the road, or if indeed 
tliere had been any disceruable road, earnestly 
and perseveriugly peering into the airy labyrinths 
for a sight of the town. I say the town, because, 
having been pYevailed upoii by the seductive en- 
ticements of the energetic and enterprising busi- 
ness agent aforesaid, to join him and publish 
a news]>aper there, and having, by virtue of an 
exceedingly deficient education in western town 
sites, taken it for granted that where a big news- 
paper was to be published, there must necessarily 
be a big town; he kept straining his eyes through 
the hazy October atmo.sphere tor a sight of the 
town. Never did a poor Christian gaze with 
more intense longing for the sight of the golden 
gates and the beautiful temples of the everlasting 
city which was to be the end of his pilgrimage, 
than I through the curtains of that old prairie 
schooner for the lefty spires, the imposing edifices, 
and the smoke of a thousand manufactories that 
I proudly expected to see ascend to heaven from 
the noisy and |)opulous mart which I was soon to 
gratify and surprise by the publication of my new, 
and as a matter of course, my "able" newspaper. 

I have often reflected upon the peculiar vealy 
character of the verdancy which distinguished 
this peculiar episode in my career. The limit of 
my western pioneering had been the city of 
Chicago, where, fresh from my eastern home and 
just forsaken text books, I was looking for a very 
small opening for a large young man. It was at 
this critical juncture that my friend, the energetic 
business agent of Bancroft, discovered me. We 
had been old friends in early years, for he was a 
Vermonter too, and well knew that I had been 
educated a printer before I entered the Univer- 
sity. 



Naturally enough, lie convinced me that I was 
just tlie talented youth for the opening that a 
beneficent providence had placed at his disposal. 
He was, he said, in Chicago to purchase a news- 
paper outfit for a Minne.sota town in which he had 
settled; and the landed interests of whose pro" 
prietors he happened to be agent. Then-follow- 
ed a list of these landed proprietors and a titled 
list it was. 

It contained the names of the Governor of the 
territory, of the Chief of .Justice, of Generals and 
Colonels, and bankers and capitalists, until my 
imagination peopled its streets with dignitaries, 
and its squares with sky reaching edifices: and so 
much a matter of cour.se did I take this condition 
of things to be. that it never entered my head to 
inquire into the actual facts. It is not strange 
then, that on the memorable day referred to I 
was still gazing anxiously into the distance 
for a sight of the spires of my anticipated Arcadia, 
when the schooner brought up by the side of a 
freshly built board shanty, and my friend, the 
agent, announced with a gravity that would have 
become one of Kip Van Winkle's ghostly moun- 
tain boblins, that we had arrived. Shades of 
Chuzz Crvit! I exclaimed, am I too the victim of 
a town site demon, and is this the Eden of the con- 
spiracy '? 

'Oh, no,' replied he with a calmness which 
would have done honor to the referee of a cook- 
fight, 'this is no Eden, although if Eden equalled 
it in loveliness, you will admit it was a sad day for 
our luckless jmcestors when they wore expelled 
from it. No, this not Eden, but Bancroft!' 

Bancroft ! ejaculated I with mingled scorn and 
indignation, then where is the town? 

'Why this is the town, or rather, the town site!' 

Oh, town site! town site! and sure enough 
it was a town "site", but in all the wide expanse 
of prairie and openings there was never a sight 
of a town. 

A single board shanty, a screaming steam saw- 
mill, and a grass covered prairie stretching away 
for miles, constituted the sad realization of my 
pictured spires, my sky-reaching edifices, and my 
great metropolitan squares peopled with Gover- 
nors, poety, brave men, and beautiful women ! 

But the enthusiasm of youtli is not easily 
dampened. My printing establishment was on 
the way, it had already been loaded upon the me- 
andering ox-cart, wliich was thin the distinguish- 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



305 



ing avenue of freight transportation between the 
river and these sequestered parts. My friend, the 
agent, had a pushing and active spirit ; he assured 
me that out here in the far West, towns and villa- 
ger sprang up like mushrooms in the night; that 
the saw-mill which I saw whirring and whizzing 
before me, was already cutting up and forming 
the material which was to enter into the construc- 
tion of my printing office, several stores, dwell- 
ings, and buildings of divers and sundry uses, 
purposes, and ends; and he whispered into my of 
quickly reassured year as a matter of sacred confi- 
dence, but with the air and manner of a man who 
knew whereof he spoke, that Bancroft was to be 
the future county seat of the county; that the 
insignificant collection of board tenements and 
tumble down mill, known as George Ruble's at 
Albert Lea, would soon be transformed into rook- 
eries for fowls, while the people would hock to the 
future metropolis, the procession headed by Mo- 
rin, the Register of Deeds of this county, and by 
Swineford, the flamboy and editor of the weekly 
concern which my able metropolitan journal 
would very speedily swallow up and supplant. 
Moreover, while the Governor, the Chief Justice, 
the Generals, the Colonels, the bankers, and the 
capitalists were not actual residents of Bancroft, 
and possibly never would be, they were in a posi- 
tion of influence which would insure tor the town 
a mighty future. Indeed, it was not too sweet to 
anticipate that the dome of the State Capitol 
would some day glisten in the sun from the spot 
where we stood. To cap the climax I was pre- 
sented with a deed to twenty of the lots of the 
town, and thus, in the twinkling of an eye, trans- 
formed from a seedy stripling in search of an 
opening, to a bloated town proprietor already en- 
tered into the possession of his wealth. My 
friends, it was enough ! From that hour I was a 
convert to the colossal possibilities of the future 
town and seat of the county, and the vindoubted 
final Capital of the State. From that hour I was 
the zealous heutenant and coadjutor of as san- 
guine a townsite devotee as ever builded from a rosy 
imagination a magnificent castle in Spain. From 
that hour the whirring and whizzing steam mill 
redoubled its efforts ; the lumber for my printing 
office, for the first store, tor the biggest dwelling 
house in the county, to be occupied by the busi- 
ness agent, his family and guests, was soon on the 
ground, and by the time the meandering ox -carts 
20 



arrived from the river laden with my precious 
newspaper material, the roomiest office in the 
county awaited its reception. I set to work and 
put it in order. The election which was to trans- 
fer its county seat from Albert Lea to Bancroft 
was close at hand. At most I could issue but one 
copy of the new and "able" paper before the vot- 
ers would decide the argument. I put my 
whole heart and soul into the event. I wrote 
nights and put the heated fulmination of my 
goose-qiiill in type daytimes, I scarcely ate or 
slept. I had no experienced help, and feeling 
that the eyes of the people of the county, if not 
the whole world were upon me, and that the issue 
of the appeal was in my keeping, I endeavored to 
be equal to the crisis. But alas, the fates were 
against me. For one man to lay the cases, to put 
up the press, to write editorials, to perambiilate the 
town and record the vast variety of local events, 
to receive and arrange the news and the commer- 
cial departments, and above all, to set up and 
classify the great crush of advertisements that 
crowded the columns of a newspaper published in 
a town of upwards of twenty thousand, or, I 
should rather say, upwards of twenty inhabitants, 
was too much ! My first paper did not appear 
imtil the very dawn of election day, too late to 
reach the rural districts — too late to influence, to 
persuade,to electrify the people, too late to frustrate 
the damnable plot concocted by tht Rubles, the 
Morins, the Wedges, the Armstrongs, of this city, 
and the wily Stacys, the sly Frisbies, and the fes- 
tive Bartletts of the county ! Too late to secure 
the fondly anticipated transfer of the county seat 
from Albert Lea to Bancroft — too late to lay the 
foundation of a mighty emporium — too late to 
command the future location of the Capital of the 
State, and possibly of the nation — too late to e"?- 
tablish at the final hub of the Universe, a newspaper 
that should be read by the inhabitants of the 
globe. 

But the fire of youth is not to be burned out at 
a single conflagration, and Agent Oliver and I 
were not long in finding compensations for our 
sorry disaster. During the progress of the cam- 
paign the town had trebled in growth. That is, 
where at the outset had been but a single board 
shanty, there were now two or three quite respec- 
table buildings; and it must be admitted that 
any town whose buildings double and treble in a 
month, is an amazingly flourishing town. We 



306 



HISTORY OF VREKBOHN COUNTY. 



soon rejoiced in the possession of the largest store 
and finest private mansion — that of Agent Oliver 
— in the county, and mv newspaper — well, modes- 
ty forbids my dwelling on the merits of that his- 
torical shee t. * * * * 

The musical critic of the paper had little to con- 
tribute, although the town was really distinguish- 
ed for its talent in this direction. Agent Oliver 
and wife were cultured New Englanders- he a 
superior pianist and organist, and she a soprano 
whose rare voice has since made her one of the 
finest concert singers in the country, and long a 
favored occupant of the first choir in New York. 
Then Mr. Charles Etheridge, at that time a skil- 
ful contracting carpenter, who erected the build- 
ings on the town site, but who afterwards became 
a St. Paul insurance agent, and acquired sudden 
wealth by decamping with the money of his com- 
panies, and who thus proved the only successful 
financier ever conndcted with Bancroft history — 
was the base, and I the warbling tenor. The or- 
ganization constituted the only opera the town 
ever boasted. 

The religious editor of the " Bancroft Pioneer " 
also found his occupation gone. This, I say, was 
a lamentable fact, because I am satisfied that if 
there had been religious services at Bancroft and 
Albert Lea in those days, and Morin and Ruble 
and Wedge and Stacy — let me never forget Stacy's 
finger in that unholy pie — and Colby and Ly- 
brand and Bartlett and Frisbie and many other 
wicked conspirators had attended divine service 
on the memorable Sabbath before the county 
seat election was held, instead of being scattered 
about the county plotting the overthrow of Ban- 
croft, there is not a peg on which to hang the 
shadow of a doubt that Bancroft would to-day 
have been the county seat of this beautiful 
county; and the sjrot whereon we stand, by an in- 
stance of rare poetic justice, would have been the 
site of the handsomest and most productive poor 
farm that ever fructified under the rays of a quick- 
ening June sun! I do not add, old settlers and old 
friends, I considerately and purposely do not add, 
that the wicked conspirators who plotted against 
Bancroft on that memorable " Sunday " above re- 
ferred to, would to-day have been tilling the soil 
on the county's farm on this spot; but there is no 
law against your drawing whatever inference the 
circumstances warrant. But, to resume; while 
the religious editor of the Bancroft Pioneer, owing 



to circumstances beyond his control, had little to 
interfere with his main occupation, I will not say 
of playing poker, the interviewing Jiinil. who 
had then not become a regular adjunct of the 
weekly press, had quite as little. The truth is, 
the streets and offices did not swarm with peojile 
to interview. The town was full of office-holders, 
however. If my memory is not at fault, erei-y 
regular citizen played that beautiful role. Agent 
Oliver was Postmaster, genial Mose Comfort, the 
clerk in the store, was his deputy, and I, bv a 
rare instance of misplaced confidence, had become 
a school trustee. Shortly after, by a promotion, 
the suddenness of which almost turned my head, 
I was elected to the office of town Supervisor, 
and at the first meeting of the Board, demcm- 
strated my utter incapacity for the place by vot- 
ing for Stacy for Chairman of the County Board. 
But this was a youthful indiscretion for which I 
ought not to be held to strict account. Bear in 
mind the letter by which a depraved son beguiled 
his father into following him to Minnesota, when he 
j wrote that "mighty mean men get oflioes out West." 
Offices were plenty in those days. There was a Su- 
pervisor to every town, and it often happened to 
youthful counties that there were more in the 
Board than outside of it. Don't wonder, then, 
that Stacy was honored, but rather accuse your- 
selves, for you subsequently promoted him to 
higher tnists, which, it seems, he never betrayed, 
a fact which, considering the past, he played in 
destroying the prospects of the town of Bancroft, 
is a cause of never ending amazement. 

It was not long liefore overtures were made me 
to abandon the town of my first love and earliest 
adventures, and cast, my fortunes with those of 
the flushed adventurers who were already enjoy- 
ing the results of their successful conspiracy. I 
resisted these bland enticementsf however, until 
resistance ceased longer to be a virtue; I stuck to 
the town of Bau'roft as long as a single sub- 
scriber remained ui)on its site, of tlie three which 
it originally contained. But when the store was 
closed, and Comfort departed, and Agent Oliver 
struck his colors, and I watched the schooner 
which bore him and his away from the town, un- 
til it disappeared among the oak openings in the 
distance, I felt 

'like one 

Who treadM above 
Bonip biiiKiuet-hall deserted; 

Whose i^arl.ands dead, 

Whose lif^lits are Hed, 
Aiici all hut me departed.* 



OLD SETTLERS' ASSOC TAT I ON. 



307 



The eighth annual reunion occurred on the 15th 
of September, 1882, in the grove north of the lake. 
The usual procession was formed at lialf past ten 
o'clock, made up of country delegations and city 
residents, with martial music, and proceeded to 
the pic-nic grounds. The day was most delight- 
ful and there was a laige concourse of old and 
young settlers, and it should be said that they 
made a remarkable good appearance, comparing 
favorably with any like number that can any- 
where be found. 

At the meeting Mr. Botsford presided, and the 
announcement was made that any persons who 
were here previous to the 1st of January, 1866, were 
entitled lo membership, and quite a list was added. 

Hon. A. H. Bartlett delivered the annual ad- 
dress, which was replete with reminiscences relat- 
ing to the early history of the county, and which 
has been largely drawn upoa to make ijp our 
portrayal of the first settlement. 

The Purdie family were present, as they have 
been at every meeting since the orgnnization of 
the society, and enlivened the occasion with their 
songs, which were well rendered. 

Mr. Prisbie, in an extemporaneous way, gave 
an account of the organization of the county. 
Miss Maggie Purdie gave a recitation "A fiend 
and a man." Col. T. J. Sheehan being called 
upon made some comparisons between "Now, and 
then." And gave a list of the men from Freeborn 
county who defended Fort Ridgely in August, 
1862. 

So much of his speech as relates to the growth 
and prosperity of the county is reproduced here: 
"I will call your attention to the material increase 
of wealth of Freeborn county during the little 
over a quartee of a century that it has been or- 
ganized, and I think you will see that we are the 
most prosperous county for the number of inhab- 
itants in the State. In 1857, the date of the or- 
ganization of the county, the amount of real and 
personal assessments covered only a few thousand 
dollars; I cannot give the exact sum, but it was 
less than many of you are worth to-day. Year by 
year its resources increased, until in the year 
1864, I find we had an assessed valuation all told, 
of $920,687. The county has gradually increased 
in wealth from that time, and in this year of our 
Lord, 1882, it reaches the magnificent snm of 
$5,210,311 — assessor's measure, with the possibil- 
ities within our reach, during the next quarter of 



a century, of making it 150,000,000. The increas- 
ing population and the consequent occupancy and 
improvement of new lands, the excellent railroad 
facilities bringing the northern, southern, east- 
ern, and western markets to our very doors, solici- 
ting your produce for other lands, and your own 
indomitable perseverance and hard work makes it 
highly profitable that millions upon millions will 
be added to its wealth as the succeeding years 
roll by. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, 
the Minneapolis & St. Louis, the Burlington, 
Cedar Rapids & Northern, and the Albert Lea and 
Fort Dodge railways meet here at our county 
seat and make the heart of our county the third 
largest railroad center in the State. The popula- 
tion of the city of Albert Lea is about 2,500 and 
of the entire county over 18,000. The business 
of the county I believe has always been transac- 
ted honorably and uprightly by its officers, and 
its expenditures have been considerably less than 
those of its neighbors, as is shown year by year 
ia the annual appropriations tor the necessary ex- 
penses of its government. I will now allude to a 
less agreeable history of our county, to show you 
how willing our people are to pay their debts, 
when circumstances permit them to do so. For a 
few years following the war, there was a season of 
prosperity which stimulated our people with a 
laudable ambition for great accomplighments, and 
for a few years they rolled along ujjon a wave of 
plenty; but suddenly there swept over the land a 
cloud of adversity, and many felt the iron chains 
of debts incurred in the purchase of lands and 
Qiachinery, pressing hard and close upon them 
with a tyrant's power, and although they strug- 
gled long and honorably to meet its just de- 
mands, the continuing hard times, short crops, 
low prices and accumulating interest, were an 
army they could not withstand, and they sank 
beneath its overpowering weight. Honest men 
they were, and true, but they could not surmount 
impossibilities. The ravages of the creditor com- 
menced, and the iron hand of the law was called 
upon to enforce his relentless demands. In 1876 
there were 125 executions levied by the sheriff 
and his deputies; in 1877 there were 98, of which 
nearly all were paid; in 1878 there were 54; and 
since that time there has been a gradual decrease 
until the present year, during which I am sure 
you will all rejoice with me to learn there has 
been but four, and two of those have been settled. 



308 



UISTOUY 0/' FliKl-:BORN COiryrY. 



The good behavior of our people is attested by 
the fact that there is not one person confined in 
the county jail at the present time. 'Tis true at 
times it is filled to overflowing, but I am gratified 
to 1)0 able to say to you tliat its ofcupauts are for 
the most part transient criminals representing a 
dangerous class of society, and but rarely one of 
our own citizens. Whoever they are, I say to you 
proudly as your Sheriff, that they are never the 
early settlers of Freeborn couuty, and at the risk 
of being accused of flattery I will add that it is 
largely due to the high order of intelligence you 
possessed, your virtuous teachings, and the excel- 
lent examples you set before the new and rising 
generations." 

Dr. Ballard recited a poem, which was inimita- 
ble in its way, and described the celebrated horse 
race, upon the result of which all Biincroft and 
Albert Lea staked everything movable that tljey 
possessed, each with the idea that it was a sure 
tiling; but the Bancroftites were, to use a sport- 
ing phrase, " beautifully scooped." 

The obituaries were read by several gentleman, 
and there were other recitations and remarks. Of 
course there was a recess of an hour to go through 
the baskets that were laden with good things. 
This was voted on all hands as being one of the 
most interesting reunions yet held, and it is 
likely that September will in future be the month 
for the old settler's reunion. The officers for 188.3 
are: President, I. Botsford; Secretary, H. D. 
Brown ; Treasurer, Gilbert Gulbrandson, and a list 
of vice Presidents. 

Necrology. — Here is an imperfect list of old 
settlers who have been transferred to "thiit bourne 
from which no traveler returns:" Elias Stanton, 
L. C. Carlstou, William Andrews, Peter Beighley, 
Rev. Theop. Lowry, James A. Robson, David 
Southwick, S(|uire Dunn, Patrick Fitzsimons, 
Howell Davis, Gardner Cottrell, A. Armstrong, 
William White, Luther Parker, II. B. Riggs, Par- 
don Greene, Lydia Barber, John Colby, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Beighley, Joseph Lang, George Boulton, 
Harvey B. Earle, Warner Barber, Mr. Baxter, 
Mrs. T. J. Jordon, Mrs. William Beighley, Mrs. 
Jennette Smith, Mrs. W. R. Scjuires, David M. 
Farr, Emery Davis, Nathan Bullock, Mrs. J. M. 
Melander, Mrs. M. C. Wallace, B. J. House, Ezra 
Stearns, Israel N. Pace, Frederick H. White, Geo. 
Carpenter, Henry Schmidt, Henry Weiser, 
Mary Knapp, E. S. Smith, Harold Ander- 



son Jr., John S. Corning, J. S. Harris, X. H. 
EUikson, Hiram E. Jones, Amanda Woodrufi", 
Eliab Eggleston, Dr. Franklin Blackmer, J. Mar- 
vin, J. W. Burdick, Fred. S. Woodward, Thomas 
Morrison, William Hare, Mrs. William White, 
Rev. Walter Scott, Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, Jere- 
miah Ward, Eric Ericks.>u, Ole Oleson Fossom, 
Hiram J, Rice, William McKune, Hiram Thomas, 
Mrs. Vanderwalker. 

MEMBERS OF THE OLD SETTLERS .\SS()(l.vrK)X WITH 
THE RECORDED D.\TE OF THEIR COMIXc;. 

18.54.— E. 0. Stacy, Mrs. E. C. Stacy. 

18.55. — John Colby, Hanibal Bickfor.l, (rcorge 
Gardner, Margaret Gardner, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac 
Botsford, Charles Peterson, T. R. Morgan, Christo- 
pher Michelsou, M.L. Frost, Oliver Andrews, Mrs. 
Oliver Andrews, E 1. Hostetter, George S. Ruble, 

1856. — .Tohn L. Melder, Samuel Batchelder, 
Frank Ross, C. Narveson, J. W. Ayers, Charles 
C. Ayers, William Beighley, J. E. Simans, D. R. 
Young, Mrs. Addie A. Batchelder, J. H. Heath, 
William Pace, F. McCall, Mrs. F. McCall, William 
Freeman, Witling Wordsworth, Mrs. Willing 
Wordsworth, Ole Peterson, (Hlbert Gulbrandson, 
A. W. White, A. M. Burnham, Mrs. J. W. Melder, 
Mrs. Mary B. Ayers, J. F. Jones, Mrs. J. F. Jones, 
P. E. Pace, John Murtangh. John W. Murtougli, 
Mrs, J. W. Murtiiugh, Mr. and Mrs. Simans, San- 
iel Prescott, M. V. KsUar, Jacob Beighley, Mrs. 
Jacob Beighley, Ole C. Oleson, Hans Gulbrand- 
son, John G. Godley, H. Peek, R. P. Gibson, N. 
S. Hardy, Mrs Aug. Peterson, John Freeman, k. 
C. Trow, Henry Loomis, Mary Loomis, William 
Morin, Nancy Frost, J. Stage, Mrs. John Stage, 
E. D. Hopkins, S. P. Beighley, J. B. Gordon, T. J. 
Gordon D.G. Parker, Charles C. Ayers, E.D. Porter. 
S. G. Lowry, C. O. Baarness, S. N. Frisbie, Mrs. 
Sarah Town, Mrs. Mary Vinelaud, Ed. Skinner, 
Frank Merchant, Anna Merchant, E. Eggleson, J. 
M. Boulton, J. C, Frost, Philip Herman, Mary 
English, Charley Thompson, Hauua O'Connor. 

1857.— L. R. Luce, Ricliard Fitzgerald, N. C. 
Lowthian, Henry Thurston, C. J. Grandy, Mrs. C. 
J. Grandy, Herman Blackmer, Prank Barlow, A. 
C. Wedge, Mrs A. C. Wedge, Mrs. J. W. Heath, 
William H. Long, H. Eustrin. B. Schodd, .Tames 
Lair, Mrs. James Lair, H. D. Brown, David Hor- 
ning, Mrs. D. R. Young, Mrs. N. I. Lowthian, 
Alfred Lowry, F. W. Purdie: H. C. Lacy, Matli- 
ias Anderson, Timothy J. Shohan, John N. Wol- 
hunter, Mrs. S. (r. Lowry, A. K. Norton, Charles 



JUDICIAL. 



309 



Norton, Mrs. Charles Norton, James Long, Mrs. 
James Long, Joseph France, S. B. Smith, W. J. 
Horning, John Wood, Daniel Dills, W. H. Long, 
Mrs. W. H. Long, Michael Sheehan, John A. 
Sohoen, Mrs John A. Schoen, P. A. Black- 
mer, John Beighley, John Slater, N. H. 
EUicksou, M. O. Whitney, George Hyatt, E. M. 
EUingson, Willard 0. Marvin, Mrs. Willard C. 
Marvin, Reuben Williams, Mrs. Willard Eaton, 
Samuel Eaton, Henry Emmons, C. Kittleson, A. 
J. Anderson, Ole Narveson, N. 0. Narveson, Sam- 
uel W. Horning, George McCoUey, J. Walaski, 
William Baker, Mrs. William Baker, H. A. House, 
William P. Spooner, Jacob Baker, William L. 
Lowry, Asaph V. Thomas, L. J. Thomas, Lewis 
Marpie. 

1858. — Jason Goward, August Peterson, Ole 
Narveson, Rebecca A. Dills, Chester Holcomb, 
Mrs. Chester Holcomb, D. C. Calvin, William 
English, Francis Hall, Mrs. Jason Goward, B. 
J. House, O. F. Peck, Mrs. O. F. Peck, N. T. 
Sanbury,Mrs.N. T. Sanbury, Mrs. C. Boven, H. L. 
Webster, George B. Chamberlain, Mrs. George B. 
Chamberlain, Mary J. Horning, David Horning, 
John Johnson, William Norton, Milton Hewett, 
Charles Dunbar, Ole J. Jordahl, Mrs. David Ool- 
vin, Mrs. Emma Ward. 

1859.— W. S. Hand, Mrs. W. S. Hand, Josiah 
Jones, Mrs. Josiah Jones, Maurice Russenger, 
Mrs. Eugene Walker, C. M. Hewett, Mrs. C. M. 
Hewett, Simeon Jones, Mrs. Simeon Jones, Mrs. 
Martha L. Thurston, Mrs. Sarah W. Edwards, 
William Feuliolt, R. H. Boven, Mrs. E. Wane- 
maker, Asa Walker, Harriet J. Harden, Ole Narve- 
son, J. Dunbar, John C. Ross, H. N. Ostrander, 
Freeman Briggs. 

I860.— Mrs. Sarah J. Riggs, Charles G. Bick- 
ford, F. W. Drake, Gunwold Johnsand, Jacob 
Larson. 

1861.— E. F. Leonard, G. W. Bark, John Mur- 
phy, Mrs. Daniel W. Horning, Charles Mann, 
Susan Bartlett. 

1862.— S. S. Challis, Mrs. A. J. Challis. 

1864. — Ira A. Town, Edmund Town, James H. 
Chamberlain. 

It seems unfortunate, and it is a source of an- 
noyance to us, that the record of those who 
joined in 1880 and in 1881 has not been preserved, 
and so our list is incomplete. In 1882, the date 
of the coming of a number was omitted; the 
names of those who joined are here given: 



R. C. Spear, John Smith, G. H. Prescott, Mrs. 
G. H. Prescott, Mrs. James Whittemore, W. G. 
BarneS; all of whom came in May, 1857. 
Miss Grace Prescott, Miss Emma Frost, H. 
Loomis, Mrs. H. Loomis, Henry Blackmer, Mrs. 
Henry Blackmer, M. M. Luce, Mrs. M. W. 
O'Connor, O. 0. C. Howe, Mrs. O. C. 0. Howe, 
Fred Fink, Henry Schneider, E. Budlong, Mrs. 
E. Burlong, R. Tykeson, Alex. Peterson, Mrs. 
Alex. Peterson, Mrs. J. A. Lovely, Stephen Kel- 
ley, Samuel Thompson, A H. Bartlett, Mrs. A. H. 
Bartlett. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

JUDICIAIi — COUNTY OOVEKNMENT fiOUNTY SEAT 

CONTEST EDUCATIONAL — PATRON.S OF HUSBAND- 
RY — RAIIiBOADS AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. 

Freeborn county was in the fifth judicial district 
of Minnesota under the first organization. In 1857, 
the Clerk of the Court having been appointed, 
business was commenced by him, attending to 
the regular routine work. The first case recorded 
was that of J. S. Corning against James M. 
Young, for the recovery of one hundred and thirty 
one dollars due on a note. An attachment was 
made, no answer filed; so judgement was entered. 
The date of this case was the 27th of November. 
Up to the time when the first circuit court was 
opened there were twenty-seven cases. 

This court was held on the 27th of September, 
1858, and at this session Alfred P. Swinetord was 
admitted to practice at the bar. J. W. Perry was 
also admitted as an attorney. A oommitte was 
also appointed to examine W. D. Chilson and 
John W. Heath with a view to their admission as 
attorneys. A. B. Webber, Augustus Armstrong, 
and J. W. Perry were the committee, who repor- 
ted favorably, and the candidates were admitted. 

The lawyers who appear at this early day were, 
A. Armstrong, D. G. Parker, A. B. Webber. J. W. 
Perry, and A. P. Swineford. 

The grand jury was called and eighteen answer- 
ed to their names. Two indictments were found 
against William L. Gray for "unlawful traffick- 
ing in spirituous liquors, and for keeping a 
gambling house." He was brought in on a 
bench warrant and pleaded not guilty, and was 
put under bonds in the sum of one hundred dol- 
lars for his appearance. 



310 



HISTOBF OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



The calendar being called, the following cases 
appeared ready for trial: Asa BuUard irmus John 
T. Asher; Hagan Mathews vergm Hans Johnson: 
Ola Gruberson versus Lara Evenson, which were 
duly disposed of. 

The names of the judges who have set on this 
bench, and that of the clerks, will be found in the 
Centennial History by Mr. Parker, which has 
been brought down to 1882. 

It seems that no record of the earliest marriages 
was preserved, until the county was organized. 
The first mentioned was that of Mr. Henry Snyder 
and Miss Mary Fink, on the 25th of June, 1857, 
by William Anderson, Justice of the Peace. The 
next is that of William Andrews himself to Miss 
Mary Leonard, by tlie redoubtable J. Clark, Jus- 
tice of the Peace. The third and last one this 
year was Mr. Oscar Miller and Miss Betsey M. 
BuUock; the magistrate was George Watson, and 
the witnesses were H. B. Earle and Daniel Gates. 
These were all those reported in 1857. 

The number of cases of record up to the second 
term of the court was sixty-one. This term com- 
menced on the 25th of September, 1859. 

At this session the case of Henry Kreigler, ac- 
cused of wilful-murder, and which is mentioned 
elsewliere, was brought up. J. M. Perry was ap- 
pointed to assist the prosecuting attorney. The 
case was transferred to Steele county, as it was 
declared impossible to secure an impartial trial 
here, on aecouut of prejudice, 

E. C. Stacy was admitted to practice in the 
courts of the State at this term. There were some 
cases of absorbing interest at the time, in a local 
way, but none of general importance. 

The first deed spiead on the records was that of 
William ,Rice and wife to Uriah Grover. The 
second to be recorded was that of Uriah Grover 
and wife to Elihu C. and Anthony C. Trow, a 
piece of land in consideration of .f 100 in township 
102, range 20. John S. Corning was the magis- 
trate. The next was William Rice and wife to 
Uriah Grover, September 1st, 1856. Charles T. 
Knapp and wife to E. C. and A. C. Trow on the 
22d of October, of the same year. This year there 
were but three recorded, but several came in later 
which had been executed during the year. 

The first recorded in 1857 was that of G«orge 
W. Beighley and wife, to S. Batchelder and C. C. 
Colby. 

The mortgage book commences on the 9th of 



November, 1856, and (he first one that appears 
was Welcome S. Bacon, to Elbridge G. Potter, to 
secure the payment of 13000, a tract of land; 
and this seems to have been the only one this 
year. The next year a mortgage was exe- 
cuted and recorded on the 3d of March, by L. T. 
Carlson to C. A. Luudrone, and was the only one 
recorded that year. 

Since that time the deeds and mortgages have 
accumulated- to till thirty-two volumns of deeds 
and twenty -six of mortgages. The books are 640 
pages, and average a little less than one deed for a 
page; so it can be seen that the transfer of real 
property has been lively in the county since its 
organization. 

. The Board of County Commissioners met on 
the 3d of March, 1857, for the purpose of organi- 
zation. It consisted of William Andrews, E. C. 
Stacy, and S. N. Frisbie. William Andrews was 
chosen Chairman. On motion of Mr. Frisbie, E. 
C. Stacy was chosen Judge of Probate. 

At an adjourned meeting on the 4th, the County 
Officers were appointed as follows: Sheriff, 
George S. Kuble, of Albert Lea; Surveyor, Ed- 
ward P. Skinner, of Shell Rock City; Conmer, A. 
H. Bartlett.of Shell Rook City; District Attorney, 
John W. Heath, of Geneva. The county was di- 
vided into three assessor's districts, and the fol- 
lowing assessors appointed: James M. Drake, 
John Duncing, and Walter Scott; Justices of the 
Peace, Isaac P. Lynde and Joseph Watson; Con- 
stables, George Deermau, William A. Hoag, and 
Walter Stoll. At this meeting a county seal was 
adopted, and the time for entering upon the 
duties by the several officers appointed was 
placed on the 20th inst. 

The location of the county seat came up for 
careful consideration. Mr. Frisbie moved that 
the temporary county seat be Bancroft; Mr. Stacy 
moved to strike out Bancroft and insert Saint 
Nicholas, which motion was lost. Mr. Stacy 
moved to strike out the word Bancroft and insert 
Geneva, which was not agreed to. Mr. Andrews 
moved to strike out the word Bancn)ft and insert 
Albert Lea, which was carried by a unanimous 
vote. 

A resolution was adopted instructing the Con- 
stables, Justices, and School Trustees, to be vigi- 
lant in protecting the school lauds from trespass. 

At an adjourned meeting on the 5th, among 
other items of business, L. T. Carlson was ap- 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 



311 



pointed Justice of the Peace, and Elias Stanton 
Constable. At these meetings William Morin was 
deputy clerk. 

The next meeting of the Board was on the 6th 
of April, 1857, and then the interminable road 
business began. The first road laid out as a 
county road was described as follows : "Commenc- 
ing on the section line between thirty-two and 
thirty-three in town 101, range 20, running north 
as near said section line as the surface of the 
the ground will admit, through towns 101, 102, 
and 103, thence in a northerly direction to the 
town of Geneva, thence north to the county line." 

Clark Andrews, of Shell Rock, and George P. 
Hoops were appointed viewers of the route. 

The next road was in response to a petition, and 
commenced at St. Nicholas, crossing the Shell 
Eock Kiver in section thirty and running south- 
east to the south line of town 102, about 120 
rods west of Oliver Andrew's house, then east on 
said town line about two miles, thence southeaster- 
ly to the vicinity of John T. Asher's place, thence 
down the west bank of Woodbury Creek to the 
county line. Oliver Andrews, of Shell Rock, and 
John T. Asher, of Burr Oaks, were viewers of this 
road. At this meeting the appointments of L. T. 
Carlson as Justice of the Peace, and Elias Stanton 
as Constable, was rescinded for non-compliance 
with the statute; and Elias Stanton was appoin- 
ted Justice, and Charles Giddings, Constable. 
Election precincts were arranged, several other 
roads projected, and school districts were estab- 
lished. About fifteen road districts were disigna- 
ted. These matters consumed much time but the 
management of the interests of the county seem 
to have been judicious. This session of the 
board continued until the 10th, and among other 
things done, the surveyor was authorized to pro- 
cure from the United States Surveyors the field 
notes relating to the county. 

The third session of the board was on the 18th 
of May, 1857, and continued three days. Wel- 
come S. Bacon was appointed Assessor of the first 
precinct, vice Erastus D. Porter — not qualified. 
C. S. Tarbel was appointed Coroner in place ef 
George Watson, who declined to qualify. Lafay- 
ette Scott was appointed Justice and Daniel 
Davis, Constable. At this session the table was 
loaded with road petitions, which were given re- 
spectful consideration. 

The fourth session of the board was on the 6th 



of July, and they proceeded to wrestle with the 
large number of yeomanry of the county of Free- 
born, who considered that the welfare of the 
country and the perpetuity of republican insti- 
tutions depended upon their having a road right 
by their doors. 

The assessment rolls were brought in at this 
meeting, and the footings were as follows: 

District No. 1.— Real 131,295 

Personal 20,590 

District No. 2.— Real 28,066 

Personal 35,840 

District No. 3.— Real 53,553 

Personal 40,665 

$210,088 

A tax of three mills on the dollar was assessed 
for road purposes, and two and one half mills for 
school jjurposes. At this meeting the county or- 
ders appear for the first time and they aggregated 
$549.19. The total county tax for all purposes 
footed up twenty and one half mills on a dol- 
lar, making the sum of .S4,347.80, to which ten 
per cent was added, making $444.65 to be col- 
lected. 

The fifth session of the county board was on 
the 9th of September of the same year. The 
clerk of the district coart was instructed to in- 
form Judge Flandreau that it is not the wish of 
the County Commissioners that a court should be 
held here in October of this year. Routine busi- 
ness claimed especial attention. 

The sixth session was on the 5th of October. 
Bills by this time got up to $1,556,44, and noth- 
ing remarkable was done. 

The election as to the location of the county 
seat was held on the 13th of October, 1857. The 
result of the balloting, as returned by the board 
of canvassers, William Andrews, George Watson, 
and William Morin, was as follows : 

Votes. 

Albert Lea 403 

Bancroft 199 

Saint Nicholas -. . 29 

Shell Rock 10 

Freeborn 1 

So this question was settled with such a round 
majority that there has been no change since. 

William Morin was the first Register of Deeds, 
and was also clerk of the board of County Com- 
missioners. 



312 



BISTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



1858. Tbe new board convened on the 4th of 
January, and consisted of S. N. Frisbie, Joseph 
Reikhard. and Peter Clausen. S. N. Frisbie was 
elected ohairman. Auiliting bills was the great 
business of the board during the first day's ses- 
sion. The next day, among other things. Swine- 
ford & (iray were made ooiiuty printers. J. M. 
Palmer and Thomas W. Pnrdie were appointed 
road commissioners. Grand and pettit jurors 
were drawn. The report from the schools revealed 
222 scholars in the county, in nine districts, but 
there must have been sixteen at least at that 
time, as that was the number of one of the dis- 
tricts. The amount of school tax was $5,322, 
which gave to $2.38 to each scholar. The Ter- 
ritorial tax assessed was S212.08. 

At a meeting held on the 1st of February, 18.58, 
the resolution giving the county printing to 
Swineford .t Gray was rescinded, and it was given 
to David Blakely of the Bancroft Pioneer. The 
next day an offer was made, by the deposed firm 
to do all the county jirinting for six months free; 
but it was not agreed to. At the meeting in 
April, the board proceeded to organize the coimty 
into towns, iu accordance with an act of the Leg- 
islature, and the following names were proposed; 
Asher, Oakland, (ruildford, Seward,Geneva,Beards- 
ley, Hayward, Shell Rock, Freeman, Albert Lea 
Bancroft, Porter, Hartland,Buckeye,Pickerel Lake, 
Nunda, Mansfield, Alden, Stanton, and Freeborn. 
A vote of the town on the 11th of May changed 
Buckeye to Liberty. Most of the towns were 
coupled together in pairs for township purposes. 

On the 9th of June a petition to change the 
name of Stanton to Springfield was favorably 
considered, and Guildford was changed to Moscow. 

The town meetings for organization and elec- 
tion of officers was held on the 11th of May, and 
some of the election officers presented their bills 
to the county, but they were promptly rejected. 

In September a communication was received 
fr im the State Auditor requiring the name of the 
tiwn of Liberty to be changed, as there was a 
to.vnship with a prior claim to this cognomen. 

In accordance with the provisions of the State 
law, after the organization of the State, the board 
of County Commissioners was superseded by a 
board of Supervisors, and in this county the first 
board consisted of: Theop. Lowry, William 
Andrews, A. C. Wedge, D. Blakely, B. S. Board- 
man, Mathias Anderson, A. W. White, Patrick 



Fitzsimmons, H. W. Allen, and E. 0. Stacy, the 
latter being chairman. 

William Morin was the first County Auditor, 
and also recorder for the county board. 

1859. — The board met in annual session on 
the 13th of September. The members were as 
follows: William H. Goslee, Asa Bullock. 
Theop. Lowry, Michael Brennan, Edwin C. 
Stacy, Isaac Baker, I. W. Devereux, A. C. Wedge, 
N. H. EUickson, Horace Greene, Mathias Ander- 
son, Patrick Fitzsimons, and E. D. Roger.s. 
Edwin C. Stacy was elected temporary chairman, 
and Theop. Lowry, permanent chairman. 

About this time the towns began to be detached 
from their partners to set up for themselves. 

1860. The bond of the Treasurer was fixed at 
•S13,000. The compensation of the clerks and 
judges of elections was fixed at S2 a day, and ten 
cents a mile one way, making returns. 

The School fund for the year 1859 footed up 
.1983.10, with 793 children of school age. 

Ole S. Ellingson was the Second County Treas- 
urer. 

A committe reported the expense of the district 
court to be as follows: 

September term, 1858 $248.48 

April, 1859, 75.85 

September, 1859 199.10 

At a meeting in January it was moved that a 
jail to hold six persons be built, not to exceed a 
cost of S500, which motion was not agreed to. 

The board gave specific instructions to asses- 
sors as to their methods of jirocedure to secure 
uniformity and accuracy. 

On the 5th of September, 1860, the Treasurer 
had on hand funds to the amount of $4,115.26. 
The whole amount of county orders issued up to 
that date was .'i!8,364.18. 

At a meeting on the 18th of September a peti- 
tion was presented to allow the people of the 
county to vote on the question of removing the 
county seat to Itaska. But, as a question as to 
the legality of the election already held on that 
subject was already in the courts for adjudication, 
it was laid on the table. Several propositions were 
received making generous offers to the county in 
consideration of having the county seat iu some 
specified locality, and the one of Albert Lea was 
entertained. A more full account is given of this 
business in the article on the contest for the 
county seat. 



COUNTY GOVBRNMBNT. 



313 



On the 20th of October the petition in relation 
to the vote on county seat, in obedience to the 
order of Judge Atwater, was favorably considered 
and the order issued. At the same meeting the 
town of Pickerel Lake was attached to Manches- 
ter for election purposes, and Alden to Carlston. 
A petition of citizens of the town of Freeman ask- 
ing to hav'e township 101, range 21, organized for 
town purjjoses under the name of Green, was 
granted and the 5th of January fixed as the day 
of holding the first town meeting. 

1861. — Tlie Board got together on the 1st of 
January. James E. Smith was elected chaiaman. 
At the meeting the next day the bills of D. G. 
Parker as Attorney for the State in the Kreigler 
murder case, and of Augustus Armstrong the 
prisoner's counsel, were allowed at S120 each. 
Numerous other bills for witness fees in the same 
ease were presented, and the District Attorney was 
requested to furnish his opinion as to the liability 
of the county. The bill of James A. Robson, the 
Sheriff in this case, footed up to $207.50. On the 
9th of April the bill of expense in this expensive 
trial, presented by Steele county was #1,125.09. 

The cost of printing the delinquent tax roll was 
$300, done by A. D. Clark, who agreed to com- 
plete the year's printing free. 

In April the salary of the Auditor was fixed at 
•1800 per annum, and that of the County Attorney 
at SI 50. Up to this time the expense of the 
Kreigler trial, exclusive of the Steele county bills, 
was $888.17. 

At the September meeting the bill of F. O. 
Perkins for professional services in defending 
Henry Kreigler, to the amount of .$200, was laid 
over for further consideration, and at a regular 
meeting in October the account was allowed at 
$75.00. Up to the first of January, 1862, the 
bills audited in the Kreigler case amounted to 
.fl,579.29- 

1862. — Asa Bullock was chosen chairman of the 
board. Nothing of especal note occured this year, 
routine work taking up most of the time. 

1863. — Asa Bullock was chairman this year. 
At a meeting in July it was resolved that the law 
licensing dogs and for the protection of sheep be 
complied with in thi.s county. 

The State law requiring the militia to be organ- 
ized by districts was complied with as far as pos- 
sible, and elections ordered for the 18th of July. 
This movement was not a phenomenal success, al- 



though it may have served to keep up an interest 
in military affairs. 

In November the question of building fire jiroof 
county offices was introduced. 

1864. — C. H. Mclntyre was chairman. In 
March a committee consisting of William Morin, 
Frank Hall, and Augustus Armstrong submitted 
plans and estimates for the construction of a fire- 
proof building for offices and court room, as fol- 
lows: 

Brick at .$6 .$1,320.00 

Fire proof roof 300.00 

Laying brick and furnishing lime 550.00 

Eight thousand feet of lumber at .$20. . . 160.00 
Doors, nails, sash, glass, and putty. . . . 400.00 

Carpenter work 300.00 

Plastering and lime 300.00 

$3,330.00 

Various petitions were presented against the 
issue of bonds for county buildings. A resolu- 
tion, however, was adopted to issue and appro- 
priate bonds to the amount of two thousand 
dollars toward erecting fire-proof buildings for 
the county offices, with the understanding that 
Albert Lea shall apj^ropriate one thousand dol- 
lars to add a suitable hall for court purposes. 
Messrs. Hall, Morin, and Armstrong were ap- 
pointed commissioners to sell the bonds and to 
erect the building. 

Two parties who were reported as selling 
spirituous liquors without a license, it was or- 
dered should be prosecuted. In July George S. 
Ruble was appointed Overseer of the poor. 

The first bond of $1,500, was issued, and cashed 
by Joseph Hall. It bore 10 per cent, interest 
and -was dated the 16th of March, 1864. The 
location of the Court House was agreed upon, 
provided a strip six rods wide and exti nding to 
the next street south could be secured free of 
cost. On the 6th of September Mr. Asa Bullock, 
a member of the board, having ilied, suitable res- 
olutions were engrossed, presented to his family, 
and spread upon the records. 

1865. — The first record with any reference to the 
war was on the 6th of September, when assistance 
was voted to several families of soldiers at the 
front, which will be mentioned more fully in the 
war history of the county. On the 8th of Sep- 
tember the tax on the property of the county was 
ordered assessed as follows: 



314 



UISTOHT OF FRBEBOltN^ COUNTT. 



State tax 3J millB. 

Interest on State debt, 1 " 

Sinking fund, 1 " 

County purposes, 4 " 

Poor tax, 1 " 

Special for county building, '2J " 

Tlie cost of printing the delinquent tax 
list audited and allowed at the April meeting was 
$323.85. In June action was taken in regard to 
vacating the town site of Bancroft. The lots in 
the village of Itaska, delinquent since 1863, were 
ordered sold. On the 22d of June James F. 
Jones, Asa Walker, and E. P. Skinner were added 
to the building committee. The Court House 
was going up, and provisions were made to pay 
the bills as they occurred. 

18G6. — The new board organized on the 2d of 
January. Clark Andrews was chairman. On the 
3d of January the town of !Mansfield was organ- 
ized. In March tlie town of Alden was organized. 
On the 6th of Se]jtember the county board ap- 
pointed Samuel Batchelder as Superintendent of 
Schools at a compensation of $2.50 per day. 

1867. — The annual meeting of the board this 
year was on the 1st of January. William White 
was made chairman. The salary of the County 
Superintendent was adjusted at S300 per year. 

On the 14th of March the following appears on 
the records: Whereas, the two churches holding 
divine service in Albert Lea have got at logger- 
heads in relation to occupying the Court House 
for meetings, and submitted the matter to the 
board, both churches being ably represented by 
Capt. Hagaman on the one side and Colonel Eaton 
on the other, therefore, 

Re.iohiil, That the Congregationalists be al- 
lowed to use the Court rot)m in the forenoon of the 
next Sunday, and the Baptists the Sunday follow- 
ing, and so on alternately, reserving the use of 
the room for other denominations in the afternoon. 

In September, 1867, Sheriff St. John having 
removed from the county, -Tohn Brownsill was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy. The county at this 
time was divided into five commissioner districts. 

1868. — The board of County Commissioners 
met on the lt\^ of January and consisted of Mons 
Grinager of the first district; Stephen N. Frisbie, 
of the second district; Henry N. Ostrander of the 
third; Jedediah W. Devereux of the fourth, and 
William H. Moore of the fifth. 



J. W. Devereux was elected chairman for the 
ensuing year. 

At this time the license had got up to $100 per 
annum. 

In March the Court House was insured for 
.•?2,500. 

Nothing of a startling character occnred during 
this year in connection with the board. 

1869. — J. W. Devereux was re-elected chair- 
man. The other commissioners were Mons (Irin- 
ager, S. N. Frisbie, H. N. Ostracder, and W. H 
Moore. 

On the 8th of January a committee was ap- 
pointed to attend to the planting of trees in the 
Court House grounds, and otherwise improving 
the appearance of the location. 

The town site of Bancroft village was on the 
floor this year, and the County Attorney was in- 
structed to perfect the title of the county in the 
property. 

1870. — The board this year consisted of J. W. 
Devereux, chairman; William H. Mooro, Mons 
Grinager, Adam Cliristie, and H. N. Ostrander. 

This year was uneventful as regards the county 
government. There were various road matters to 
receive attention, Sunday School districts to be 
rearranged, certain railroad lands to be assessed, 
taxable property to be equalized, bills to be audi- 
ted, and all the routine work of such a board to 
receive careful supervision. In the winter of this 
year the law in relation to agricultural statistics 
had to be enforced. 

1871. — The board this year was made up of J. 
W. Devereux, Chairman, Henry G. Emmons, H. 
N. Ostrander, Mons Grinager, and Adam Christie. 

On the (ith of January the board considered the 
advisability of constructing a fireproof vault in 
tilt Court House, and in March Mons Grinager 
and J. W. Devereux were appointed a committee 
on the subject. 

During this year the County Surveyor made a 
record of the county roads, which were fully de- 
scribed and engrossed on the county records. 

1872. — Mr. Devereux was chairman of the 
board again this year. 

The Court House was repaired, including light- 
ning rods, to the extent of §3,140.84. Kegular 
business requiring the consideration of the board 
took up the time at the various sessions. 

1873. — The County Commissioners met on the 
7th of Januarv in annual session. The members 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 



315 



were: H. G. Emmons, James Thoreson, Hans 
Christopherson and Halver Thompson. On the 
organization Mr. Devereux was elected chairman. 

1874. — The board met at the regular session in 
January. The members were: H. G. Emmons, 
chairman, H. Christopherson, W. C. Lincoln, Hal- 
ver Thompson, and .James Thoreson. 

An abstract of the business for the year woTild 
read: Bills, school district changed, road peti- 
tion rejected, poor fund expenditures, change of 
county road, bills. Sheriff's fees, petition for new 
district, equalization, taxes abated, bills, &c., &c. 

1875. — The board has been of rather a conser- 
vative tendency, and have as a rule been contin- 
ued in oiBce for long terms, and the character of 
the functions have been more of an executive than 
of a legislative kind, so it seems unnecessary to 
go over the ground to furnish a detailed sketch of 
the transactions from year to year. Items relat- 
ing to the early period of course have been given 
in detail. 

1876. — The board this centennial year consisted 
of: H. G. Emmons, chairman, W. 0. Lincoln, 
James Thoreson, W. N. Goslee, and Ole Hanson. 

1877. — Two new members appeared this year, 
the jjersonnel of the board being, William N. 
Goslee, James Thoreson, John M. Geisler, Ole 
Hanson, and W. W. Johnson. 

In relation to taxation, its collection and dis- 
bursement, which embraces the great bulk of 
county business, it would make this work objec- 
tionably statistical to particularize from year to 
year, but to furnish an insight into the question, 
which is so interesting, as to "how the money 
goes," an extract from the minutes of the board 
will be made. 

The board directed the following taxes to be 
levied to meet the expenses of the year 1878: 

State taxes in such sum or rate as the State 
Auditor may direct. 

School tax one mill. 

Special county tax for jail, $3000. 

CoTiuty tax of $20,000 based on the following 
estimate : 

Auditor's salary $1,500 

Auditor's clerk 880 

Treasurer 1,500 

Superintendent 1,000 

County Attorney 800 

Judge of Probate 800 

County Commissioners 400 



Jailor fees 480 

Sheriff and Deputies 2,500 

Coroner's fees 100 

Tree bounty 20 

Gopher bounty 500 

Judge of Probate orders 150 

Watching jail 300 

Board of prisoners 400 

Constable fees 170 

CMerk of Court and Justices 1,000 

Juror fees Justice Court 100 

Witnesses Justice Court 200 

Grand Jurors 600 

Petit Jurors 1,000 

Witness fees 400 

Court House repairs, &c 800 

Printing blank books, stationery, steno- 
grapher, &c 1,500 

Articles tar jail, express, postage, insur- 
ance, &o 600 

Births and Deaths 200 

Election returns 100 

Outstanding orders 2,000 

Total $20,000 

1878. — J. M. Geisler was chairman of the board 
this year, with W. W. Johnson, W. N. Goslee, E. 
Fitzgerald, and J. A. Rodsater. 

There was some action taken resulting from the 
fact that Mr. Batohelder, who had been County 
Auditor, had drawn his salary from a computa- 
tion made by the valuation of the property of the 
county for the current year, instead of the year 
previous as the law j^rovided. This made a differ- 
ence of .f777.08 in the compensation for three 
years in which it was so calculated, and he was re- 
quired to return that amount. It is known that 
Mr. Batchelder worked night and day, almost, in 
his office, doing what may be called extra work, 
and was allowed $1,000 a year for clerk hire, hav- 
ing a clerk at a low price, and a part of this was 
also demanded, but a decision of Judge Berry 
was in his interest and the claim was not pushed. 
The overdraft was, as believed by his friends, the 
result of an inadvertence, as no one could suppose 
anything but honesty and integrity would actuate 
the Auditor. 

1879. — This was another uneventful year with 
the county board, which consisted of John M. 
Geisler, chairman; W. W. Johnson, W. N. Gos- 
lee, R. Fitzgerald, I. A. Rodsater. 



316 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUXTF. 



Charles Kittleson, the County Treasurer, re- 
signed in Deoember, and Frank W. Barlow was 
appointed to fill the vacancy. 

18H0. — This year E. Fitzgerald was chairman 
of the lK)ard, with W. N. Goslee, I. A. Rodsater, 
J. M. Geissler, and C. W. Ballard. 

1881. — The board this year was I. A. Bodsater, 
chairman; J. M. Geissler, W. N. Goslee, D. N. 
Gates, and E. C. Johnson. 

1882. — The present board consists of D. N. 
Gates, chairman, I. A Rodsater, J. M. Geissler, E. 
C. Johnson, and Michael O'Leary. 

The county tax assessed this year was S22,000, 
with one mill for school tax. 

A few itams in this sketch are duplicate state- 
ments made by Mr. Parker in his Centennial His- 
tory, while some things that are omitted here 
will be found tliere. 

THE COUNTY SEAT CONTEST. 

The county seat was fixed by the County Com- 
missioners appointed by the Governor, and in ac- 
cordance with what has been done all over the 
State, those interested in keeping the county seat 
procured the passage of a general act, prohibit- 
ing any action looking to a change of location 
within three years after its establishment. In 1860, 
the contest here was re-opened, but the County 
Commissioners declined to order an election. The 
Itasca people procured a mandamus through Mr. 
Everett, a lawyer in Austin, requiring an election 
to be ordered. 

Itasca was at this time a flourishing place, with 
its hotel, blacksmith shop, shoemaker's shop, and 
twelve or fifteen houses all told, and a newspaper, 
printed in the octagon house which still stands. 
Its location was on a beautiful prairie which had 
been named by the first explorers, "Paradise 
Prairie," which is on a plateau overlooking the 
surroimding country, affording a view of Albert 
Lea City and of the lake beyond. 

The adherents to the claims of Itasca declare 
that they went into the fight on its merits and on 
the 8(]uare, but that they were counted out; that a 
.precinct was established with headquarters on a 
stump in the township of Pickerel Lake, that John 
Ruble and Charley Norton were judges of the 
election, and. they returned 240 votes, solid for 
Itasca. It is claimed that compliance with a de- 
mand to produce the voting list would have been 
impo.saibIe. 

The history of this Court House struggle, if it 



was told in all its details, would reveal a species 
of which, while having analagons counterjiarts in 
other more important contests, was nevertheless 
an indigenous production of Freeborn county 
soil, and displayed some peculiarities of political 
guerrilla warfare which might might have been 
disagreeable to the jiarticipant*;, if published and 
believed at the time. But now, such a length of 
time having elapsed, and most of the participants 
having interests in the successful towns in this 
eventful struggle, they freely talk it over and re- 
late to each other the various methods which were 
resorted to iu securing the several advantages 
which finally settled the contest. It is not possi- 
ble, even if it were desirable, to give a detailed 
account of all the incidents connected with this 
conflict, but enough will be presented to give a 
good idea of some of the courses pursued by the 
contending parties. 

In those times the community was manouvering 
as to whether law and order predominated, or 
mere force, with a predomination in favor of the 
latter. The men at Albert Lea had made up 
their minds to retain the county seat at all haz- 
ards, and to-day they claim that whatever might 
have happened at the polls would not have 
changed the result. To show the methods em- 
l)loyed to des^foy Itasca, and blot it out of exist- 
ence, a single instance will be mentioned. A 
Presbyterian clergyman, by the name of Mercer, 
came here and was enthusiastic in his ideas as to 
building up iiistitutiims iu his denominational in- 
terest in this new country, and so advantage was 
taken of his propagating spirit, and it was sug- 
gested that Itasca would be a tine suburban local- 
ity for such a school as he jjroposed to establish, 
and he went up and purchased the hotel of Dr. 
Burnham, who was delighted with the idea and 
anxious to do what he could to aid in the work. 
So the transfer was made, the Albert Lea pro- 
prietors paying for it. and it was then torn down 
and removed to the county seat; the scheme hav- 
ing served its purpose, no more money was ad- 
vanced in the interest of the school, and the poor 
man who had been used by the ring, was frozen 
out, and sadly wended his way to some more 
promising locality. 

The newspaper was fitted out by Dr. Burnham 
and D. F. Blackmer, Dr. Burnham having bought 
material, including press and fifty-two fonts of 
type, at Zumbrota. When the county seat busi- 



COUNTY SEAT CONTEST. 



317 



ness had collapsed, so far as Itasca was con- 
cerned, Mr. Botsford and young Blaekmer took 
the material to Blue Earth City, established a pa- 
per there, and run it until during the war, when 
one night Dr. Burnham was called up by a man 
who had some business with him. It proved to 
be Botsford, who had come to pay the S600 for 
the press and type, for which no security had 
been taken. This act should be particularly em- 
phasized in the history of those times, where 
even legal obligations were not always observed. 

They all worked together in Albert Lea, it 
only required a suggestion of some plan which 
would redound to their benefit to have it instantly 
acted upon. The proprietors of Itasca were 
ecpially on the elert in relation to Bancroft, and 
the Doctor bought up the buildings in that town 
and removed them to Itasca. The printing 
office is now a part of the house of E. K. Pickett, 
which is located on the site of that embryotic 
city. 

While the county seat question was being agi- 
tated, in 1860, the leading citizens of Itasca, to 
secure if possible the county seat there, executed 
a bond in the penal sum of S6,00(>, pledging 
themselves to build a Court House according to 
certain plans and specifications, within two years, 
and also to furnish suitable offices for county 
purposes, including the building then there, 
24 X 50 feet,*and two stories high. The building 
was to be of brick, two stories high, in the octa- 
gon form, forty-eight feet or more in diameter. 

The plan was a good one, giving good, large 
sized offices, jail room, and a court room twenty- 
four by twenty-eight feet, with suitable jury 
rooms. The parties who executed this bond were : 
A. M. Burnham, C. C. Colby, J. G. Sanborn, E. 
J. Franklin, E. D. Hopkins, Samuel Batchelder, 
Charles Dunbar, J. Dunbar, J. Colby, J. D. 
Adams, and J. S. Longworth. 

This was signed in the presence of Isaac Bots- 
ford and Hannibal Bickford, and certified to by 
Ole J. Ellingson, clerk, per Samuel Eaton, deputy. 

The citizens of Alliert Lea, not to be outdone 
by the liberality of other aspiring places, agreed 
to furnish offices for the county officers and a jail 
for three years, free of cost to the county, and the 
following named gentlemen executed a bond in 
the penal sum of five thousand dollars for the 
faithful execution of this promise : A. B. Webber, 
George S. Ruble, William Morin, A. C. Wedge, 



James A. Eobson, Samuel Eaton, John Brownsill, 
A. Armstrong, and H. D. Brown; which proposi- 
tion was formally accepted. 

A brief recapitulation of all the stories told in 
relation to that contest, which, after considerable 
legal quibbling, was set for the 6th of November, 
the day on which Abraham Lincoln was elected 
president of the United States, and Albert Lea 
carried off the prize, and to-day there are really 
few, if any, who regret the result of the struggle. 
The several horse races which are briefly alluded 
to in the "events," are connected in the old set- 
tlers' mind with this contest, and at the old set- 
tlers' reunion in September, 1882, Dr. Ballard, the 
Mayor of the City, read a humorous poem largely 
devoted to the details of that memorable race, 
just a sample of which is spread on these pages. 

"So, conning o'er the aspects of the case. 
They came unanimously to this conclusion: 
That public morals reguired another race; 
Advantage should be taken of the delusion 
That Sheriff Heath's Red Tom could always win. 
By beating him they'd bring to dire confusion 
The fcjlks in Albert Lea; 'twould be no sin. 
They said, to cheat those sinners, 
Especially if Itasca's men were winners. 
They'd buy Old Fly, a mare of reputation. 
Whose four white feet for years had earned the fame 
Of being the fleetest feet in all creation. 
They'd paint those feet, and then they'd change her name. 
And shave her tail, and otherwise adorn her 
Until she looked like misery's last mourner. 
And then they'd challenge Heath's Red Tom to run, 
And banter .\lbert Lea to betting high ; 
They'd let the country people in the fun. 
And take with them all bets against Old Fly. 
They'd win that race in just ii half mile h -at — 
They'd bankrupt Albert Lea, and with the money 
Buy votes enough to win the county seat. 
********* 
"To make a long story short, and the list quite complete, 
People bet all they had on this half-mile heat. 
People in town and out, and all over the c< unty; 
Old soldiers put up the last cent of their bounty, 
Boys, women, and girls, they all took a hand. 
And tremendous excitement reigned over the land. 
The day was appointed, the place had been named. 
The hour was set — through the county it flamed 
In staring great hand-bills of all colors and sizes, 
Inviting the people to come and win prizes." 

According to the legend the Albert Lea horse, 
which had been secretly tested one night with the- 
Itasca animal, won the race and threw confusion 
into the Itasca camp, won all their money and 
most of their valuables, and effectually destroyed 
their ability to carry on the contest for the county 
seat, because they were thus deprived of the 
means to buy xotes. Of course this is what the 
exultant ones told, and perhaps believed. But 



318 



UlSTOliY OP FREEBORN COUNT r. 



euough has been said to give an idea for all com- 
ing time that this was one of the great con- 
tests of the period. 

"Of all the words of ton<jue or pen, 
Tlie saddest is, it mijrht have been." 

EDrc.VTIONAL. 

The school district system of the county, like 
all other valuable institutions, has been a matter 
of growth from the smallest beginnings: and 
while it is jjroposed to give a local sketch of each 
school in the county in connection with the town 
where it is situated, yet, the difficulties, in the ab- 
sence of record knowledge, in obtaining the dates 
of the organization and of other events ,are much 
greater than would be supj)0sed, when we remem- 
ber that mo.st of the men who helped create and 
sustain these schools are still alive. 

The date of the organization of most of the 
districts, especially the earlier ones, will be pre- 
sented heer. 

District No. 1 was organized on the (5th of 
April, 1857, on tlie petition of R. K. Cream and 
others, and embraced thirty-three, thirty-four, 
thirty-five, twenty-eight, and the southwest quar- 
ter of section twenty-seven in township 103, range 
19, which is the present town of Moscow. This 
was in Mr. Prisbie'.s district, on whose motion the 
praver of the petitioners was granted. Tliis was 
the initial district. 

District No. 2. The second district to see it- 
self in form, was organized on the 8th of April, 
the same year, and was in answer to a petition of 
George Watson and others, and comprised sec- 
tions nineteen, twenty, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty- 
one, and thirty-two in the same townshijj. 

Distri^'t No. 3. The boundaries of this district 
are elaborately described iu the records, but the 
township is omitted, so that if anyone knows 
where it is it is all right, and to those who don't 
know, it does not perliaps matter where it was. 
This was on the same date as t!ie last one. The 
petitioner was Daviil M. Farr. 

District No. 4 was on the petition of Watson 
H. Brown, and was constitiited a district at that 
first sessicm of the board. It was at Shell Kock. 
It is evident that a reiteration of the sectional 
boundaries of all the districts would be burden- 
some, as well in the preparation as in the reading 
so it will lie sufficient that the date and the town- 
ship be indicated. 

District No. 5 was formed on the 8th of April on 



the petition of H. Bartlett. and was in Shell Rock 
aud Hay ward. 

District No. fi. George P. Hoops asked to have 
this district set apart, and it emliraced some sec- 
tions in Hay ward and in Albert Lea. 

District No. 7. A. P. Swineford petitioned for 
a school district in Bancroft, which was favor- 
ably acted upon. These embraced the school dis- 
tricts projected at the first meeting of the county 
board. 

District No. 8. The petition of Isaac Vander- 
maker and others was favorably considered on the 
6th of July. It was located in Newry and 
Moscow. 

District No. 9. On the 7th of Septemer this 
came into existence, in response to a request from 
D. Prescott, and was in Bancroft. 

District No. 1.5. This is the next on the list; 
what became of the missing numbers is among 
the problems, such as the lost tribes of Israel, but 
it is quite certain that enough others will turn up 
before we get through with them, to com]>ensate 
for their absence. O. C. Colby was tlie petitioner 
in this case, with others, and included Albert Lea, 
Bancroft, and Manchester, each in part. This was 
on the 9th of September, 1857. 

District No. 16 was also brought into existence 
on the 9th of September. E. O. Dunn headed the 
petition, and it took in sections of Carlston and 
Freeborn. 

District No. 10. On the 5th of October this 
district comes in view like a lost child, and was 
located in Moscow. J. M. Stage was the appli- 
cant, with others. 

District No. 11 was in Bath and Geneva, with 
Isaac P. Lynde as the head petitioner. 

District No. 12. On the 7th of October this 
was instituted, and its habitation was in Moscow. 

District No. 13. ,Tohn W. Ayers and others 
asked for a new school in Freeborn and the pray- 
er was granted. 

District No. 14. Daniel Ingraham respectfully 
requested the honorable body to organize a new 
district in Oakland, and it was done on the 16tli 
of November, 1S57. 

District No. 17. Having gathered up the 
straggling districts the regular sequence will be 
taken up. David Blakely and others wanted a 
district in Bancroft, embracing nearly two thirds 
of tlie township, aud tlie Ji(U thus went forth on 
the Ist of February, 1858. 



EDUCATION^iL. 



319 



It appears that during the year 1857 there were 
sixteen districts formed iu the county, some of the 
townshijjs having several, and others none. But 
in almost every settlement there were schools sus- 
tained in a private way. In April, 1858, school 
districts from No. 18 to 25 inclusive, were author- 
ized, and they were located as follows: No. 18 iu 
Manchester and Carlston; No. 19 iu Pickerel Lake 
and Nunda; No. 20 in Nunda and Freeman; No. 
21 in Nunda. No. 22 in Bancroft; No. 23 in south 
half of Shell Rock : No. 24 in Rioeland and Ban- 
croft; No. 25 in Pickerel Lake. 

District No. 26. This was set apart in Septem- 
ber, 1858, in the town of Hartland, and included 
the whole township. Additions were made to 
district No. 3 in the same month. 

District No. 27 was organized in October, and 
was in Freeborn. 

District No. 28 was organized at the same ses- 
sion, and was in Hartland. 

District No. 29 was instituted on the same date 
in Hay ward. 

District No. 30 started with a like date in Lon- 
don. 

District No. 31 was organized at the same time 
in Geneva. 

The School fund available in October, 1858' was 
as follows: 

From the county «391.i3 

From fines, 7.53 

Total il!398.96 

To each pupil $1.70 

District No. 32. This was organized in the fall 
of 1858, in the towns then called Liberty and 
Springfield. 

District No. 33 was organized with others up to 
and including No. 37, on the 5th of January, 1859, 
and their locations were in Freeman, Manchester, 
Carlston, Bancroft ,and Geneva. In September 
the districts were organized up to 45, which in- 
cludes the whole number at that time in the 
county. 

An act of the legislature about this time under- 
took to revolutionize the county school system 
by making each town a school district to be sub- 
divided according to the requirements of each 
case. So then each town would begin No. 1, No. 
2, and so on. But this was soon repealed and the 
county schools placed under a superintendent, and 
the system as it is now firmly established. A new 
numbering also took place, so that the districts 



cannot now be identified by their original num- 
bers, but the order in which the schools were 
started can be seen. 

To furnish a complete idea of the schools in 
this county at this time, it has been concluded 
that a full copy of the admirable report of Super- 
intendent Levens should be transcribed. That 
this includes various suggestions as to what ought 
to be done does not mitigate against its value in 
a historical work, and it gives the pevsoaiiel of the 
teacher-s of the last session of each school, as well 
as the names of the clerks of the school districts. 

Eeport of the Schools or Freeborn County, 
FOR THE Winter Term of 1881-82. — The follow- 
ing facts, relating chiefly to the important matter 
of attendance, are compiled from teachers' reports 
of the winter schools. 

Six Districts— 29, 58, 69, 85, 86, and 111, had 
no winter term. 

Si.x Districts— 25. 50, 66, 95, 105, and 108, re- 
port no tardiness. 

Fourteen schools made no report as to tardiness 
— whether, because, they thought it of no im- 
portance, or too much trouble, or because they 
had too many cases, or had none, is not certain. 
It is a fact, however, that should be recognized by 
teachers, that punctuality and regular attendance 
go together, and that the hahit of promptness and 
punctuality acquired and practiced in school is an 
important element of future success in life. 




1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

•6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 



Angus McGinnis 98 

Ellen A. O'Leary 60 

Mrs. ,T. M. Tracy 60 

JohuL. Gibbs." TO 

Betsey C. Thompson 70 

James McClure (iO 

Sarah C. Burke 80 

Ellen M. McClelland 80 

Oluf Hottaud 80 

Killia Drake 60 

Jennie E. H.irrison 60 

S. J. Fuller 60 



Geo. P. Latin 

O. H. Smeby 

Maegie E. Purdie 
Geo. M. Miller... 

Z. A. Kansom 

H. R. FoBsum 

L. J. Aga 

Eva B. Loomis . . . . 



7i) 
60 
60 
65 
60 
60 
60 
80 



36 

17 
17 
54 
45 
25 
53 
26 
40 
30 
8 
28 
50 
18 
20 
26 
28 
35 
31 
32 



320 



HISTORY OF FREE BORN COUNTY. 



21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

2H 

29 

30 

:« 

32 

:« 

34 

85 

3G 

37 

3« 

39 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

61) 

61 

62 

63 

(U 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

70 

71 

72 

73 

74 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79 

80 

81 

82 



H. R. Fossum 

Charles Horning 

Elmer C. Webster 

Annie English 

(irace Slater 

Arthur Trow 

O. K. Fiskerback 

Mary .Torch m 

No Winter School 

Mary Brown 

John J. iMorrisou 

Win. A. Norris 

Charles N. Hatch 

Chas. E. Biullong 

John W. GiUard 

Viola N. Palmer 

George Hurd 

Albert Lea Reports Annually 

Emma Ruble 

Lenuie Patrick 

Mary A. Quinn 

Charles J. Dudley 

Rosa Sutton 

John Siverson 

Leda M. Hewitt 

Frank H. Palmer 

Lizzie Wadsworth 

L. T. Lawrence 

Glenville, Reports Annually . . 

Mary Fisk 

Belle Cheadle 

D.S. Pahner 

Eva E. Gibson 

J. E. Nelson 

Cora A. Norton 

M. P. Howe 

Hannah Daniels 

No Winter Term 

E. E. (ieesey 

Ellen Hare 

S. E. Walker 

Frank E. Phipps 

Ida M. Taylor 

Emily Wood 

John D. Herman 

John J. (^uam 

Emma Allen 

Martha Palmer 

No Winter Term 

Dora E. Chamberlain 

John 1). Murphy 

Emma A. Ames 

Mary O'Leary 

Viola A. Marvin 

John W Booen 

Arthur Bndlong 

Betsie Miller 

Robert H. Graham 

T. K. Haugen 

J. H. Ransom 

Heur^V A. Davis 

Mettle Ostrander 



60 34 

80 53 

60 43 

60 45 

60 I 15 

77 i2 

60 37 

54 ' 47 



79 
60 
60 



12 
43 
26 



60 
70 
60 



70 
39 



60 12 
60 32 

60 

60 1 24 

80 I 13 
60 I 37 
80 I 2(i 
60 I 26 
60 48 



23 
22 
31 



80 46 
80 38 

80 ' 42 
60 I 17 
80 I 31 
60 18 



22 
15 



60 22 

60 23 

78 29 

80 40 

50 I 18 

80 37 



60 


22 


60 


37 


80 


20 


80 


18 


65 


17 


80 


32 


60 


19 


60 


34 


60 


24 


59 


45 


60 


38 


80 


24 


79 


32 


80 


44 


59 


17 


80 


33 


60 


37 



83 

84 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

90 

91 

92 

93 

!I4 

".15 

96 

97 

98 

9S) 

100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

105 

106 

107 

1('8 

109 

110 

111 



Gordon Mayland . 

Emil Hanson 

No Winter Term. 

No Winter Term . . 

Olive S. Austin. . . 

R. E. English 

Orpha J. Skinner. . 

Clara Pierce 

O. H Smeby. 



60 
60 



o 




80 

60 

' 60 

80 

60 

Annie Fitzgerald 100 

L. W. Bassett 120 

Ellen Meadowcioft 80 

Rose Harris 60 

Lora Vaughn 1 60 

John M.Tracy : 80 

Maggie .1. Davis 80 

Olive Skinner 80 

Charles Young 60 

Netta E. Scott 60 

John K. Richards 60 

James St. .John , 60 

Francis Murphy 80 

Ashley Narvey 40 

Lydia" Purcell' 57 

Ella Slater 50 

John .T. Quam , 60 

R. F. Challis ; 79 

Lettie P. English 40 

No Winter Term 



20 
4(! 



23 

41 
29 
43 

.3!! 

26 
57 
23 
15 
17 
21 
37 
18 
15 
16 
20 
16 
26 
l!t 
43 
29 
23 
50 
14 



Averages . 



68 I 29 



The average number of visitors to each school 
— 26 — so far as it has any significance, would 
seem to indicate a fair amount of interest on the 
part of parents, though two schools report only 
one visitor. 

The actual attendance is shown to be only 62 
per cent, of the total enrollment. This means that 
all the scholars enrolled were absent on an aver- 
age, over one day out of every three, during the 
term. The figures show a direct loss of 38 per 
cent, of school. But the real loss was much greater. 
No scholar absent one day and present two, can 
get any thing like the full value of these two. 
Irregular attendance retards the whole work of 
the school. Hence this 38 per cent of absence 
greatly lessons the value of the remaining 62 per 
cent, of attoudance. If we also consider the num- 
ber not enrolled at all, but who might and should 
have been, there was an actual loss, at the lowest 
estimate, of more than one-half of the cost of the 
schools in the matter of attendance alone, to say 
nothing of the (piality of teachers' work or of any 



EDUCATIONAL. 



321 



other deficiencies. Good attendance is absolutely 
essential to a good school. Many parents do not 
appreciate this fact. Teachers who do, and are 
thoroughly in earnest about it, can make their in- 
fluence felt among parents as well as scholars. 
Last week I visited two schools, in each of which 
only three scholars were present. The most ot 
the absent ones were probably plantinp; com. 
Though often convenient, it is not profitable in 
the end, to interrupt a child's attendance at school 
for a little work at home, if it can possibly be 
avoided. 

TO TE.iCHERS. 

I respectfully submit to your consideration the 
following simple outline of a " Course of Study," 
and " Program of Recitations," in the hope that 
they may aid in securing more systematic and 
efficient work in our schools. 

Any course of study for country schools must, 
of necessity, ignore the element of time; hence, 
only the studies themselves and the proper order 
in which they should be taken up by the different 
grades are here given. 

For convenience and simplicity the grades are 
made and named to correspond to the different 
numbers of the series of readers: 1st Reader, or 
1st Grade; 2d Reader or 2d Grade, up to and in- 
cluding the 5th Reader, making five grades. 

The studies of the different grades should be as 
follows: 

Ist GBADE — 1st Reader and Spelling, Writing, 
Oral Number Lessons. 

2d GKADE— Second Reader and SjJelling, Writ- 
ing, Oral Arithmetic, Oral Geography. 

3d GRADE — 3d Reader, Spelling, Writing, Pri- 
mary Arithmetic, Primary Geography. 

4th GRADE — 4th Reader, Spelling, Writing, 
Practical Arithmetic, Language Lessons, Interme- 
diate Geography. 

4th GRADE — 5th Reader or History, Spelling, 
Writing, Practical Arithmetic, Grammar, Physiol- 
ogy- 

[a). Ist and 2d Grades spell iu connection with 
each reading exercise the words of the lesson, and 
and write reading lessons on slates. 

(6.) "Oral Number Lessons" includes the de- 
velopment of the idea of numbers and their com- 
binations by the use of objects, counting and such 
simple exercises in notation, numeratioi', and such 
21 



elementary operations as are adapted to the capac- 
ity of pupils of the first Grade. 

(c) "Oral Arithmetic" means such oral instruc- 
tion and practice in slate work as will enable pu- 
pils of the 2d Grade completing the 2d Reader, to 
perform promptly and correctly, simple examples 
in Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Divi- 
sion, and the knowledge of the tables requisite 
therefor. 

(rf. ) Much extra slate work should be given 
the 3rd Grade, in connection with the Primary 
Arithmetic, to prepare them to take the Practical 
Arithmetic when they take the 4th Reader. 

(e.) "Language Lessons" for the 4th Grade, 
means the State text book, so named. But the 
greatest attention should be given from the first, 
through all grades, and in connection with all 
school exercises, to give practical instruction and 
drill in language. To teach correctly the elements 
of redding, talking, and writing the English lan- 
guage, is the most important business of a school. 

While it is desirable that all the pupils of each 
grade be together iu all the studies ot that grade, 
yet, owing to irregularity of classification in the 
past, and to various other causes, this will not in 
all cases be possible. A 5th Grade pupil in other 
branches, but who has never studied Geography, 
will have to be in the 3rd Grade in that branch. 
Similar cases will occur in other branches, But no 
effort should be spared to secure regular grading 
when possible, always using common sense and 
judgment in regard to exceptional cases. 

The following "Program of Daily Exercises" 
is presented, not as the best that can be made for 
all schools, but as one which, with slight changes, 
can be used to advantage in all schools, and 
especially in those attempting to conform to this 
plan of grading: 

rORENOON. 



Hour 


Grade 


9:(I0 


All... 


9:05 


1 


9 :15 


2 


:30 


3 


!l:4.-. 


4 


10:05 


5 


10:30 




10:45 


1 


10:,55 


2 


11 :05 


3 


11:20 


4 


11:40 


5 



Exercises 

Opening exei'cises 

Oral Number Lesson . . . . 
2d Reader and Spelling . . 

3d Reader 

4th Reader 

A" Practical Arithmetic 

RECESS. 

1st Reader and Spelling . 

Oral Geography 

Primary Arithmetic 

B" Practical Arithmetic. 
"A" Grammar 



Time 



05 
10 
15 
15 
20 
25 
15 
10 
10 
15 
20 
20 



322 



HISTOIiT OF FllBEBOnN COUNTY. 



AFTERNOON. 



Hour Grade 



1:00 
1:10 
1:25 
1:40 
2:00 
2:10 
2:30 
2:45 
2:55 
3:10 
8:30 
3:45 



] 

2 

4 

5 
3&4 
All.. 



] 

2 

4 

3 

4&5 



Exercises. 



Ist Reader and Spelling. 
2d Reader and Spelling. 

"A" (leography 

History 

"B" Spelling 

Writing 

BECESS. 

Ist Reader and Spelling. 

Oral Arithmetic 

Language Lessons 

Primary Geography 

"A" Spelling 



Time 

10 
15 
15 
20 
10 
20 
15 
10 
15 
20 
15 
15 



This program is intended to be the best pos- 
sible arrangement of the greatest possible num- 
ber of daily exercises — 22. The number s/ioukl 
not and am not be increased. If it is absolutely 
necoessary to introduce additional recitations in 
other branches, they must take the place of some 
of these, on alternate days, as Algel)ra one day 
and A Arithmetic the nest; or the 5th Reader 
alternate with the 4th Reader; or Physiology with 
History or A Geography. lu many schools, 
especially during the summer term, all the classes 
found on this program will not be formed. 
The time thus gained can be divided among 
the other classes most needing it. 

Thy 3rd grade and the pnon'sl in the 4tL can 
form the "B" spelling class; the 5th grade and 
the liesi in the 4th, the "A" spelling class. In 
some cases doubtless the 4th and 5th grades can 
belong to the same class, as in Physiology — a 
study that should be introduced whenever possi- 
ble— a^i«flys in preference to Algebra or the 5th 
Reader. If history is substituted for the 5th 
Reader, as a reading exercise, it should be studied 
as well as ivad. 

In changing this program to adopt it to the 
circumstances of yonr school, remember that the 
objects to be secured are :(1.) The distribution of 
the recitations of each pupil throughout the en- 
tire day, with time for study between — thus mak- 
ing it also a studi/ program. (2.) A proper 
amount of time to each recitation, taking into ac- 
count the subject, the number in the class, and 
their age. (3.) Plenty of time for the Ultle ones 
the oldest ones can learn without any teacher. 
(4. ) A just division of the time among the 
different hninches — Reading, 95 minutes; Writ 
ing, 20; Arithmetic, 85; Grammar, 40; Geogra 
phy, 40; History, 20; Spelling, 25. (5.) As few 
as 18 daily recitations, it possible. 



If, by the approval of school officers and parents 
and the co-operation of teachers, this attempt at 
partial grading proves reasonably successful, 
blanks will be jjrovided in which to record the 
classification of the school at the clo.se of the term, 
and showing the progress of each class and pupil. 
Such a record, left with the register in the care of 
the clerk of the district, will be of great use to the 
next teacher in organizing the next term of 
school. 

Teachers should preserve this circular for refer- 
ence and further use. 

C.' W.LEVENS. 
Co. Supt. of Schools. 

SCHOOL DISTRICT CLEBKS. 

Below is a list of the names of the school dis- 
trict clerks c>f the 110 districts of Freeborn county, 
together with the Post-office address of each clerk, 



as appears uu the records in 


the County Audito 


office: 






X-). Di. 


. Glerk. 


P. 0. Address. 


1 


Ben Benson, 


Blooming Prairie. 


2 


(iarrett Barry, 


Blooming Prairie. 


3 


Wm. Lehy, 


Geneva. 


4 


W. H. Twiford, 


Geneva. 


5 


E. C. Johnson, 


Albert Lea. 


6 


John Lightly, 


Oakland. 


7 


R. Fitzgerald, 


Albert Lea. 


8 


F. E. Phipps, 


Hartland. 


9 


Thos. Donovan, 


Hartland. 


10 


John Ingebrigston, 


Hartland . 


11 


C. C. Ayers, 


Trentt)n. 


12 


S. J. Fuller, 


Freeborn. 


1 13 


Wilbur Fisk, 


Freeborn. 


14 


C. G. Johnsrud, 


Albert Lea. 


i 15 


L. W. Gilmore, 


Alden. 


16 


Josiah Jones, 


Alden. 


17 


L. C. Larken, 


Alden. 


18 


Bennett Asleson, 


Manchester. 


19 


Paul J. Spilde, 


Manchester. 


20 


Wm. H. Long, 


Albert Lea. 


; 21 


H. Christopherson, 


Hartland. 


22 


R. Kelly, 


Albert Lea. 


23 


H. S. Olson, 


Clark's Grove. 


24 


August C. Arneson 


Albert Lea. 


25 


Ole Henry, 


Albert Lea.* 


26 


W. H. Baker, 


Albert Lea. 


27 


Ole A. Lee, 


Hay ward. 


28 


Asa Rowley, 


Oakland. 


29 


V. P. Lewis, 


Moscow. 


30 


J. E. Johnson, 


Austin. 



PATRONS OF HU8BANDKY. 



323 



No. 


Did. Clerk: 


P. 0. Address. 


No. DM. Clerk. 


P. 0. Address. 


31 


S. N. Frisbie, 


Oakland. 


81 


A. H. Stevens, 


Alden. 


32 


J. M. Piircell, 


Austin. 


82 


N. P. Peterson, 


Bath. 


33 


Abram Young, 


Oakland. 


83 


O. R. Johnson, 


Hayward. 








84 


Stener O. Lee, 


Norman, Iowa. 


34 


A. P. Hanson, 


Hayward. 


85 


Wm. Beede, 


Hartland. 


35 


Thos. Wiley, 


Glenville. 


86 


Nels N. Loftus, 


Norman, Iowa. 


36 


A. L. Jackson, 


Hayward. 


87 


Henry Tunell, 


Mansfield. 


37 


John Murphy, 


Albert Lea. 


88 


Ole Jenson, 


Clark's Grove. 


38 


W. C. McAdam, 


Albert Lea. 


89 


H. Babbitt, 


Alden. 


39 


W. C. Norton, 


Albert Lea. 


90 


John Sheehan, 


Hartland. 


40 


J. W. Peck, 


Alden. 


91 


H. 0. Fodness, 


Hayward. 


41 


George La Valley, 


Alden. 


92 


Albert Mattick, 


Mansfield. 


42 


R. A. White, 


Nunda. 


93 


Thos. W. Wilson, 


Alden. 


43 


Alfred Emery, 


Nunda. 


94 


Edward Thomas, 


Austin. 


44 


L. H. Emmons, 


Norman, Iowa. 


95 


A. F. Myatt, 


Moscow. 


45 


P. Kelly, 


Nunda. 


96 


Michael Murphy, 


Austin. 


46 


Eriok Lee, 


Albert Lea. 


97 


Michael Fenton, 


Geneva. 


47 


E. K. Flaskerud, 


Albert Lea- 


98 


R. D. Burdick, 


New Richland. 


48 


0. 0. Opdahl, 


Albert Lea. 


90 


Loren Fessenden, 


Alden. 


49 


F. F. Carter, 


Glenville. 


100 


P. H. Nelson, 


Glenville. 


50 


J. W. Abbott, 


Gordonsville. 


101 


H. J. Pickard, 


Freeborn. 


51 


J. W. Manning, 


London. 


102 


George Widman, 


Albert Lea. 


52 


Wm. Flatt, 


Glenville. 


103 


John Sullivan, 


Hartland. 


53 


E. K. Pickett, 


Albert Lea. 


104 


W. H. Stewart, 


Gordonsville. 


54 


John Murtaugh, 


Albert Lea. 


105 


Ole N. Greshen, 


Norman, Iowa. 


55 


0. J. Taylor, 


Albert Lea. 


106 


Andrew O'Leary, 


Blooming Prairie. 


56 


Robert Hanf, 


Armstrong. 


107 


Ole A. Hammer, 


Albert Lea. 


57 


Wm. Schneider, 


Albert Lea. 


108 


J. A. Larson, 


Norman, Iowa. 


58 


A. Bottleson, 


Albert Lea. 


109 


E. A. Wicks, 


Hartland. 


59 


C. A. Conklin, 


Gordonsville. 


110 


Ole I. Elliugson. 


Albert Lea. 


60 


H. C. Nelson, 


Hayward. 








61 


J. L. Garlock, 


Alden. 




THE PATRONS OF 


HUSBANDRY. 


62 


H. H. Hanson, 


Hartland. 


This 


is a fraternal order, 


instituted in the inter- 


63 


H. 0. Randall, 


Freeborn. 


est of 


the farmer, with a ri 


tual in some of its par- 


64 


Andrew Jenson, 


Bath. 


ticulars bordering on the mythological. 


65 


L. J. Hagen, 


Glenville. 


Its 


origin was in Washington, D. C, in the 


66 


EUing Isaackson, 


Albert Lea. 


year 1867, so that it does not, like Masonry, ante- 


67 


J. E. N. Backus, 


Alden. 


date the Christian era by 


four thousand years, or 


68 


J. C. Ross, 


Albert Lea. 


like the Knights of Carthage, go back nine 


69 


Lewis Yost, 


Armstrong. 


thousand years before the Christian era. It 


70 


E. A. Skiff, 


Alden. 


claimed to be what it was. 


a modern institution, 


71 


H. N. Lane, 


Glenville. 


and it had a rapid growth 


and swept through the 


72 


Ole G. Anderson, 


Lansing. 


country attaining its growth and maturity in per- 


73 


Pat Jordan, 


Moscow. 


haps less than ten years. 




74 


John Kraushaar, 


Mansfield. 


In obedience to the great law of growth, ma- 


75 


R. W. Hatch, 


Oakland. 


turity, 


old age, and death 


, which prevails in all 


76 


John Donahue, 


Nunda. 


living 


animated creation. 


it has already passed 


77 


D. S. Hoyt, 


Gordonsville. 


into a 


condition of senil 


ity, and while at this 


78 


G. Ryan, 


Moscow. 


point 1 


ts vitality may be 


equal to that in any 


79 


0. 0. Johnson, 


Blooming Prairie. 


other locality, it must at no distant day reach the 


80 


N. R. Norton, 


Alden. 


final stage depicted by the 


great English poet : 



324 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



"To-day he puts forth the tender leaves of hope, 
to-morrow bears his blushing honors thick upon 
him, the next day comes a frost, and when he 
thinks his greatness still aspiring, lie falls like 
autumn leaves to enrich our mother earth." 

A man who lives a tew brief years on this 
earth and then passes away, may be of tlie great- 
est use if all oi)portunities are improved, and the 
world iu each case should be the better for any- 
one's having lived in it. So with the Grange, for 
while no one could be made over by joining it, 
the teachings and tendency of the order was in 
the direction of an enlargement of ideas and an 
elevation of purposes among those who came 
under its benign indaence. The Cxrange will l)e 
remembered for the good it has done. 

Fkeeborn County Gb.utge. — This institution 
was organized on the 1st of February, 1876. the 
Centennial year, with the following list of offic'ers : 

J. F. Hall, Master; (reorge R. Prescott, Over- 
seer; E. K. Pickett, Lecturer; N. I. Laflin, St 'w- 
ard; C. E. Budlong, Assistant; Loreu Marlett, 
Treasurer; William Moriu, Secretary; A. J. Lu- 
ther, Gate-Keeper; Mrs. A. H. Bartlett, Ceres; 
Mrs. David Gibson, Pomona; Mrs. O. G. Taylor, 
Flores; Mrs. D. Culman, Lady Assistant Stew- 
ard. 

As a matter of fact there are few counties 
where the grange has secured a more permanent 
foothold than in Freeborn county, for here it has 
not been permitted to lapse. 

As revealing the aimsjandjobjects of the patrons 
of husbandry, the following papers are printed : 

SUPPLEMENT.M. ReCOUT OF THE COMMITTEE ON 

REOUG.vmzATroN Appointed by the Freebokn 
County Gh.ajnge. — In addition to those sugges- 
tions which relate solely to the reorganization of 
the Grange, your committee would recommend the 
establishment of local citizen's associations, whose 
members shall be pledged to vote only for men 
who can be relied upon to use the powers confer- 
red upon them in procuring such legislation as 
will secure to individual shippers of produce, fuel, 
lumber, or merchandise, the same rates for freight 
and equal facilities for transportation from rail- 
road companies with those accorded to associa- 
tions, corporations, and rings, whose present 
exclusive privileges are detrimental to and often 
destructive of individual enterprise and healthy 
competition, and wherever these are destroyed the 
community is at the mercy of monopolists. This 



favoritism shown to these corporations and associ- 
ations by some of the railway companies of the 
State, in granting them reduction on freights, or 
special facilities for ship])ing the commodities in 
which they deal, is too pernicious in its results to 
be permitted to go on unchecked; it is rapidly 
securing to capitalists and monopolists the busi- 
ness of the country, and enables them at their will 
to depress or inflate prices which should be left 
only to the natural gradations resulting from the 
laws of supply and demand. 

Nothing can be more detrimental to the devel- 
opment of a new State than a system which creates 
and fosters monopolies. It crushes out the enter- 
prises of indiviihials having but limited capital; it 
prevents that healthy growth of competition which 
builds up our towns and cities, as well as our agri- 
cultural interests, and which constitutes the only 
safe basis for a rajjid and permanent development, 
and all past experience has taught us that as fast 
as monopolies are established and individual enter- 
prise is repressed, our farmers, merchants, manu- 
facturers, and citizens generally are tiio often 
forced to sell their produce for less than its actual 
value, and as often compelled to pay more for the 
necessaries of life than would be the case if freights 
and facilities for transportation were furnished to 
all upon ecjual terms, and a healthy competition 
thereby established. 

The recent heavy losses entailed upon the farm- 
ers by the sudden and arbitrary change in the 
established grades of wheat by a few capitaists act- 
ing* in the interest, or ostensibly, of the millers of 
the central portion of the State, is but another 
evidence of the necessity of compelling, by legal 
enactment, where such can be safely devised, the 
adoption of a policy less grasping in its selfishness, 
and more in accord with the spirit of justice. It 
is an insult to your intelligence to assert that the 
grade of wheat cannot be safely and justly estab- 
by legal enactment, while whi.sky is, and has been 
so graded for years. Had the grain producers of 
the State ccmibined to establish the grade of wheat 
for their own jjrotit and without regard to the 
rights or interests of the millers, we may safely 
conclude that the Millers' Association would not 
have hesitated long in applying to the lawmaking 
power for relief and protection from unjust dis- 
crimination. The Millers' Association has assumed, 
arbitrarily, to establish the grade to suit them- 
selves, by combining with foreign buyers; and 



PATRONS OF UUSBANDRT. 



326 



with the railway companies they have been ena- 
bled to enforce their grade upon the farmers. They 
could not be expected to exercise such a power 
impartially, representing as they do only one of 
the parties in interest. They have assumed to 
exercise it, nevertheless, and the results have been 
felt by our farmers most oppx'essively. Having 
done this once they may be relied npon to do it as 
often as may suit their convenience, and with the 
same slight regard for justice or the interests of 
others, unless checked by the law-making power. 
We must firmly, though temperately, demand of 
our law-makers that they exercise their un- 
doubted authority to settle by legal enactment, 
and in a spirit of equity and justice to all j^arties 
in interest, this question which one party without 
legal authority has assumed to settle with such 
gross and selfish injustice, and if it should pi-ove 
necessary to curb the powers of our railway cor- 
porations in order to prevent them from aiding 
and abetting this or similar arbitrary and unjust 
schemes, then this also must be required. 

In bringing your case before the people your 
committee would most earnestly press upon you 
the importance of couching your demands in tem- 
perate and moderate language. In appealing to 
the people for justice, see that you are guilty of 
no injustice. In securing protection, see to it that 
you do not become ojjpressors. In placing your 
own wrongs before the public, endeavor most sed- 
ulously to avoid wronging others. Under all 
circumstances let your conduct and language be 
such as will convince your opponents that, wljile 
you fully appreciate your position as the repre- 
sentatives of the leading industry and interest of 
Minnesota, you recognize the railroad, milling, 
and manufacturing interests of the State as only 
subordinate to the agricultural interests in a 
pecuniary sense: that your several interests are 
so inextricably interwoven that one cannot be 
injured without ultimately reflecting injury upon 
all, and that your sole purpose is to procure such 
legislation as will secure to each and every citizen 
protection against the oppressions that inevitably 
result from the unjust discriminations of which 
you complain. 

The constitutions of the State and of the United 
States guarantee to every citizen equal rights 
before the law. The policy and the management 
of our corporations, whose chartered existence is 
by the power of the law, must be made to conform 



to the principles of the constitution. These prin- 
I ciples must be enforced against all who would 
oppress. The hardships and injustice of the past, 
I forecasting as they do an ominous future, if these 
abuses are allowed to grow, seem imperatively to 
demand prompt aud determined action in securing 
our inalienable rights of equality and justice 
before the law, and from all the creatures of the 
law. 

The combined interests of every right minded 
citizen demand with a force equally imperative 
that the forms we would inaugu.iate should not 
be dwarfed or restricted by the narrowed inter- 
ests, or weakened by the advocacy of a single 
class or calling. "Equal Eights" for the few, 
too often degenerate into oppression for the 
many. Demands for "equal rights and exact 
justice to all," have never yet in this land been 
successfully resisted, nor will they ever be opposed, 
save by those whose selfishness or avarice is 
greater than their patriotism. 

The wide-spread corruption and extravagance, 
and the too common incompetence of public 
officials, are also common evils which call for 
immediate remedy, and hei-e also your interests 
as a class and as individuals are identical with 
those of every citizen who does not live by dis- 
honest means. 

Your committee, while convinced of the necessity 
of your united action in support of these reforms, 
is deeply impressed with the importance of your 
moving in the matter, controlled only by the 
broadest and most liberal views. In seeking 
public reform neither class associations nor secret 
societies can ever hope succeasfully to lead ; it 
matters not what the class may be, whether far- 
mers, artisans, mechanics, manufacturers, or an 
aristocracy either of descent or wealth, the legis- 
lation moulded by a class will surely end in 
arrogating to the class in power, privileges or 
immunities that will be but public robberies or 
public oppressions. 

Bear also in mind that however pure and noble 
may be the object sought to be attained by a 
secret association, those who are not admitted to 
its conclaves are necessarily ignorant of their 
motives, and ignorance begets distrust and sus- 
picion. The American peojjle are wisely jealous 
of secret associations when they discover them 
endeavoring to secure political power or special 
legislation. A natural good sense, love of liberty 



326 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY 



and justice, a desire to do what is right and fair 
for all, characterizes our citizens, both native and 
foreign, and constitutes them a safe tribunal 
for appeal where public benefits or reforms are 
desired. If these premises are correct, it follows 
that political success through the Patrons of Hus- 
bandry cannot be expected, and ought not to be 
desired. Neither would it bo wise to act solely as 
farmers. These (juestions appeal to your citizen- 
ship for solution, and you can never hope success- 
fully to accomplish their settelment, except by 
your joint action as citizens, with citizens of all 
classes and nationalities, using the organizing and 
harmonizing powers of the order to aid the cit- 
izens' organizations in working for the public 
good. 

The members of the Grange should never lose 
sight of the great fact that the prosperity of a 
nation must be dependent upon, and indeed con- 
sists in the prosperity of her citizens as a whole, 
and not in the prosperity of a single class, not 
even when that class constitutes a majority of the 
people. As a rule, the greater the variety of 
industries, the greater and more enduring the 
prosperity. Above all things you especially 
should bear in mind that the sucesss of the pro- 
ducer is proportioned to the number of consum- 
ers, and the nearer the consumers are to the pro- 
ducers the greater the profit. Your financial 
interests are enhanced by the building up of home • 
markets and local interest, mechanical, manufac- 
turing, and commercial, should be encouraged by 
you, for these increase the consumption and price 
of your products, and decrease the cost of your 
supplies. The ignoring of a wise and generous 
policy in this direction at a time when the inex- 
perience of the Grange led to its capture by dem- 
agogues, arrayed against you all other classes of 
your fellow-citizens. For the future we must ad- 
vise with them, act with, and, more important still, 
for them and their interests, conjointly with our 
own, ever exercising the greatest prudence and 
caution in the establisliraent of our own rights, 
that we do not trespass upon the rights of others, 
and trusting implicitly, as we assuredly may, that 
in working for tlie general good, we cannot fail 
to reap our share of the general prosperity. It 
would be unpatriotic to work for less, it \\ould be 
extremely selfish to strive for more. 

Chas. W. Ballard, 

W. G. Barnes, i p 

Geo. H. Phescott, 

B. W. Pritchabd, 



The following song, by Mrs. Mary F. Tucker, 
of Omro, Wis., received the prize from thn Na- 
tional Grange of Patrons of Husbandry, as being 
the best song for the order. Mrs. Tucker liad 
many able competitors, and the decisicjn in her 
favor was made by Mr. Alden, of Harper's Maga- 
zine. We give the song for the benefit of our 
many Grange readers: 

'* 'Tie ours to guard a sacred trust, 

We shape a heaven-born plan; 
The noble purpose, wise and jast, 

To aid our fellow man. 
From Maine to California's slope, 

Uesounds the reaper's song ; 
" We come to build the nation's hope, 

To slay the giant Wrong." 

Too long have Avarice and Greed. 

With coffers miming o'er, 
Brought sorrow, and distress and need 

To Labor's humble door. 
From Maine to California's slope, 

Resounds the reaper's song; 
" We come to build the nation's hope, 

To slay the giant Wrong." 

A royal road to place and power 

Have rank and title been; 
We herald the auspicious hour, 

When honest Worth may win. 
From Maine to California's slope, 

Kcsounds the reaper's song; 
" We come to build the nation's hope. 

To slay the giant Wrong." 
Let every heart and hand unite 

In the benignant plan; 
The noble purpose just and right. 

To aid our follow man. 
From Maine to California's slope, 

Resounds the reaper's song; 
" We come to build the nation's hope. 

To slay the giant Wrong." " 

Accounts of township Granges appear in their 
proper places. 

In the summer of 188'2, a pic-nic was held at 
Itasca of which here is the newspaper account: 
. "The Countv Grange Feast. — A very pleasant 
and enjoyable time was spent at Mr. and Mrs. 
Dominick's residence — on Dr. Burnham's farm — 
last Tuesday by the Grangers of the county. 
Nearly every Grange in the county was represen- 
ted, even though the weather was thratening and 
farmers generally busy haying. The session of the 
county grange was held in the forenoon when the . 
business thereof was transacted. At one o'clock 
those present sat down to a sumptuous feast, the 
long table under a lot of magnificent trees, so in- 
vitingly spread with good things of this world, 
which had been prepared by the thrifty wives and 
daughters of the members of the grange, was 
greatly relished and enjoyed by the participators. 



RAILROADS. 



327 



The merry laugh and cheery couversation of the 
PatroDS as they feasted on the bounties of Provi- 
dence, was refreshing and did one's soul good 
to behold. 

After dinner speech making was in order. 
Various subjects having been assigned to a num- 
ber of enterprising Patrons for discussion. First 
on the list being "Onion Culture," which was well 
handled by Mr. Daniel Prescott, of Oak Hill 
Grange, who has had long experience in raising 
onions, and the many valuable suggestions of the 
aged gentleman will no doubt be of profit to his 
listeners. 

"Potatoe Culture," by W. G. Barnes of Shell 
Rock, was the next subject, which proved an in- 
teresting theme for discussion. Mr. Barnes has 
ten acres of potatoes and related his mode of 
planting, cultivating, and care of the same. 
Senator Johnson, G. H. Prescott, and others also 
spoke on this subject, giving valuable hints. 

J. C. Frost, of Oak Hill Grange, handled the 
subject of "Market Gardening and Strawberry 
Culture" in a manner that elicited much interest 
that will be valuable to all his hearers. Mr. 
Frost has been remarkably successful in both the 
above branches of agriculture, and spoke from 
actual experience. 

E. K. Pickett, of Itasca, handled the subject of 
the "Grange on Politics," without gloves, giving 
his views straight from the shoulder. Above all 
things, said Mr. Pickett, we should notbe bound 
to any party with such strong ties that should 
prevent us from voting for the best men — regard- 
less of party Mr. Pickett is an independent 
thinker and holds radical views on most all sub- 
jects, and is disposed to look upon the present 
management of governmental affairs with dis- 
trust. Although we differ with Mr. Pickett in 
many of his views, yet we give him credit for be- 
ing honest, admiring his frankness and out- 
spoken sentiments. Dr. Ballard gave a very in- 
teresting account of the condition of the agricul- 
tural classes in England, and observations of 
his trip through that country. Judge Bartlett, 
Rev. Mr. Gowdy, Dr. Burnham, and others made 
short speeches and everything passed off very 
pleasantly, the meeting closing with singing, after 
which the Patrons dispersed and started for their 
various homes, feeling that it had been good to 
be there. The next general meeting of the 
Grange will be held the fore part of October, due 
notice of which will be given hereafter." 



RAILROADS. 

TThe county may be said to be well supplied 
with railroads, as there is an east and west line, 
a north and south line, and a line running from 
Albert Lea in a southwest direction. The South- 
ern Minnesota road, which is so intimately con- 
nected with this region in its earlier history, and 
which was the first to open up the county to 
steam transportation, will be more fully sketched 
than the others, which have been constructed 
since railroad building was much easier than for- 
merly. 

The Southern Minijesota Railroad. — This 
trunk line started as the Root River Valley road, 
finally assumed its present name, and is now a 
division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
railway company's system of roads, which is said 
to have the largest number of miles of any road 
in America under one management. 

It has its eastern terminus at La Crosse, and 
entering Fillmore county at Rushford, follows the 
Root River as far as Lanesboro. Here it extends 
toward the west with a southern deflection, and 
leaves the county near the center of the western 
boundary. It has stations at convenient distances 
along the route. The early history of this enter- 
prise is one crowded with vicissitudes. 

Soon after Brownsville, in Houston county, was 
settled, a charter was obtained with the mouth- 
filling title of " Mississippi k Missouri Railroad 
Company." That road was to start up the Wild- 
cat Valley, and it proved to be a "wild cat" 
scheme, coming into the world in a still-born con- 
dition. 

The Root River Valley Railroad Company was 
organized under territorial auspices, Clark W. 
Thompson, of Hokah, T. B. Twiford, of Chat- 
field, and T. B. Stoddard, of La Crosse, and tlieir 
associates, whoever they were, kept the breath of 
life in this corporation for several years. 

On the 3rd of November, 1856, it having got to 
be the "Root River and Southern Minnesota Com- 
pany," the officers met at their usual headquarters 
in Chatfield, and the places of directors whose 
terms of office had expired were filled; the board 
then stood as follows : Clark'W. Thompson, Presi- 
dent; C A Stevens, Vice-President; H. L. Edwards, 
Secretary; T. B. Twiford, Treasurer, H. W. Hol- 
ley. Chief Engineer. The Executive Committee 
were T. B. Twiford, Edward Thompson, T. B. 
Stoddard, William B. Gere, and T. J. Stafford. 



328 



UISTORT OF FliE'EBORX COUNTY. 



Soon after this a survey was wade by the chief 
engineer, H. W. Holley, from the^Mississippi River 
to Hokah. 

On the 8th of December, 1856, a piiblic meet- 
ing of those favorable to the construction of the 
road was held in Chatfield. The meeting was 
called to order by Wm. B. Gere, who stated the 
objects of the meeting, and gave a brief history of 
the enterprise, stating that it was chartered in 
1854, and that S50,000 had been subscribed to the 
stock. G. W. Willis was ajipointed chairman of 
the meeting, and Edward Dexter was selected for 
Secretary. Earnest speeches were made by 
several gentlemen. A committee was appointed 
to solicit subscriptions to defray the expenses of 
an agent to Washington, to secure, if possible, 
congressional aid in the form of a land grant. It 
was understood that this committee succeeded in 
raising about .$1,300 in Chatfield, and James M. 
Cavanaugh, afterwards member of Congress, was 
appointed to proceed to Washington and look 
after a land grant. The thanks of the meeting 
were voted to Col, Thomas B. Stoddard of La 
Crosse, for his untiring energy in the service of 
the enterprise. 

It will thus be seen what service was done by 
Chatfield during the struggling infancy and 
weakness of this corporation, and how remorse- 
lessly it was passed by when the company had 
secured strength and power. Ingratitude is the 
most despicable sin that exists. The land grant 
passed Congress, and became a law on the last 
day of President Pierce's administration, on the 
4th of March, 1857, and was among the last bills 
signed by the New Hampshire President. As 
there were other similar land grants for roads in 
various parts of the territory, an extra session of 
the Legislature was called by Governor Gorman, 
to meet on the 10th of May, 1857, to pass the ap- 
propriate acts on the subject. 

On the 3d of April the railroad company had a 
meeting at La Crescent, and a survey by the 
Chief Engineer, Mr. Holley, was ordered to be 
made at once, to begin at or near St. Peter, and 
to run thence east to LaCrosse. The party accor- 
dingly started to make this survey from Chatfield 
to St. Peter, on the 6th of April, 1857. At the 
meeting of the Legislature it granted to the 
Southern Minnesota Railroad Company the land 
pertaining to the line from LaCrescent to Rochetf- I 



ter, also from St. Paul up the Minnesota valley to 
the Iowa State Line. 

The survey from St. Peter to LaCrescent was 
completed early in June, but in the meantime a 
transfer of the stock of the company had been 
made by the directors to a Wisconsin company, 
the Milwaukee and LaCrosse, which continued 
the survey, but did nothing whatever in the way 
of grading. And thus it remained, until in 1858. 
The five million loan bill became a law, and then 
the company graciously graded twenty miles, 
from La Crescent to Houston, and there it stop- 
ped. 

In 1859, there was a kind of a supplementary 
collapse, and various roads went into bankruptcy, 
this among the others. About this time there 
was an atempt to float some railroad currency, but 
it was not a brilliant success. 

In 1869, C. D. Sherwood, Clark W. Thompson, 
H . W. Holley, Dr. L. Miller, Hiram Walker, and 
their associates, reorganized the company and ob- 
tained from the Legislature of the State the fran- 
chises and lands of the old company, upon the 
condition that ten miles should be completed in 
one year. But the time elapsed and the ten 
miles did not materialize, and the next year the 
Legislatare kindly gave the company another 
year, and this time it succeeded in making the 
trip, and having the requisite ten miles in run- 
ning condition by the 25th of December, 1866. 
During the previous winter an effort had been 
made to secure an additional grant of land from 
Houston to the western boundary of the State, 
which was successful, and this aid was secured on 
the 4th of July, 1866. 

From this time the progress of the road was 
rapid. As alwve stated, the road to Houston was 
opened and running in 1866; to Rushford and 
Lanesboro in 1868; from Ramsey to Wells in 
1869; and from Lanesboro the road was pushed 
on to Ramsey in 1870, the total distance being 167 
miles. It wiU thus be seen that the road was 
finally constructed and put in operation by prac- 
tically the same men who conceived the project 
in territorial days, and obtained, through their 
ell'orta, the donations that made its success possi- 
ble, and without which it might never have been 
built. As to the personnel of the early and the 
later management; Col. T. B. Stoddard, of La 
Crosse; C. W. Thompson, of Hokah, and his 
brother, Edward Thompson, of tlie same place; 



STATISTICS. 



329 



and Hon. H. W. HoUey, the Chief Engineer, of 
Fillmore county, who were on the board of direc- 
tors in 1856, stuck to its varying fortunes and 
destinies through good and evil report till in 1870, 
the first division from La Crosse to Winnebago 
City was completed. 

As to the last land grant from Congress in 
1866, without which the road could not, or would 
not have been extended west of Houston, perhaps 
the most credit should be given to Charles D. 
Sherwood, Dr. Luke Miller, C. G. Wyckoff, and 
D. B. Sprague, who joined their fortunes with the 
enterprise at these organization in 1865. 

In relation to the route of the road west of 
Lancsboro, where it leaves the Koot River Valley, 
the inside history would be remarkably rich read- 
ing if faithfully portrayed. Chatfield being on 
the main stream, had no shadow of doubt as to 
its going there. Preston, the county seat, confi- 
dently expected the road. Either way would 
have avoided the terrible grade west of Laues- 
boro, which will forever require a " Pusher " to 
overcome. But in view of " other hearts that 
would bleed," the story perhaps better be left un- 
told in this volume. It is not unlikely, at some 
time not very distant, when this road shall become 
a part of the "Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul In- 
ternational line to the Pacific," that the bed of the 
road may be changed to follow one of the 
branches of the Root River from Lanesboro. 

STATISTICS. 

Chop Reports. — The returns made by the 
Marshals who gathered the statistics from the 
farmers for the United States census bureau, do 
not in all respects coincide with those taken by 
the State. They are, however, as reliable as can 
be secured. The acreage and crop of the four 
leading cereals of the county for 188(1 was as fol- 
lows: 

Acreage. Bushels. 

Wheat 103,783 1,148,879 

Oats 20,415 717,030 

Corn 14,587 582,514 

Barley 3,015 72,647 

Freeborn county is one of the thirteen in Min- 
nesota that produces more than a million bushels 
of wheat annually, being the second on the list; 
Goodhue county raising 2,740,962 and Freeborn 
1,444,527 bushels. As to the average yield in the 
several counties. Otter Tail takes the lead with 






17.68 bushels to the acre, then Polk with 16.40, 
Rice 15.25, Stearns 14.73, Waseca, 14.45, Goodhue 
14.42, Blue Earth 13.43, and Freeborn 12.96. 
The lowest on the list being Fillmore county, 
which has run down to 7.76. In 1881, as com- 
pared with the previous year, there was a decrease 
in acreage of 5,637 acres. 

Rye; only 117 acres was given to this crop, and 
2,977 bushels produced. 

Buckwheat; 32 acres and 372 bushels. 

Potatoes; 1,04" acres and 111,111 bushels, or 
93.83 buehels per acre. 

Beans; 10 acres, 165 bushels. 

Sxigar cane; 102 acres; 9,874 gallons of syrup; 
an average of 96.80 per acre. Cultivated hay, 
1,479 acres, 2,087 tons. 

The above are the principal crops raised in the 
county. 

Whole number of farms of the various sizes, 
1,838. 

Whole number of acres, 158,038. 

Apple trees in Freeborn county. The number 
growing in 1881 was 28,983, with 6,117 bearing 
trees, producing about 2,298 bushels. 

Grapes. The numbes of grape vines in bear- 
in the county was 442. Showing that little at- 
tention is paid to this fruit. 

Tobacco. A small amount of this leaf is pro- 
duced each year, a few hundred pounds. 

Honey. The reports give about 3,000 pounds 
a year. 

Milch cows. The number of cows must be con- 
stantly increasing; at present there are upwards 
of 7,000, producing 545,116 pounds of butter and 
16,450 pounds of cheese. 

Sheep and wool. Number of sheep sheared, 
4,652; pounds of wool produced, 17,308. 

Horses. All ages, 7,638. 

Cows. All ages, 8,100; all other cattle, 631; 
total cattle, all ages, 16,186, 

Mules, 211. 

Hogs, 6,896. 

Total valuation of personal property in the 
county, $1,144,666. 

County valuation: 

1860 .1;384,729 

1861 469,639 

1862 428,904 

1868 483,781 

1864 711,310 

1865 780,640 

1866 973,831 



330 



nrsTOIiY OF FB3EB0BN COUNTY. 



Productions of Freeborn county during the 
year 18C'J : 

Bushels. 

Wheat 334,049 

Corn 160,698 

Oats 200,000 

Barley 2,124 

Potatoes 72,621 

Sorghum, gallons 10,890 

Hay, tons 25,859 

Wool, pounds 12,140 

Butter, pounds 173,370 

Assessors' RETriiNS for 1882. — A glance 
over the assessors returns of Freeborn county, 
for the year 1882, gives some interesting figures in 
regard to the wealth in the ditferent towns iu the 
county, both personal and real. The total valua- 
tion for the year named, as returned by the assess- 
ors, is as follows: 

Real Personal 

London Sl(i5,682 $34,523 

Shell Rock 191,281 75,904 

Freeman 108,311 33,930 

Nunda 134,846 44,391 

Mansfield 141,443 39,866 

Oakland 1 59,717 49,063 

Hayward 142,646 39,388 

Albert Lea 1C9,9H0 50,472 

Pickerel Lake 128,912 37,308 

Alden 153,460 36,588 

Moscow 163,137 36,733 

Riceland 153,176 49,772 

Bancroft 226,886 67,510 

Manchester 168,672 45,807 

Carlston 154,125 38,640 

Newry 114,871 43,766 

Geneva 108,461 30,453 

Bath 145,596 32,407 

Hartland 131,127 48,371 

Freeborn 97,993 38,941 

Albert Lea City 408,604 143,291 

It will be seen that the town of Shell Rock leads 
in personal property, while Bancroft surpasses all 
others iu real estate. Freeborn has the lowest val- 
uation on real property, and Geneva would go to 
the bottom of the column in the worth of its per- 
gonal property. 

From the crop statistics w(> find the following, 
which will be of interest to our readers : 



1881 



1882 
31,989 
7,771 



Apple trees, growing 28,540 

Apple trees, bearing 6,902 

Apples, Inishels 3.293 

Grape Vines, No 663 643 

Grapes, pounds.- 1,565 .... 

Tobacco, pounds 541 .... 

Sheep, No 3,767 4,267 

Wool, pounds 17,866 18,594 

Cows, No 7.042 6,623 

Butter, pounds 518,329 

Cheese, pounds 23,780 

Bees, hives 82 .... 

Honey, pounds 556 .... 

Those places in the 1882 column in which a 
dasli is placed could not be returned by the 
assessor, as in most cases the crop is yet growing, 

RETURNS FOR 1881-82. 

1881. 1882. 

Wheat, acres 72,537 62,727 

Wheat, bushel- 835,937 

OatS; acres 16,025 17,427 

Oats, bushels 514,591 

Corn, acres 14,449 22,132 

Corn, bushels 522,072 

Potatoes, acres 1,048 1,438 

Potatoes bushels 109,1 24 

Barley, acres 2,398 3,992 

Barley, bushels 54,765 

Flax, acres 738 779 

Tame hay, acres 1,528 2,502 

Total acreage 109,348 110,776 

Timothy, bushels 927 

Clover, bushels 42 

Apple trees 20,660 31,839 

Apples, bushels 3,273 

Sheep 3,767 4,269 

Wool, pounds 17,866 18,.594 

Cows 7,042 6,023 

Butter, pounds 58,339 6,623 

Cheese 23.780 

It will be seen from the above that there is a 
marked increase in the acreage of all products 
except wheat, which shows a great falling olV. 

TAXES. 

The following is the amount of county and state 
taxes, and penalty and interest, collected from 
March Ist to June 1st, 1882: 

County taxes $13,471 68 

Penalty and interest 95 56 

State faxes 4,731 71 

Total .'S18,298 94 



STATISTICS. 



331 



AMOUNT DUE EACH TOWN. 

London « 348 17 

Shell Rock 1,125 69 

Preemiin 423 63 

Nunda 361 21 

Mansfield 236 50 

Oakland 133 60 

Hayward 262 34 

Albert Lea 1,584 35 

Pickerel Lake 677 21 

Alden 1,337 75 

Moscow 198 42 

Riceland 324 31 

Bancroft 323 03 

Manchester 244 80 

Carlston 461 21 

Newry 18 89 

Geneva 297 53 

Bath 215 67 

Hartland 658 20 

Freeborn 281 92 

City of Albert Lea 4,272 36 

Total $13,786 80 

Less E. R. interest 4,373 31 

Leaves to credit of towns $9,413 49 

POPULATION IN 1880. 

Albert Lea City 1,966 

Albert Lea Township 878 

Alden TownshijJ 474 

Alden village 285 

Bancroft 959 

Bath ... 919 

Carlston 500 

Freeborn 414 

Freeborn village 72 

Fraeman 772 

Geneva 454 

Hartland 699 

Hayward 659 

London 614 

Manchester 784 

Mansfield 552 

Moscow 650 

Newry 737 

Nunda 776 

Oakland 629 

Pickerel Lake 530 

Riceland 783 

Shell Rock 1,013 

Total 16,069 



The population is thus divided: 

Male 8,528 

Female 7,542 

Natives 10,193 

Foreign 5,876 

White 16,058 

Colored 11 

A comparison with other census years makes 
this showing: 

1860 3,369 

1865 5,688 

1870 10,578 

1875 13,189 

1880 16,069 

The greatest increase in any semi-decade was 
between the close of the war and 1870. As to 
the growth of the capital of the county, this is 
the record: 

1860, the whole town had 262 

1870 1,167 

1875 1,897 

1880, iur^hiding the town 2.844 

Albert Lea is the twenty-first city in the State, 
in point of population. But it may be a conso- 
lation to know that there are twenty cities yet 
smaller, that have a population of not less than 
1,000. 

Taxes in Freeborn county in 1880 : 

State tax .f 9,433.18 

School tax 26,142.32 

County tax 17,252.96 

Town tax 3,481.50 

All other taxes 19,837.10 

Valuation of the county in 1880. . . 5,229,134.00 
Valuation of the county in 1881 . . . 5,238,555.00 
Valuation of county seat in 1880. . 494,955.00 
Valuation of county seat in 1881. . 495,021.00 

The Internal Revenue, collected in the first 
district, in which Freeborn county is situated. 
The office is at Albert Lea, and Dr. A. C. Wedge 
is the collector. The report is for the year 1881 : 

Collection on lists .f 7,829.71 

Spirit stamps 110.70 

Tobacco and cigars 24,183.92 

Beer stamps 42,162.64 

Special tax stamps 40,342.87 

Making a grand total of .$114,729.84 

For the year ending June 30, 1882 : 
Amount collected from the sale of 
beer stamps * 43,854.95 



332 



11 1 STOUT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Amount collected from the sale of 

cigars and tobacco 27,669 62 

Amount collected from the sale fif 

special tax 41,660.18 

Amount collected from hanks and 

bankers 11,419.47 

Amount collected from sale of check 

and adhesive stamps 765.19 

Amount collected from penalties, costs, 

etc 4.58.18 

Total coUeotions for the year S125,836.59 

This is an increase over the collections for the 
year ended June 30. 1881, of about .$9,000. Of 
the tax-payers of the district tliere are; Brewers 
29; cigar manufacturers 23, tobacco manufactur- 
ers 21, rectifiers 1, wholesale liquor dealers 3, 
wholesale dealers in malt liquor 3, retail hquor 
dealers 86, dealers? in macufactured toliacco 2,088. 

Meteorological.. — It is difficult to convey an 
idea of the character of the average weather of 
any locality without burdening pages with baro- 
metrical and theometrical statistics, But a few 
general points which may serve to give an imper- 
fect impression of what one has to encounter in 
this section will be presented. The highest range 
of the thermometer and the lowest in each month 
for the year 1881 was as follows; 

HIGHEST LOWEST- 

January 35. .25 

February 38. .09 

March 51. 9. 

April 78. 10. 

May 85. 36. 

June 92. 50. 

July 91. 55. 

August 96. 52. 

September 91. 40. 

October 71. 30. 

November 57. 02. 

December 52. 00. 

This gives an annual mean temperature of 4&.08, 
which, if correct, for a series of years, gives an 
idea of the temperature of water from tlie earth a 
a depth of forty feet, where it is not affected by 
atmospherical influences. The amount of rainfall 
for the year was 39.16 inches. The number of 
days on which rain or snow fell was 167, which 
was above the average. 

The autumn months in Minnesota are described 
as the most charming months of all the year. 



" when the golden grain is gathered by the far- 
mer, when his hay in the stack has been heaped 
high in the sweet scented fields, and the horny- 
handed granger has nothing to do but sit on the 
fence in the shade and shake hands with the polit- 
ical candidates as they pass along in a soothingly 
sweet scented smiling procession." 

FREEBORN COUNTY BIIiLE SOCIETY. 

The annual meeting of the Society was held 
according to appointment, at the M. E. Church, 
on the 28th day of May. 1882, at which time the 
foliowiug officers were elected: President, Isaac 
Botsford; Vice-President, Rev. N. F. Hoyt; Sec- 
retary, W. C. MoAdams; Treasurer, D. K. P. 
Hibbs; Executive Committee, B. F. Sulzer, Kev. 
R. B. Abbott, and Rev. N. F. Hoyt. 

A collection of $22.75 was taken during the 
day for the benefit of the society, of which .?15,- 
60 was given in the Presbyterian church in the 
forenoon, ' and Si7.15 at the meeting in the 
evening. 

The following is an abstract of the Secretary's 
rejiort of the affairs of the Society for the year 
ending May 28th, viz: 

The Bibles on hand at date of anuu:^l 

meeting. May 3Uth. 1881 S10d,07 

Bibles and Testaments since received . . . 34.70 

. Total »137.77 

Bibles sold during the year $ 35.24 

Discount on Testaments "marked down" 2.35 
Bibles turned over to Sulzer "damaged" 

for distribution 3.10 

Shortage on invoice and lost in money. . 8.33 
Bibles delivered on life membership cer- 
tificates 1.60 

Bibles on hand 87.15 

Total *137.77 

Caah on har d at date of last annual meet- 
ing S 29.13 

Amount collected at anniversary 20.87 

Amount received on sale of Bibles 35.24 

Total - * 85.24 

By donation to American Bible Society 

per vote of annual meeting f "^0.87 

By amount paid American Bible Society 

"junel '.. 29.13 

By amount allowed in exchange of Bibles 

and for freight on Bibles 1.12 

By amount ])aid for moving book? 3.") 

By (commission on sales 3.."j2 



WAR RECORD. 



333 



By expenses ' 125 

Cash on hand 2!).00 

Total «85.24 

Account with American Bible Society 
June 30, 1881. Bibles and Testaments 

received $ 34:.70 

June 21, 1881. Cash 29.13 

Due American Bible Society. $ 5.57 

PRESENT CONDITION. 

Books on hand $ 87.15 

Casu from last year 29.00 

Cash collection 22.75 

Total amount cash .S51.75 

Less indebtedness 5.57 

Balance SIG.IS 



CHAPTER L. 



FREEBOHN COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 

THE INDIAN OUTBREAK. 

WHO PARTICIPATED. 



-NAMES OE SOLDIERS 



When the war had been actually proclaimed, 
and the people began to realize that most of tbe 
southern States, were actually in rebellion against 
the government, there was no hesitation in actu- 
ally starting the work to meet the demand for 
men with which to create an army. The State at 
this time was only three years old, and this 
county had been settled but about five or six 
years, and few of the people had got out of their 
primitive shanties, and it will ever be a matter of 
profound astonishment how so many men were 
found to thus take their lives in their hands and 
go to the front to assist in forming the walls of steel 
to repel the enemies of the American Union. 

Many of the people of the county were born in 
the old world, but they had been educated with 
faith in the New, and only those who have been 
through a like ordeal can understand the bitter 
experience of most of them in procuring means 
to tear themselves away from old companions to 
come to this land of the free, and the home of the 
brave; but having come, and began to taste the 
fruits of their own labor, witb no grasping laud- 
lord to secure the usufruct of the laud and I'eap 
the reward of toil, they were alarmed when these 
new found rights and privileges were thus jeo- 
pardized. And with the true instincts of freedom 
and manhood, in response to an intelligent inter- 



pretation of the laws of self preservation, and in 
a spirit meriting the highest commendation, they 
enlisted to protect their adopted country. Their 
heroism, valor, and devotion, on many a well 
fought field, atte.st their title to the proud appel- 
ation of American citizens, and as time goes on 
their names will be more and more tenderly re- 
garded, and their deeds will be recounted with 
greater and greater reverence, and will be poin- 
ted at with pride by coming generations, as 
worthy of emulation. 

That such a young county should be able to 
fill its quota as against older communities, before 
the land itself was subjugated, or the people had 
provided the comforts of home for themselves, will 
ever excite the liveliest satisfaction in the hearts 
the people of the nation. 

The usual scenes transpiring all over the coun- 
try were occurring here, in a form of course 
modified by the circumstances. Knots of men in 
earnest conversation, men reading aloud the latest 
news to interested groups, public meetings, and 
anon, the shrill, ear-piercing fife, and the roll of 
the martial drum, were heard in these western 
wilds, and finally, the tramp of the citizen sol- 
diery with the sharp command, giving a realiza- 
tion of war's wrinkled front, was actually abroad 
in the land. 

One of the first meetings called was in Shell 
Rock on the 1st of May, 18(il. Manly C. Isham 
was chosen chairman, and H. L. Dow was ap- 
pointed secretary. Rousing speeches were made 
and war committees appointed, as follows: 

Daniel Giflard, Orlando McFall, Manly C. 
Isham, Luther Phelps, George Gardner, J. A. 
Knapp and others. 

On the 11th of May, the people of Albert Lea 
met and raised a liberty pole, ayd then repaired 
to the Webber House and held a mass meeting. 
E. K. Pickett was chairman, and William Morin 
was secretary. It was resolved to form a rifle 
company, and a committee on resolutions was ap- 
pointed as follows: E. C. Stacy, E. P. Skinner, 
and A. W. White. E. K. Pickett, Samuel Eaton, 
H. D. Brown, Benjamin Frost, D. G. Parker and 
others, made patriotic addresses, and forty -six per- 
sons were enrolled. 

"Be but the foe arrayed. 
And war's wild trumpet blown, 
Cold is the heart that has not made 
His country's cause his own," 

was the sentiment aroused at this meeting. 



334 



UlUTOHY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Arrangements were maile to hold meetings all 
over the county, in each prominent place; Shell 
Rock, Nunda, Freeborn, Moscow, and other 
points. At these four places two men were to go 
to each, and for the four men each had two meet- 
ings. These speakers were two Democrats and 
two Republicans, but some of them weakened 
when the supreme moment came, and as a matter 
of fact E. C. Htaoy went tlirough the campaign 
without faltering, and did good service in firing 
up the northern heart. The story is told that at 
one of these meetings, at a large schoolhouse, he 
got warmed up and was pacing the tlot)r and ges- 
tulating with frenzied olo([uence, when he be- 
came conscious of a boisterous uproar in the au- 
dience, and on turning he saw a man who had 
been carried away by the enthusiasm of the 
moment, following him as he walked, and in fran- 
tic imitation of the speaker, reasserting his postu- 
lates! And the story may as well be told here, 
that only a few years ago the judge, who was 
counsel in a case in town, made an elocpient plea 
for his client, and a German who was on the jury 
was visibly affected by it, who, on being ques- 
tioned about it afterwards, said "Oh yes, be made 
that same speech when raising troops for the war." 

At these war meetings the girls would sing pa- 
triotic songs and the recruiting books would be 
opened. The second meeting in Albert Lea was 
in the Webber House and was well attended. 

Judge Stacy went in person with two com- 
panies of the Fourth regiment to Fort Snelling. 

Our sketches of war incidents must necessarily 
be desidtory and disconnected, owin g to the 
incompleteness of the record. 

Capt. Lewis McKune was killed at Bull Run, 
and the people began to realize that putting down 
the rebellion was no holiday aflfair ; and that no 
three months, as at first supposed, would close, the 
war. 

In the summer of IHfil, Sergeant J. E. Hall of 
Co. K, which was stationed ot Fort Snelling, was 
here on recruiting service. . 

The quota of the State in September was 3,950. 

In December, the ladies of Freeborn County 
had manufactured in an eastern city, a regulation 
flag of fine material and best workmanship. A 
delegation carried it to Fort Snelling, and in their 
behalf Frank Hall, of Albert Lea, with pertinent 
and patriotic words, ])resented it to Co. F, of the 
Fifth Regiment Minnesota Volunteers, which was 



composed of Freeborn county men. It was gal- 
lantly received in behalf of the company by (^lap- 
tain White, who acknowledged its protecting folds 
the harbinger of victory, and assured the fair 
donors that it should ever be borne aloft "until 
the last armed foe expires," and "that when sad and 
dispirited, the sight of this banner, and the 
rememlirance of the fair donors, would rally their 
latent energies, and again their drooping spirits 
shoiild revive and new courage inspire their 
hearts." As a matter of history the folds of 
this flag were never sullied by those who fought 
under its protecting care. 

Lieutenant William F. Wheeler, of Company F, 
Fourth Regiment was presented with a service, 
sword, and belt by his fellow citizens. 

In addition to those who enlisted in Minnesota 
Regiments in 1861, there were 46 Norwegians 
who went to Wisconsin to go into a regiment of 
their own nationality there. In order to get, if 
possible, these names, a letter was directed to 
Chandler P. Chapman, the assistant Adjutant Gen- 
eral of Wisconsin, who, in leply submitted the 
names found in the list of soldiers credited from 
Freeborn county as far as they were recorded. 
He mentions that it is not unlikely that others 
may have gone into other regiments. 

Company C was organized by Captain Frank 
Hall, at Fort Snelling, in March, 1862, and was 
reorganized as a veteran regiment in March, 1864, 
at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and mustered out at 
Demopolis, Alabama, on the 6th of September, 
1865, having participated in most, if cot all, the 
battles of the Southwest. Captain Hall was 
promoted to Major of the Fifth Regiment on the 
31st of August, 1862. 

The first Company raised in the county of Free- 
born was by Captain A. W. White. 

Here is a recruiting notice that will be read with 
interest: 
" A TTENTION! 

FIVE HUNDRED RECRUITS WANTED 

— FOB THE 

FIFTH REGIMENT, MINNESOTA VOLUN- 
TEERS. 



To all Recruits enlisted by recruiting Officers, 
to serve for three years, or the war, in old regi- 
ments noworganized, whose term of service expired 



WAR RECORD. 



335 



in 1864 or 1865, there will be paid one month's 
pay in advance, and in addition a bounty and 
premium amouutinp; to $302 as follows: 
On being mustered into the United States 
service, under this authority and Ije- 
tore leaving the recruiting station or 
depot to join his company or regiment, 
shall receive one month's advance pay $13 00 

First installment of bounty 60 00 

Premium 2 00 



Total pay before joining the Begiment . . . $10 00 

At the first regular pay day, or two months 
after mustering, an additional install- 
ment will be paid 40 00 

At the first regular pay day, after six 
months' service, an additional install- 
ment of bounty will be paid 40 00 

At the first regular pay day, after the end of 
the first year's service, au additional 
installment of bounty will be paid.. 40 00 

At the first regular pay day after eighteen 
month's service, an additional install- 
ment of bounty will be paid 40 00 

At the first regular pay day after two 
year's services, an additional install- 
ment of bounty will be paid 40 00 

At the expiration of three years' service, or 
to any soldier enlisting under this 
authority, who may be honorably dis- 
charged after two years' service, the 
remainder of the bounty will be paid . 40 00 

II. If the government shall not require these 
troops for the fiiU period of three years, and they 
be mustered honorably out of the service before 
the expiration of their term of enlistment, they 
shall receive, on being mustered out, the whole 
amount of bounty remaining unpaid, the same as 
if the full term had been served. 

III. The legal heirs of soldiers who die in the 
service shall be entitled to receive the whole 
bounty remaining unpaid at time of the soldier's 
death. 

To persons desirous of entering the United 
States' service, this fine Regiment now offers an 
opportunity. The advantages of entering an old 
and well drilled regiment, are too well known to 
be enumerated. The wishes of persons enlisting, 
who have friends or relatives in the regiment, will 
be regarded as to the companies to which they 
wish to be assigned. 



The present presents a most favorable oppor- 
tunity to any man who contemplates joming the 
service, especially those liable to draft should at 
once join this brave regiment that has already 
earned lasting honor by its courage and valor. 
Capt. T. J. Sheeiian, 
Recruiting officer, 5th Minn. 

Volunteers will report to me at A. Armstrong's 
office at Albert Lea, Freeborn Co." 

As far as the county was concerned, the gov- 
ernment left recruiting affairs to individual exer- 
tion and town action. In the county records no 
mention is made relating to the rebellion until 
Septemljer, when George S. Ruble was authorized 
to appropriate the sum of fifty -five dollars for the 
benefit of the family of George Conrad of the Sec- 
ond Minnesota Cavalry, and forty dollars for the 
benefit of the widow of George W. Gilo, late of 
company F, Fourth Cavalry. Wannemaker's 
widow, late of company E, Tenth regiment, was 
also furnished a small sum, and other sums for like 
purposes were also appropriated at this time. 

At the anniial meeting in January, 1865, a peti- 
tion was presented from E. P. Hathaway and oth- 
ers, asking the Board to vote a bounty of $300 to 
pay volunteers to help fill the quota, but it was 
rejected. A petition of citizens of Moscow to the 
same effect met a like fate. 

In this war sketch it must be recorded as to 
how some of the soldiers' families lived during 
their absence at the front. While Major Hall was 
in the army Mr. C. M. Hewitt managed his store 

, and did an enormous business. All the soldiers' 
wives bought their goods there, and those who 
were in Hall's command would remunerate him 
at the pay table when the paymaster came around. 
On ths 1st of February, 1864, the quota of Free- 
born county stood as follows: Whole number 
demanded, 273; number actually furnished, 292; 
making nineteen more than the regular quota. 
In November the impending draft was sus- 

i pended until the 5th of January, 1864. 

; The following from a paper at that date will 
show what occupied the attention of the journals 
of the day, and how things were accomplished. 

"THE DRAFT POSTPONED. 

The result of Gov. Swift's visit to Washington 
was made manifest in the following telegrams 
received at St. Paul on the 6th, which will be 
received with general satisfaction throughout the 
State : 



336 



II [STORY OF FRBEBORN COUNT V. 



"Washington, Nov. 7, 11 p. m. 
Capt. T. M. Saunders, A. A. P. M. 

The quota for Minnesota has been so m\ich 
reduced by former excess of volunteers since the 
draft was ordered, that no draft will be made in 
that State before the fifth day of January, 1864, 
and only then in case she fails to raise her quota 
of 300,000 volunteers called for by the President. 

(Signed I James B. Fry, 

Provost Marshal General." 

The following also to Captain Saunders: 
"W.iSHlNGTON, Nov. 7, 11:40 A. M. 

Capt. T. M. Saunders. — If a State furnishes her 
full (|uota of volunteers under the President's call 
of October 17th, 1863, for three hundred thousand, 
the draft ordered for the first of January, 1864 
will not take place in that State. 

James B. Fry," 

A few other specimens of the prevailing litera- 
ture of the day will be appended for the sake of 
the information they contain. 

The detail for men was from the congressional 
districts and Freeborn was in the first. 

THE QUOTAS. 

"The Pros'ost Marshal of this District has com- 
])leted the enumeration of the township sub-dis- 
trict in this Congressional District, carried out the 
number of men enrolled in the first and second 
classes respectively, and forwarded the" same to 
the War Department. 

In this district there are 243 sub-districts dis- 
tributed among the counties as follows, and num- 
bered from No. 1, in Houston Co., to No. 243 in 
Watonwan Co., in the following order: 

Houston Co., 17 sub-districts; Fillmore, 24; 
Mower, 14; Freeborn, 18; Martin, 3; Faribault, 
10: AVinoua, 22; Olmsted, li»; Dodge, 10; Steele, 
12; Waseca, 10; Blue Earth, IG; Rice, 15; Le- 
Sueur, 15; Nicollet, 9; Brown, 6; Scott, 12; Sib- 
ley, 9; Renville, 1; Watonwan, 1. 

As we understand the matter, the Provost Mar- 
shal General requires 1,425 men from this dis- 
trict, giving the Adjutant General the appoint- 
ment of these men among these 243 township sub- 
districts, each of wliich must raise its quota inde- 
pendent of any other sub-district. The Adjutant 
(leneral has furnished a table given by us last 
week, showing the aggregate quotas of the coun- 
ties in this district. Each township in these 
counties must furnish the proportionate number 



of men that the enrolled inilitia of that town bears 
to the whole number of enrolled militia of the 
county. 

Congress has adjourned until the 5th of Jan- 
uary without coming to any definite conclusion 
on the i)roposed amendments to the enrollment 
Act. The Senate Military Committee proposes to 
strike out the word 300 and insert no amount in 
its stead, but let each drafted man make the best 
terms to procure a substitute or ajipear in person; 
also, any man enrolled may furnish an acce]itable 
substitute, which will relieve him from military 
duty during the time his substitute has accepted 
to serve, The committee are unanimous in rec- 
ommending that there be but ane class of militia 
— the 2d will, without doubt (and very justly, 
too,) take rank with their juniors, alike improve 
the present condition of both by arousing the 
one from apathy, and encourage the other by re- 
lieving it of tlie whole burthen so generously be- 
stowed on it by a Congress composed abnost 
wholly of class No. 2." 

It need nt)t be disguised that there were some 
who were more anxioiis to fill the quota than to re- 
cruit our armies in the field. 

"Governor Swift, sometime since, applied for 
permission to apportion our quota by town- 
ships and wards, and on Wednesday receiving the 
following dtspatch, granting his request: 

•Washington, Dec. 22. 
To His Excellency H. A. Swift, Governor of Min- 
nesota : 

Yon are authorized to apportion your quota of 
the three hundred thousand volunteers among the 
several towns or subdivisions of your State as you 
may find ])roi)er. The whole quota of the State, 
must, however, be distril)uted. 

JAME.S B. Fry, P. M. G.' 

"The War Department has notified the Gover- 
nor that the names of volunteers must be certified 
to by the mustering officer before they are for- 
warded to Washington, and in order to assure the 
credit due wards and townships, this officer must 
certify the towns, wards, and counties from which 
the recruits were enlisted. It is therefore not only 
necessary that our wards should ascertain the 
number of men they have sent, but they should 
also see that they are credited to the proper wards 
on the mustering officer's books." 

"Marshal's Notice. — We call attention to the 
notice of Capt. See, Provost Marshal for this Con- 



WAR RECORD. 



337 



gressioiial District, which is publishefl in to-day's 
paper, by which it will be seen that the time for 
hearing claims for exemption from military duty 
is extended to the 5th of January next. All 
wishing to avail themselves of this opportunity 
can now proceed to the 'Captain's office' at Roch- 
ester and have their cases duly passed upon; none 
need be bashful who have proper cause ; the sooner 
such names are stricken from the rolls the better 
it will be tor all concerned." 

"Military Appointments. — Col. A. D. Nelson 
resigned his commission yesterday as Colonel of 
the Sixth Regiment." 

"Lieutenant Colonel Crooks, of the Seventh 
Regiment, was appointed Colonel of the Sixth, 
vice Nelson, resigned." 

"Captain Samuel McPhail, of Houston county, 
was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Seventh 
Regiment, vice Crooks, promoted. Lieutenant 
Colonel McPhail joins the Indian expedition as 
commander of the irregular cavalry." 

"Lieutenant Colonel Averil], of the Sixth Reg- 
iment, reported for duty yesterday. He left for 
Lake City, and will take a volunteer cavalry force 
to the Indian country from that locality." 

"Hardee Revised. — Captain Saunders has re- 
ceived a copy of Hardee's Tactics revised and 
amended, which can be seen and examined by 
military men on calling at his office. All officers 
should have a copy before entering the field. Capt. 
S. is a perfect military scholar, and is willing to 
give all the necessary instructions concerning the 
new work to all officers who have had no exper- 
ience in military matters." 

"Help from Wisconsin. — A dispatch was re- 
ceived yesterday from Governor Solomon, stating 
that he had shipped several hundred thousand 
rounds of cartridges to Minnesota, in answer to 
the request of Governor Ramsey." 

"More Cavalry Needed. — More mounted men 
are wanted on the frontier. 

Let every man that can obtain a horse, arms 
and equipments, hasten to the assistance of the 
settlers on the frontier. There will be work for 
all to do. 

Our people must not think the emergency is 
past." 

"Third Regiment Coming Home. — Governor 

Ramsey has telegraphed to the War Department, 

asking that the Third Regiment might be sent to 

Minnesota for the protection of the frontier. Yes- 

22 



terday the Governor received a dispatch from 
General Halleck, stating that his request would 
be granted. This regiment may be expected 
home this week, when it will be reorganized and 
sent to the frontier." 

These items are copied at random from the 
newspapers of the day, and the war news so filled 
them that there is no wonder that the little girl 
should ask her mother after the close of the war 
what they would fill the papers with now ? 

With the war came a new form of taxation. 
Excise duty, or any form of government control 
of manufacturing or industrial interests were be- 
fore unknown. Now most kinds of business and 
professional men were subject to a special tax in 
the form of a license, and personal incomes be- 
yond a certain sum had to contribute a certain 
per cent, and notices like this were common. 

"Internal Revenue. — Attention is again call- 
ed to the notice of the Collector of Internal Rev- 
enue, which is published in to-day's paper, all as- 
sessments for the current year are requested to be 
paid Viefore the 31st day of December. If not so 
paid 2 per cent per month will be added thereto." 

On the 15th of April, 1861, President Lincoln 
called for 75,000 troops, and to keep up the delu- 
sion which was generally entertained by the South 
as to the superiority of Southern over Northern 
men, Jefferson Davis the next day called for 
32,000. 

On the 10th of July, 1861, President Lincoln 
called for 500,000 volunteers, and, according to 
the Adjutant General's report, the whole number 
enlisted before the close of the war, including 
officers, was 2,157,047 white men, and 178,895 
colored. 

In the winter of 1863-64 it became evident that 
the war could not be brought to a close before 
the term of enlistment of the great bulk of the 
army would expire, and so inducements of an 
extraordinary character were held out for the 
members of the various regiments in the field to 
re-enlist, including bounties of several hundred 
dollars and a promise of a visit home, and where 
whole regiments or companies re-enlisted,they came 
home with their officers in an organized form, and 
as they returned they were handsomely received. 

On the 31st of March, 1864, the members of Co. 
F, of the 4th Minnesota Regiment Veteran Volun- 
teers were tendered a reception by the citizens of 
Albert Lea. The affair was a cordial outgrowth 



338 



HISTORY OF FLiEUBORN COUNl'T. 



of the feeling of gratitude which filletl all hearts 
toward the noble men who had stood between 
them and desolation. Among the veterans present 
are remembered: J. Fredenburg, B. J. House, 
John Cottrell, F. E. Drake, George C. Snyder, 
Alfred Taylor,' Henry McGraw, Phineas Taylor, 
William Fenholt, Henry Woodruff, A. Wishman, 
Henry Honse, O. Perkins, Turner Shaw, Alfred J. 
Knapp, Jacob Frost, Ira Lovell, Andrew Anderson, 
W. Peterson, Harrison Bullock, and others. There 
was a dinner at the Webber House, with 68 plates. 
Speeches were made by A. Armstrong, J. L. Gibbs, 
George W. Skinner, and E. C. Stacy. In the 
evening the festivities were closed by a grand 
ball. 

When this Fourth regiment returned South it 
stopped several days in La Crosse to consolidate 
and secure transportation, and the officers and 
men were highly commended for their soldierly 
bearing and gentlemanly deportment. 

Dr. Wedge, Dr. Burnham, and Captain Ruble 
used to keep the home papers well supplied with 
papers from the South when they could get hold 
of them. 

On the hi\x of January, 1804, when the draft in 
the State was ordered, Freel)orn county had sent 
302 men into the army, and there were seventeen 
mere wanted. The total requisition upon the State 
had been 2,939; of these, 1,515 belonged to the 
First Congressional District, and 1,424 to the 
Second. The draft was to be made up in this 
way; all the men of military age in each town 
were enrolled, and each one could appear before a 
medical board connected with the Provost Mar- 
shal's office, and if he could show a disability his 
name would be stricken from the roll, and the 
prizes in this lottery, where the blanks were so 
distressingly few, would be drawn from the reduced 
list. But the malingering in various parts of the 
district became so extensive that the exemptions 
were set aside by a general order from the depart- 
ment. 

In May, 1864, the district being behind in its 
quota, the draft was ordered for certain; but few, 
however, were required to be taken from the 
county, as the quota was well nigh filled. 

On the 21st of June, 1864, the amount paid in 
the first congressional district for commutation 
was by 341 men, who contributad an aggregate 
of S;i02,300. 

The operation of the draft called forth consid- 



erable feeling, as with improper exemptions and 
various causes, there were great inequalities. Anv 
man who had drawn a prize from the conscription 
list could hire a substitute, as many did, or pay a 
commutation of s3()0. 

The Sanitary and Christian commission must 
not be omitted, hiit on account of the burning of 
the Standard office with the files of papers, in the 
spring of 1882, we are unable to furnish full ac- 
counts of the Ladies' Aid Societies and other 
auxiliaries that were engaged in this work. 

Most of the regiments in which were Freeborn 
men, re-enlisted in the winter of 1864, with a \-iew 
of seeing the end of the rebellion, and of course 
receiving the large bounties which were offered. 
The privilege of wearing chevrons on their arms 
as veteran badges also might have had some in- 
fluence. 

The Freeborn county men who were in the 
Fifth Regiment were in the following battles: 
Fort Ridgely ; Jackson, Miss. ; Vicksburg ; Rich- 
mond, La.; Fort DeRussy: Henderson Hill, 
Campti, La.; Pleasant Hill; Cloutersville, La.: 
Mansura Bayou; De Glaize; Lake Chicott, Tup- 
elo, Abbeyville; Nashville. 

INDIAN OUTBKE.Ui OF 1862. 

Although there is a good history of the terri- 
ble scenes oonnected with the Indian outbreak of 
August, 181)2, in the earlier pages of this work, 
yet, as many of the chief actors, particularly 
those who defended Fort Ridgely, were and still 
are residents of Freeborn county. It is deemed 
proper to present some facts not recorded there, 
and to indicate the special part taken by these 
heroic men. 

Lieutenant Timothy J. Sheehan, the present 
Sheriff' of Freeborn county, was in command of 
Company C, Fifth Regiment Blinnesota Volun- 
teers, and kept a record of each day's doings, of 
all the orders received and issued, and from these 
uotes we here ])resent a remime of the movements 
of this Company from the time when it left Fort 
Ripley, where it was stationed at the time of tlir 
outbreak. 

"SPECIAL OBDEK NO. 30. 

H. D., Ft. Ridgely, June 18, 1862. 
First Lieut. T. J. Sheehan, of Co. C, Fifth 
Reg., Minn. Vols., will proceed with 50 men to 
Fort Kidgelv, and there report to Capt. Marsh, 
commanding post, for further orders. 

Capt. Francis Hall, Comd'g Post." 



WAIi BEGOBD. 



339 



"The detachment started promptly on the 19th, 
and marched 18 miles; on the 20th, marched 20 
miles; on the 21st, camped at Clear Lake after a 
march of 18 miles. Reached Elk Kiver on the 
22d, after a march of 21 miles, and attended 
preaching. Marched 21 miles on the 23d, and 
camped at Industriana. On tlie 24th, marched 
20 miles and camped on the prairie; made 20 
miles on the 25th; day warm; all the boys feel- 
ing wall, and so en to the 28th, when they ar- 
rived at PortRidgely and were warmly welcomed." 

The next day, the 29th of June, Lieut. Sheehan 
was ordered by Captain Marsh, to take fifty men 
of Co. C, and .51 men of Co. B, and proceed by 
the most expeditious route to the Yellow Medicine 
Agency, and report to Maj. Thomas Galbraith, 
the Sioux agent, to protect the United States prop- 
erty during the annuity payments. 

"Arrived on the 2d of July and went into camp 
on a knoll about 25 rods from the Government 
warehouse. On the 4th of July they had a cele- 
bration ; used up a keg of powder in practice on 
a howitzer. There were thousands of Indians 
about, including the Yauktons and Cutheads, who 
were not entitled to pay, but it was feared 
would make trouble. They had hi Jeous begging 
and buffalo dances. On the 14th of July 
I estimated that there were 6,700 Indians 
camped near there ; they were in a starving con- 
dition, and were constantly prowling around, beg- 
ging. Went with Lieut. Gere to talk with the 
agent about issuing provisions to the Indians. 
He said that he would soon count them and issue 
rations, and send them back to look after their 
crops, to stay until he could send for them to 
receive their pay." 

"On the 23d of July some Chippewas killed 
two Sioux belonging to Red Iron's band, within 
eighteen miles of the whole Sioux Nation. In 
scalping them their heads were completely 
skinned. The next day, the Sioux, about 1,500 
strong, started for the Chippewas, mounted and on 
foot, with guns and ammunition, bows and arrows, 
all in full war paint. About four o'clock in the 
afternoon they returned, dejected and irritable." 

"On the 26th the men were counted and furn- 
ished crackers by the barrel, which would be emp- 
tied on the ground by the soldiers, and there was 
a grand scramble for them, men tumbling over 
each other, but the soldiers kept them within due 
bounds. It took forty barrels of water to go 



I 



round, and when their stomachs had become dis- 
tended, they sat down on the grass in groups, and 
smoked and enjoyed themselves. The Indians 
not entitled to rations, were kept out of the 
ring." 

On the 27th of July, Lieut. Sheehan was 
requested to take a small detachment of his men 
and go toward the source of the Yellow Medicine, 
in pursuit of Inkpoduta and his followers, and 
to capture and bring them in, alive if possible. 

On the 28th they started with a party of relia- 
ble citizens to assist in the enterprise, and a single 
Indian guide, Wausue, who was a civilized mem- 
ber of Mr. Riggs' church. Traveled 40 miles that 
day, as they were all well mounted. On the 29th 
they made 35 miles and encamped at Ash Creek. 
The march on the 30th was due west and then 
north, and they saw "Medicine Sticks" planted 
along , showing that they were on the trail. The 
next day, being fatigued and the horses tired, they 
laid over in camp. 

On the 1st of August the commmand moved 
toward "Hole in the mountain." On the 2d 
started on the return march and arrived on the 3d. 

On the 4th were the first hostile demonstrations. 
At seven o'clock in the morning about 1,500 red 
men surrounded the camp and eommencad firing 
their guns, and a party broke open the warehouse 
and began take out flour, being protected by 
about 400 braves. Lieut. Sheehan took 25 sol- 
diers and got into the warehouse, marching 
through a large body of Indian warriors. Gor- 
man and Fadden, two of the agent's employes 
came out to assist in quelling the riot. 

When quiet was restored, Sheehan got permis- 
sion of the agent to council with the Indians, and 
the government interpreter was sent out for that 
purpose. The leader of the band made this 
speech : "We are the braves, we have sold our 
land to the Great Father, and we think he intends 
to give us what he has promised us, but we can't 
get it ; we are starving, and must have something 
to eat." 

They were told that they should have asked the 
agent for food before breaking open the store- 
house. That if the Great Father knew what they 
had done, he would be very angry. 

The red man answered, "Almost every day we 
have asked him, but he gives us nothing. Last 
night at our coimcil fire we all said, we must have 
bread. We want you to ask him for us for some- 



340 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN G0UNT7. 



thing to eat. We know that our Great Father 
would be mad if we kill the soldiers." 

They were asked, "if they got a good issue of 
provisions to-morrow, if they would at once retire ?" 
to which they consented. 

Major Galbraith then issued an order to Lieut. 
Sheehan to direct the interpreter to order the 
Indians to meet him in council on the morrow, and 
to accept the food he would distribute. Major 
Galbraith also ordered the tlour to be re-convejed 
into the warehouse, but the immense horde of 
savages prevented this, and a liberal issue was 
made under the urgent advioe of Lieut. Sheehan, 
and they retired fully satisfied that they had car- 
ried their point. 

On Tuesday, August 5th, two Indians who were 
identified as being concerned in the acts of vio- 
lence the day before, were arrested and locked up 
by order of the Agent, who started a team off with 
his family, which was driven bad., and the threat 
made that they could not go off imtil the men 
were released, which he directed to be done. Word 
was sent to Capt. Marsh at Fort Kidgely as to the 
trouble at Yellow Medicine, and the Captain 
promptly ordered the provisions and clothing to 
be issued at once, coming himself on the 6tb, and 
the issue was made the next day. 

On the 10th of August, as there was no prospect 
of an immediate payment of the annuities, the 
command prepared to return to the Fort, and took 
up the line of March the next day, going 25 miles 
and bivouacking at Redwood. 

The next day they arrived at Fort Ridgely; 
halting near the Fort, they were met by music, 
and marched inside in good order. 

The^- spent a few days in preparation, and on 
the 17th of August received orders to proceed to 
Fort Ripley. Started at 7 o'clock in the morning, 
and marched 23 miles, and went into bivouac at 
Cumming"sFarm. The next day they got as far as 
apoint between New Auburn and Glencoe, and after 
being in camp half an hour, Corporal McLean of 
Co. B, dashed into their midst with the following 
order : 

"HE.\l)ylAliTEIiS FoKT KiDGELT, / 

August 18th, lSfi2. i 

Lieut. Sheehan; 

It is absolutely necessary that you should return 
with your command immediately to this post. The 
Indians are raising hell at the lower agency. 
Beturn as soon as possible. 

JoH.N S. Maush, 
Captain Commanding Post." 



Lieut. Sheehan started to return at once, and 
on the way met a second dispatch, urging 
haste; kept up the march and arrived the next 
morning, having made a forced march of 42 
miles in nine and one-half hours. On the way. 
they came across families fleeing from the mur- 
derous tomahawk and scalping knife. 

On August li)th, the day of arrival, Lieut. 
Sheehan took command, Capt. Marsh having been 
shot, and all the available men who had Hocked in 
from the country around were armed and placed 
under discipline. The Indians who were seen 
approaching were shelled and kept from advanc- 
ing. The siege actually commenced on the 20th, 
and an account of it will not be repeated here, as 
it appears in the history of the Sioux Massacre. 
.'Vmong the civilians who were present were Mr. 
G. C. Wyckoff, Clark W. Thompson's Secretary, 
who was Superintendent of Indian Affairs at the 
time; J. C. Ramsey, brother of the Governor; A. J. 
VanVorhes, editor of the "Stillwater Messenger;" 
and Maj. E.A.C. Hatch. This party brought $108,- 
000 in gold, and came in to assist in its payment, 
and they rendered valuable assistance. It may be 
mentioned that the gold was turned over to Lieut. 
Sheehan, and buried within the inclosure, and a 
dispatch sent to Mr. Thompson, indicating where 
it was, that in case of the massacre of the inmates 
of the fort, it could afterward be found. In due 
time it was turned over to Mr. Thompson and a 
receipt taken. 

On the 2d of September a detachment was sent to 
reinforce Capt. <Trant, under command of Colonel 
McPhail. About 1(3 miles from camp they met a 
large force of Indians, and Lieut. Sheehan was 
ordered to return to Fort Kidgely to report to 
Col. Sibley. The Indians saw him start and 
chased him about seven miles, tiring sct)res of 
shots, but he got through safely. 

Lieut. Sheehan's report continues until the Dlst 
of October, when the companies of the .'ith, were 
ordered to join the regiment. There was rejoic- 
ing as these men who had been ba])tized with 
blood in the Indian war, were anxious to try their 
hands in fighting Rebels. 

On the 26th of September, 1862, Lieut. Shee- 
han was promoted to Captain of the company he 
so gallantly led in the terrible seven days of peril 
at Fort Ridgely. 

To furnish an idea of how completely the pub- 
lic mind was absorbed by these blood-curdling 



WAR RECORD. 



341 



events, an extract from the "Pioneer Democrat" of 
St. Paul of the 24th of August, 1862, is presen- 
ted, including the head lines which were display- 
ed in "Chicago Times" style. 

"THE INDIAN WAR. 



THE LATEST NEWS DISPATCH FROM LIEUT. SHEE- 

HAN — FOKT ATTACKED EVBBY HOUR 

CANNOT HOLD OUT MUCH LONGER. 



THE LITTLE BAND ALMOST EXHAUSTED INTEREST- 
ING ACCOUNT OF THE INDIAN ATTACK ON 
THE FORT. 



GALL.4NTRY OF LT. SHEEHAN THE RED SKINS RE- 
PULSED NAMES OF THE KILLED AND 

WOUNDED. 



LATER FROM NEW ULM — DISP.iTCH FROM JUDGE 

FLANDRAU LETTER FROM MR. MTRICK 

FROM GOV. SIBLET's COMMAND. 



LIEUT. SHEEHAN S DISPATCH. 



Fort Ridglet, Aug. 21, 2 p. Ji. 
Gov. Alexander Ramsey: 

We can hold this place but little longer, unless 
reinforced. We are being attacked almost every 
hour, and unless assistance is rendered we cannot 
hold out much longer. Our little band is becom- 
ing exhausted and decimated. We had hoped to 
be reinforced to-day, but as yet can hear of none 
coming. 

T. J. Sheehan, 
Co. C, Fifth Regiment Minnesota Vols., 
Commanding Post. 

LETTER FROM A. J. VAN VORHES, ESQ. 

Fort Ridgelt, Aug, 21, 1862, a. m. 
T(i the Editors of tlie Pioiurr and Democrat: 

On yesterday I sent you by messenger, a full ac- 
count of affairs at this place and vicinity ; but 
fearing the messenger was cut off, who also bore 
important dispatches to headquarters, I will brief- 
ly recapitulate before proceeding to detail the im- 
portant events of yesterday afternoon. 



I need not detail the horrible butcheries at the 
Upper and Lower Sioux Agencies, at New Ulm, 
and throughout this entire region, as you have al- 
ready been advised of the terrible details. 

* * * ^ * 

By his energy, Lieut. Sheehan inspired all 
(vith hope and confidence that the possition could 
be held until reinforced from Fort Snelling. 
Every thing the hurry and exigencies of the time 
could suggest, seemed to have been done to meet 
the emergency. Small squads of Indians contin- 
ued to prowl about in the distance, but were usu- 
ally shelled away by the accurate shots of Sergeant 
Jones, the old and experienced artillerist at this 
post." 

Mr. Van Vorhes desei'ibes the events of the 
siege up to that time. The letters alluded to from 
Judge Flandrau and others were from the seat of 
war and of absorbing interest at that time. 

In order to obtain a list of the men who were 
under Col. Sheehan 's command, and who are the 
the heroes of that obstinately defended fort, a let- 
ter was sent to him by the compilers of this work, 
to which he replied as follows: 

"Albert Lea, Minn., August 4, 1882. 

Oentlemeii : — Your kind note is received and I at 
once hasten to comply with your request, and en- 
close the roster of the men who were in the fort 
with me on that memorable occasion, and to whom 
the country is indebted for a successful resist- 
ance to the murderous, inhuman savages, who 
were thirsting for the heart's blood of every in- 
mate of that devoted post. 

I have often thought that the difficulties at- 
tending the defence of that agency were unappre- 
ciated, because calling it a fort was a misnomer. 
The idea usually conveyed by this word invblves 
a rampart, breastworks, a stockade, with perhaps 
a ditch, and a chevaut, de frise, or at least an en- 
closure, but here there was a mere group of build- 
ings, which, of course, afforded shelter to a cer- 
tain extent, and it is a fact that if the unnumber- 
ed hordes of assailants had displayed one half the 
courage exhibited by the fearless defenders of the 
place, they could have carried it at any time dur- 
in;, the fight. On one side was a level plateau, 
on the other sides were deep ravines, most admir- 
ably adapted to the skulking habits of the blood- 
thirsty foe, and when about to make a rush to 
carry the place, they would mass a lot of war- 
riors on the plain, who, with demoniac yells and 



342 



niSTORT OF FREEBORN COUJSTY 



frantic gestures, would make a feint of charging 
from that side, while the real attacking party 
would skulk up through the ravines and make a 
desperate rush to get inside of tlie temporary ob- 
structions we had piled up in the form of forage 
and provisions. They confidently expected to set 
the buildings on fire by arrows armed with ig- 
nited punk. To prevent this we cut scuttles 
through the roofs, and with water would extin- 
guish each arrow as it fell, but as the supply of 
water was sixty rods away, and was cut off by the 
the wily savages, we foresaw that unless relief 
came sooner than we had reason to expect, we 
would be out of water. So at night pieces of 
scantling were placed on the roofs at suitable in- 
tervals, in a longitudinal way, and buckets of 
sand drawn up aud spread to present an incom- 
bustible covering. 

There was plenty of ammunition for the field 
pieces, but that for the musketry ran short, 
and we broke up the case-shot and used the pow- 
der to make cartridges, which was done by Mrs. 
Dr. Muller, Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Cummings and 
others, who worked night and day. It should be 
stated as a remarkable fact, that among all the 
sick and wounded who sought shelter in the fort, 
and who were under Dr. Muller's care, that only 
died, and that among the other skillful surgical 
operations, the Doctor disarticulated a rib aud re- 
moved an arrow from a man's lung, and he recov- 
ered. 

There wt^re not arms enough to put iu tlio 
hands of all the able-bodied citizens, but when a 
man fell his weapon was given to another. 

On arriving at the post after that fatiguing 
march of forty-two hours, wliich was accomjilish- 
ed by the men taking off their stockings and 
shoes, and depositing everything except their 
gun and twenty rounds of ammimition, in the sin- 
gle mule team we had along, and then, to use an 
unmilitary phrase, striking a "dog trot," over 
hill and vale with the briefest breathing spells. 
We found the little garrison surrounded with five 
hundred men, women, and children, in an alarm- 
ing condition of panic, weeping and howliug as 
though the scalping-knife was actually iu their 
hair. 

The soldiers and citizens saw the necessity for 
strict subordination, and tlieir co-operation was 
efficient beyond all praise, and I wish you would 
particulariy emphasize the value of the services 



rendered by Mr. 0. G. Wyckoff. Mr. A. J. Van 
Vorhes, Mr. J. C. Kamsey, and Major Hatch,who8e 
counsel, advice, and support in that trying time 
lias led me to regard them as God's nobltmen. 

I should have mentioned above that when it 
rained, as it did in a copious way during the 
siege, every available barrel and vessel was used 
to catch water, and so we were thus providentially 
saved from perishing of thirst. 

The six lialf-breeds who deserted the night 
before the principal iirst attack, had stuffed the 
cannon with rags, which was not discovered until 
the attempt was made to discharge them, and this 
well nigh created a panic which would have been 
immediately fatal, but jjnmipt and energetic 
measures soon drew the obstructing charges, and 
their belching forth of shot and shell was the 
sweetest kind of music to us. but it was death and 
dismay to the dastardly devils who were after our 
scalps. 

I need not say that I rejoice at the opportunity 
to furnish the names of the men who defended 
those helpless women and children during those 
seven horrible days and sleepless nights, which, 
even now, can hardly be recalled without a shud- 
der; for if there had been any blanching in the 
presence of the overhanging doom, or any falter- 
ing iu the execution of the commands that every 
moment made imperative, not a living soul would 
have remained to tell the tale of the hideous 
butchery that would have followed. 

On the intli of August the following men were 
at Fort Kidgely, members of Company B. Fifth 
Regiment, 2d Lieut. Thomas P. Gere com- 
manding : 

Privates Ellis, Pfremer, McAllister, Smith, Cul- 
ver, Annies, Atkins, Boyer, Chase, Elphee, French, 
Good, Ives, Lester, Lindsey, Martin, Magill, Pray, 
Perrington, Rufridge, Robinson, Scripture, Spor- 
nity. Farmer, Taylor. Underwood. Williamson, 
Wilson,Wall, Sergt. .Tones, aud Sutler Randall; of 
whom six were sick, and three hospital attendants. 

At dark that night the following returned, hav- 
ing escaped from the ambuscade at Lower Agency 
Ferry, but were not effective that night: Sergt. 
Bishop, Corporals Winslow, Huntley, and Hawley, 
Privates Brennan, Carr, Dunn, Hutchinson, Mc- 
Gowan, Rebenski, Steward, Seriling, Svendson 
( wounded i, VanBui'en, and Miirray. 

There came iu about midnight, Privates Foster, 
Parsley, and Gardner. 



WAM RECORD. 



343 



Detachments of Co. C. of the Fifth Minnesota 
Infantry who were at Fort Ridgely: 

OFFICERS. 

T. J. Sheehan, F. A. Blackmer, 

John P. Hicks, M. A. Chamberlain, 

PRIVATES. 

J. C. Butler, John C. Eoss, 

Dennis Porter, Edward D. Brooks, 

Joel Bullock, James M. Brown, 

S. P. Beighley, Z. Chute, 

S. Cook, Charles E. Chapel, 

Charles H. Dills, S. W. Dogan, 

Daniel Dills, L. H. Decker. 

Lyman A. Eggleston, Halver Elefson, 
Martin Ellingson, Charles J. Grandy, 

Mark M. Greer, Andrew Gilbrandson, 

Jerome P. Green, A. E. Grout, 

Jas Honan, Philo Henry, 

Charles Dills, D. M. Hunt, 

Lyman C. Jones, A. J. Luther, 

F. M. McEeynolds, Dennis Moreau, 

Orlando McFall, J. H. Meade, 

John D. Miller, Peter Nisson, 

John McCall, Andrew Peterson, 

Ed Roth, C. O. Eussell, 

Charles A. Eose, B. F. Eoss, 

Walter S. Eussell, J. M. Rice, 

Isaac Shortledge, Josiah Weekley, 

Geo. Wiggins, James M. T. Bright, 

N. J. Lowthiau. 

On Tuesday morning I arrived with my com- 
mand bringing with me 51 men, above named, 
Corpl. McLean included. 

On Tuesday p. m., there joined from detached 
service at St. Peter: 1st Lieut. N. K. Culver, A. A. 
Q. M.; Sergt. J. G. McGrew; Wagoner, Hoyt; 
Privates, Baker, Farrver, Nehrhood, Wait. 

Tuesday night there came in wounded from 
the ferry: Privates Blodget (shot through the 
bowels,) and Sutherland, (shot through the 
lungs. 

Wednesday morning other men from the ferry 
arrived. Private Eose escaped across the country 
to Henderson. Therefore, at the time of the at- 
tack on Fort Ridgely on Wedesday, August 20th, 
my command consisted of Company B, 60 men, 
51 effective; Company C, 50 men, all effective; 
Renville Rangers and citizens, 50 men; Orderly 
I Sergt., 1 man ; Sutler, 1 man. Total effective men 
first days fight, August 20th, 153 men under 
arms. 



Three soldiers were killed and thirteen wound- 
ed. Four citizens were killed and twenty-six 
wounded during the seige from the 20th to the 
28th. 

Of seven men who volunteered, one after another, 
to carry dispatches to St. Peter, only John Mc- 
Call and Antoine Frenien, a half breed, got 
through alive. 

Most respectfully your obedient servant, 
Lieut. T. J. Sheehan. 
Late Col. 5th Minn. Infantry." 

That it may be seen that Mr. Sheehan's services 
were appreciated after joining his regiment at 
the front, where he served until the end of the 
war, being at the close commissioned Lieutenant 
Colonel. We clip from the Pioneer Press of the 
16th of November, 1865, the following item: 

"A Handsome Gift. — We had the pleasure of 
seeing yesterday a beautiful gold badge of the 
16th A. C. suspended from a gold shield of a U. 
S. Double Eagle, to which is attached a handsome 
gold safety chain and pin. 

Upon the polished surface of the shield and 
badge is engraved the following, which speaks 
the object of the donors. Col. Houston and others 
of the 5th Minn. In'.'antry : 

' Presented to Lieut. Col. T. J. Sheehan, Fifth 
regiment Minnesota V. V. Infantry, for services 
rendered during the rebellion, from October 18th, 
1861, to September 5th, 1865; Fort Ridgely, 
Minnesota, August 20th and 22d, 1862; Jackson, 
Mississippi, May Hth, 1863; Siege and assault of 
Vicksburg, from May 18th to July 4th, 1863; 
Tupelo, Mississippi, July 14th and 15th, 1864; 
Abbey ville, Mississippi, August 13th, 1864; Cam- 
paign against Price in Arkansas, fall of 1864; 
Nashville, Tennessee, December 15th and 16th, 
1864; Siege and capture of Spanish Fort, Ala- 
bama, from March 27th, 1865 — captured April 
9th, 1865.' 

Such a gift is felt by the soldier to be priceless. 
Colonel Sheehan will wear this with pride, in 
those halcyon days which we trust will accompany 
him to a ripe old age." 

So far as these gallant men are concerned, 
whatever they may have been since, or whatever 
they are now, or however regarded by their fel- 
low citzens, it can be said of them as Daniel Web- 
ster said of Massachuetts, " the past at least is se- 
cure; there is Concord, Lexington, and Bunker 
Hill, and there they will remain forever." There 



344 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



is FortKipley, Yellow Medicine, and Fort Kidgely, 
and there they will remain forever; and the deeds 
of this heroic land shall be inscribed on the indel- 
ible roll of fame. 

The following are names of Freeborn county 
men who enlisted in the 15th Wisconsin regiment, 
which was made up of Norwegians, and which has 
been kindly furnished us by the Adjutant General 
of that State: 

Captain Mons Grinager, 2d Lt. Glaus Solberg, 
Ist Lt. Ole Peterson, Sergt. Tosten Erickson, 
2d Lt. Elleud Erickson, Corp. N. Pederson, 
Sergt. Jens Jacobson, Corp. Ole N. Danenen. 

PRIVATES. 



Engrebet Amundson, 
Ole Everson, 
Lars Halverson, 
Ole T. Jenson, 
Jens Jenson, 
Iver Jacobson, 
Nils Nilson, 
Knud Olson, 
Jacob Olson, 
Lars Sebjornson, 
Peter Peterson. 



Halver Aslakson, 
Peder Bjuth, 
Christian Gulbrandson, 
Peder Hulgerson, 
Lars Jargenson, 
Christopher Johnson, 
Andreas Madison, 
GuUbrand Olson, 
Helge Olson, 
Huagen Pederson, 
Iver Olson, 
Rolof Tykson, 

From the Adjutant General's report we are en- 
abled to obtain the following list of volunteers, 
who enlisted from Freeborn county during the 
Eebellion, which will serve to some extent, as a 
recapitulation of the different lists already pre- 
sented. There is no doubt that many are ex- 
cluded from the list by incorrect registering, 
being credited to other counties, and other causes. 

SECOND REGIMENT INTANTET, OOMPANI A. PRI- 
VATE. 

Wesley Rogers. 

COMPANT K. PRIVATE.S. 

Charles Gahagen. 

Warren Osborne; promoted Corporal and Ser- 
geant. 

THIRD REGIMENT INFANTRY. 

Albert C. Wedge, Assistant Surgeon; promoted 
Surgeon. 

COMPANY D. 

Hendrick Peterson, Corporal; promoted Ser- 
geant. 

Hans Enstrom, Second Lieutenant; promoted 
First Lieutenant and Captain. 



COMPANY K. PRIVATE. 

Benjamin H. Langworthy. 

FOURTH REGIMENT INFANTRY, COMPANY F. 

Asa W. White, Captain. 

Adrian K. Norton, First Sergeant; promoted 
First Lieutenant and Captain. 

Osborne J. Wheeler, Sergeant. 

Hannibal Bickford, Sergeant. 

Reuben Williams, Sergeant. 

Frank B. Fobes, Sergeant; promoted Second 
Lieutenant. 

Loren Blackmer, Corporal. 

Justice C. Stearns, Corporal. 

Enoch Croy, Corporal. 

Jeremiah Fredenburg, Corporal. 

Richard A. White, Corporal. 

Perry H. Jewett, Corporal. 

Erastus D. Porter, Corporal. 

Henry House, Musician. 

John Pease, Musician. 

John Cottrell, Wagoner. 



Charles J. Allen, 
Charles Bromwicb, 
Benjamin B. Baker, 
George Callahan, 
Almon H. Cottrell, 
Horace L. Dow, 
Lucas Eckhart, 
John Eichler, 
Elias B. Farr, 
William Fenholt, 
William S. Hand, 
Benjamin J. House, 
Chester Holcombe, 
John D. Hochstrasser, 
Milton M. Luce, 
William H. Lovell, 
Hiram M. Luce, 
Alexander Morrell^ 
Charles Parvin, 
Ira O. Russell, 
George C. Snyder, 
James Shields, 
Hollis E. Sargent, 
Still man Sanders, 
Alfred L. Taylor, 



Joseph W. Burdick, 

Robert W. Bebee. 

Harrison Buckley, 

Jacob Croy, 

Frederick L. Cutler, 

Francis E. Drake, 

Ole J. Ellingson, 

Jacob C. Frost, 

Mohlon Frost, 

George W. Gile, 
Benjdmin H. Hathaway, 

Barhart Habercrom, 
William Hanson, 
Joseph A. Knapp, 
Luther I. Lovell, 
Henry R. Loomis, 
Joseph Meyers, 
Orville F. Peck, 
William C. Peck, 
John Ryan, 
Martin L. Seoville, 
Nicholas J. Sandborg, 
Thomas Smith, 
Phineas R. Taylor, 



COMPANY K — PRIVATE. 

Nathan Thomas. 



WAli RECORD. 



345 



FIFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY COM P ANY C. 

Francis Hall, Captain; promoted Major. 

Timothy J. Sheehan, First Lieut.; promoted 
Captain. 

Frank B. Fobes, Second Lieutenant; promoted 
First Lieutenant. 

Horatio D. Brown, First Sergeant; promoted 
Second Lieutenant and Adjutant of Eleventh 
Kegiment. 

John P. Hicks, Sergeant. 

Dorr K. Stacy, Sergeant; promoted First Lieu- 
tenant. 

Manhard A. Chamberlain, Sergeant. 

Dwight E. Brooks, Corporal. 

Horace M. Beach, Corporal; promoted Ser- 
geant. 

John C. Ross, Corporal; promoted Sergeant. 

Wm. Young, Corporal; promoted Sergeant. 

John S. Godley, Corporal; promoted Sergeant. 

Wm. Thompson, Corporal. 

Aaron Canfield, Musician. 

Nathan E. Babcock, Musician. 

John McCall, Wagoner. 

PRIVATES. 



David Ames, 
Leonard R. Beighley, 
Simeon Beighley, 
Charles H. Dills, 
Daniel DOls, 
Lyman A. Eggleston, 
Charles J. Grandy, 
Jerome P. Green, 
Philo Henry. 
William J. Horning, 
Lyman C. Jones, 
Isaac Kendall, 
Andrew J. Luther, 
Frank M. McReynolds, 
Terrence McMahan, 
Peter Nillson, 
Loriston C. Roberts, 
Benjamin F. Ross, 
James M. Rice, 
Ole Oleson Stugo, 
Andrew W. St. John, 
Josiah Weakley, 
George H. Wiggins, 
Stephen L. Beardsley, 
L. W. Grandy. 

OOMPANY 

Napoleon Hard. 



Edward D. Brooks, 
Joel L. Bullock, 
David Crawford, 
Charles Dills, 
Samuel W. Dogan, 
Martin Ellingson, 
Andrew Gilbrandson, 
James Honan, 
Nathan A. Hunt, 
Richard O. Hitchcock, 
Curtis B. Kellar, 
Wm. F. Lawrence, 
Nicholas Lowthian, 
John Melchy, 
John. B. Miller, 
Andrew Peterson, 
Charles O. Russell, 
Walter S. Russell, 
Isaac Shodridge, 
Aven Oleson Stugo, 
John Smith, 
Oliver P. Williams, 
James Youugs, Jr., 
John Reed, 

D — PRIVATE. 



OOMPANY F. 

Charles H. Boswick, Wagoner. 



TENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY'. 

Alfred H. Burnham, Assistant Surgeon. 
Louis Proebsting, Hospital Steward; promoted 
Assistant Surgeon. 



COMPANY E. 

James A. Robson, Captain. 

John W. Heath, First Lieutenant; promoted 
Captain. 

Charles Kittleson, Second Lieutenant; promoted 
First Lieutenant. 

Eli Ash, First Sergeant; promoted Seccmd 
Lieutenant and First Lieutenant Company G. 

Eli K. Pickett, Sergeant; promoted Secopd 
Lieutenant Company I. 

George H. Partridge, Sergeant. 

Wm. H. Lowe, Sergeant. 

James L. Cook, Sergeant. 

George Osborn, Corporal. 

John G. Dunning, Corporal. 

Henry D. Burlingame, Corporal; promoted 
Sergeant. 

Jedediah W. Devereux, Corporal. 

Rufus Kelly, Corporal. 

Alva S. Stei'us, Corporal. 

Christian AlspaTigh, Corporal. 

Lars Wicks, Corporal. 

John L. Scoville, Musician. 

Peter E. Olson, Musician. 

Asa Hurd, Wagoner. 

Daniel Anderson, Private; promoted Corporal. 

Andrew Black, Private; promoted Hospital 
Steward. 

Cyrus E. Bullock, Private; promoted Corporal. 

Patrick Morin, Private; promoted Corporal. 

Loren S. Meeker, Private; promoted Com. Ser- 
geant 

Hiram J. Rice, Private; promoted Corporal. 

PRIVATES. 

Andrew Anderson, 
Stengrew Benson, 
Samuel E. Bullock, 
Edwin Brownesville, 
Rodney M. Campbell, 
Dan. E. Cozzen, 



Andrew Anderson, 
Gilbert G. Barden, 
James Bowen, 
Henry O. Bartlett, 
W. G. Carpenter, 
Fred. Chamberlain, 



George H. Chandler, Samuel Clark, 



Russel B. Davis, 



Francis W. Davis, 



Matthew L. Dearraan, .John Edson, 
William E. Everett, Engeret Erickson, 



346 



muTOHY OF FREEBORN COUyXY. 



George W. Gates, 
Thomas Iverson, 
Henry Johnson, 
John C. Kaiser, 
Fritz Maixner, 
Elijah W. Owen, 
Benjamin I'ark, 
Cyrus S. Prescott, 
Charles Peterson, 
Robert H. Reynolds, 
Jacob Stewart. 
Peter P. Shoyer, 
Leander J. Thomas, 
Patrick Tausty, 
Reuben Wilsey, 



Lorenzo Dow Godberg, 

Ole Iverson, 

Erick C. Johnson, 

James Lair, 

Christopher Mickleson, 

Israel H. Pace, 

Isaac Perry, 

John Peterson, 

John L. Reynolds, 

James C. Seely, 
James A. Smith, 

Henry Smith, 
Joseph S. Trigg, 
Samuel Wannemaker. 
Asa Ward. 



FIRST BATT.ILION INFANTRY 
COMPANY F. 

Clark -Andrews. Second Lieutenant. 

FIRST REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY. 



John Blvthe. 



COMPANY B. PBIVATE. 



COMPANY C. 



George S. Ruble, Sr. First Lieutenant. 
Jonas C. Bane, Sergeant. 
Hannibal Bickl'ord, Sergeant. 



John L. Bliss, 
Henry Lawrence, 
Oliver Andrews. 



John Buckley, 
Louis Mar])ie, 



FIRST REGIMENT MOUNTED RANGERS. 
COMPANY H. 

George S. Ruble, Captain. 
Adolph Walter, Sergeant. 
Charles T. D. Marlett, Corporal. 
Charles R. Rickercker, Teamster. 
John Van Antwerp, Blacksmith. 
David T. Colvin, Wagoner. 



John M. Ames, 
Frank D. Hardy, 
Matthew Hogan, 
James F. Nadeau, 
Micliael Sheehau, 
Abram L. Van Asdal, 
Jesse Wheeler, 
Ed. A. Wright. 



Pat. Bannon, 
Harvey Hill, 
James Morrison, 
M. W. Perry, 
David Tubbs. 
Amherst D. Wait, 
Leroy B. Woodruff, 



COMPANY M — PRIV.^TES. 

Martin O. Guudersijn, Egbert Hanson. 
John Johnson. 

.SECOND REGIMENT, CAVALRY. 
C'OMPANY A — PRIVATE. 

Woodworth Lee. 

COMPANY B. 

WilUiani M. Catherwood, Com. Sergeant. 

PRIVATES. 



Clraence H. Shafner, 
James F. Spafford, 



Julian F. Shafner 
Alma B. Sija. 



COMPANY c. 

Frederick L. Cutler, Second Lieutenant. 
Adelbert E. Pettingill, Commodore Sergeant. 
Charles E. Fitzsimmons, Sergeant. 
George P- Conrad, Cor]H)ral. 
Aaron A. Webster, Corporal. 
Robert G. Spear, Blacksmith. 
John H. Rich, Wagoner. 



William H. H. Buckley, Orson Buckley, 



Augustus Bremer, 
Frank Barber, 
David L. Courtier, 
Alfred Holland, 
Jacob Larson, 
Joseph F. Parcher, 
Charles Stocklale, 
John Tracy, 
Henry Wiseman. 



Ashbel H. Barnhart, 
William Clark, 
James E Ford, 
William R. Herrington, 

John Levenick, 

Edwin W. Parshall. 

Henry L. Slaveu, 

Henry Wyent, 



INDEPENDENT BATTALION (CAVALRY. 
COMPANY B PRIVATES. 

Charles Hntchins, Elias Hoyt. 

FIRST BATTERY LIGHT ARTTLLERX. 
PRIV.\TE. 

Homer W. Dorman, 

.SE<'OND BATTERY, LIGHT ARTILLERY. 

Henry A. Symonds, Corporal. 
Edward D. Rogers, Artificer. 



Carlos Dimiok, 



PRIVATF-S. 

William M. Preston. 



E VENTS OF INTEREST. 



347 



CHAPTER LI. 

EVENTS OF INTEREST, CHRONOLOaiCALLY ARRANGED- 

These items commence in 1857, at a time when 
the county was fast tilling up, and after the very 
earliest events, which have elsewhere been record- 
ed, occurred. There is no pretense that every- 
thing wliich it may be valuable to rescue from ob- 
livion has been caught iu this gathering seine, 
but enough to disclose the drift of affairs while 
this region was filling, and to give an idea of what 
the people were interested in, and of the vicissi- 
tudes to which they were subjected. 

THE YEAR 18.57. 

The school district in Albert Lea was No. 7 at 
this time, and measures were taken to build a 
schoolhouse, and a tax of S-tOO was levied. 

Early this year Newcomb & Barnes began mer- 
chandizing. Woodruff & Eaton also appeared, as 
well as Mr. E, Follett. 

This summer Mr. H. T. Smith got a shingle 
machine in operation. 

The Albert Lea drug store was started by A. C. 
Wedge. 

Alf. P. Swineford was a dealer in real estate, as 
well as editor of the newspaper. 

Col. Samuel Eaton did an insurance, pension, 
and bounty land business. 

In .July, A. B. Webber, of Decorah, came and 
began the practice of law. 

About the third number of the "Southern Min- 
nesota Star," which was started iu .Tidy, contained 
the names of sixty-one subscribers who had paid 
in advance. The list began in this way: 

George S. Ruble $38.50 

Thomas C. Thorne 20.00 

J.H.Snyder 10.00 

David Hurd 10 . 00 

and so on down to $1.00. 

At this time there were two mails a week from 
Red Wing, carried by Hancock & Co. 

The building iu Albert Lea, was so extensive 
this year, that all the lumber the saw-mill could 
turn out was used up, and the supply at St. Nich- 
olas was exhausted. 

The "Southern Minnesota Star" was so busy 
printing election tickets in October, that on one 
week only a jjage of a half sheet was sent out. 

In October, there were four stage lines running 



into Albert Lea; from Mankato, Mitchell, Winona, 
and Red Wing. 

In November wheat was selling for forty-five 
cents a bushel, and flour was nine dollars a barrel. 

The grand opening of the Webber House, which 
had been built by Mr. Webber, was on the 24th 
of November. A Ball, a Supper, and other fes- 
tivities marked the occasion. 

The total population of the counfy, enumerated 
in November, was 2,486, which was disappointing 
to the sanguine ones; Albert Lea had 285. 

Late in November Elias Stanton, of Freeborn 
City, froze both feet by getting them wet in a 
slough ; his oxen also froze to death, and he sub- 
sequently died of his injuries. 

Fritz Ewald started a sash and door shop in 
November. 

The ''Bancroft Pioneer" flashed upon a bewil- 
dered world aliout this time. 

In December, Col. Eaton fitted up the Post- 
office with boxes. 

On the 26th of December a lyeeum was orga- 
nized in Dr. Wedge's office, under the inspiring 
name of "Albert Lea Senate." 

THE YEAR 1858. 

In January the people of the shire town con- 
gratulated themselves that they were to have reg- 
ular preaching every Sunday. Rev. Mr. Lowry 
and Rev. Mr. McReynolds officiating alternately. 

In February the necessity of a bridge across 
the river at the foot of the lake became apparent, 
and measures were adopted to have one built. 

In February the first funeral procession ever 
seen at the county seat was that of Elias Stanton. 

In the spring of this year civilization had made 
such progress that a race course was talked of. 

On the 15th of April, the question as to issuing 
the five million bond loan was voted upon, and 
this county voted against it. 

Walker's new line of stages was put on in Ajjril, 
between Hastings and Chatfleld, Austin, and Al- 
bert Lea. 

On the 6th of April a public meeting was held 
at Albert Lea, to consider the bond question. 
David Blakely called the meeting to order; E. P, 
Skinner was called to the chair, and John Wood 
was appointed secretary. The meeting was ad- 
dressed by A. H. Bartlett, Mr. Blakely, Dr. Tar- 
bell, and others, and the .sentiment of the meeting 



348 



niSTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



was unanimous against the pro])ositioD. Mr. 
Bartlett atumiJed the county in opposition to the 
scheme, and the only town he did not visit gave 
seventeen of the twenty-seven votes in the county 
in its favor. 

On the Ist of May the '-Star" had a map of 
Freeborn county on its first page, and it occasion- 
ally appeared for some time thereafter. 

Albert Lea began to flourish as a sea-port in 
the spring of this year, when the brig Itasca. 
Captain Franklin, of Shell Rock, arrived, loaded 
with shingles. The people began to use nautical 
terms and to hitch their trousers as though they 
Iiad just come ashore. 

THE TEAR 1859. 

On the Gtli of May the first and only deliberate 
murder ever committed in the county, was by 
Henry Kreigler, causing the death of Nelson 
Boughton in the town of Nuuda. It appears that 
Kreigler whipped his wife, and she fled to the 
house of Mr. Boughton with her child, and was 
protected by him; and Kreigler came over and 
made an assault, fatally stabbing him in the back 
with a long knife, penetrating the heart and pro- 
ducing instant death. 

The murderer was arrested and sent to Faribault 
jail for safe keeping. The defence secured a 
change of venue to Steele county, and he was tried 
at Owatonna. The prosecution was con lucted by 
D. G. Parker, County Attorney, assisted by Gor- 
don E. Cole, Attorney General; and he was ably 
defended by Hon. A. Armstrong and Hon. O. F. 
Perkins. 

The trial lasted thirty days, a large number of 
witnesses were called, and the costs were piled up 
so that the county was well uigli bankrupt, its 
orders going for 20 cents on the dollar. The cul- 
prit was remanded back to the county for 
execution, which took place on the first day of 
March, 1861, at a point just east of Broadway, 
not far from the jilace where the railroad crosses 
the street. Here, in that amphitheatre formed by 
the surrounding hills, a gibbet had been erected 
in the form of a post with a projecting arm, from 
which a pendant rope was connected by pullies to 
a huge log, as the engine of death. The legal 
strangulation was witnessed by several thousand 
people, being conducted by the Sheriff, James 
Robson. Rev. Mr. Storey, who was then here, 
asked the condemn( d man if he desired prayer, to 
which he replied that he l.,id no money to pay for 



I 



it; but the minister fervently prayed nevertheless. 
It seems that the criminal did not realize that he 
was after all to be actually hung, and when the 
fatal cord was applied to his neck, and the dismal 
black cap drawn over his head, he completely 
broke down, and as the newspapers at the time 
related, "bawled like a calf." All being ready, 
the stick of timber was dropped and the victim 
was jerked from his footing, and in a few minutes 
his earthly caretr was thus ingloriously ended. 
It is said that this was the only white man ever 
legally executed in Minnesota. 

The remains were buried in -an old cemetery on 
the Austin road, but the belief existed rather 
extensively at the time, that two enterprising phy- 
sicians who resided here had resurrected the 
remains for anatomical and physiological pur- 
poses. But no one took pains to verify the 
surmise, or to disprove it. A few years ago, how- 
ever, the cemetery having been applied to other 
uses, the bones were disinterred, and fully identi- 
fied by the manacles which were rusting around 
the bones of his Heshless wrists. 

On the 12th of February Mr. Swineford having 
gone to LaCrescent to battle against LaCrosse, 
Mr. Isaac Botsford secured an interest in the 
"Star." 

In September an early frost caught many late 
crops in its withering embrace. 

This was the season when the horse racing 
mania was upon the community, and one of the 
first recorded was between a horse owned by F. L. 
Cutler and one owned by F. Lamb, for $100 a 
side. Then came a race between Botsford's Ijlack 
gelding. Crazy Frank, and Dr. Wedge's horse 
Selam, in which Crazy Frank won and Botsford 
raked in iJ-lO. 

THE YEAR 1860. 

The newspaper, which had become the "Eagle," 
screamed for the last time on the 17th of March, 
and the "Standard" was lifted up on the 26th of 
May by Ruble and Hooker, with the latter as 
editor. 

In July the Webber House was leased to J. A. 
Robson, of Geneva. 

During this summer Morin, Wedge, and Hall 
got a new steam saw-mill in motion. 

Another horse race was run between George S. 
Ruble's Sleepy Kate, and F. L. Cutler's Bay Lady. 
Sleepy Kate was declared the winner. 



EVENTS OP INTEREST. 



349 



The second fair of the Agricultural Society was 
held at Albert Lea on the 10th and 11th of 
October. 

In the early fall of this year, a laud sale had 
been ordered by the departmnnt, and the people, 
who were mostly living on government land, did 
not feel able to pay for it at that time, so a meet- 
ing was held at the cradle of Freeborn county 
liberty, the Weliber House. A. B. Webber was 
Chairman, and C. H. Bostwick, Secretary. Col. G. 
W. Skinner, who had been appointed to secure 
co-operation in procuring the postponement of 
the land sale, reported what had been accom- 
plished. Stacy, Hoops, Rickard, Ash, Webber, 
with others, addressed the meeting, and Mr. Skin- 
ner was sent to Washington to use his intiuenoe 
in the matter, and a committee was appointed to se- 
cure funds to pay the expenses. A meeting had 
been previously held in Porter, at the house of F. 
W. Calkins, and .J. M. Drake prepared that safety 
value of American feeling, the resolutions. The 
county seat election was fixed for the day of the 
general election, on the 6th of November. 

Col. Skinner returned, and on the 25th of Octo- 
ber another meeting took place at the Webber 
House; S. G. Lowry in the chair, and E. C. Stacy 
as Secretary. The Colonel reported that although 
there was to be no postponement of the sale, he 
had obtained concessions which practically gave 
the settlers what they wanted, it as was provided 
that no speculators should bid or locate land war- 
rants on lands actually occupied, and the follow- 
ing gentlemen were designated te see the idea 
carried out: A. B. Webber, of Albert Lea; H. 
Melder, Carlston; C. Fitzsimmons, Nunda; Eli 
Ash, Bancroft; J. C. Seeley, Hartland; J. W 
Burdiok, Geneva: E. Croy, Eiceland; A. M. 
Young, Shell Rock; George Callahan, London; 
C. Bullock, Oakland; and D. Gates, Moscow. 

In December of this year, the trial of Kreigler 
for murder, in Sttele county, almost depopu- 
lated this region, so many were summoned as wit- 
nesses; even the mail carriers' duties were in- 
terrupted. 

THE TEAR 1861. 

Wheat was reported as selling in Milwaukee for 
79 cents a bushel. 

Henry Kreigler was executed on the first of 
March, at Alliert Lea. 

Ruble's mill was wrecked and the dam washed 



away by a freshet in April. This was the only 
water privilege in Albert Lea. 

In May, the Standard proudly came out with a 
new dress, as if " bound to dress well if it did 
not lay up a cent." 

In April a military company was formed at the 
county seat. 

On the 1st of August, A. B. Webber having 
bought the Standard, issued his first number. 

In October the butchers in Albert Lea offered 
two cents a pound for cattle weighing eleven hnn 
dred pounds or more. 

THE TEAR 1862. 

An auti cattle and horse thief society was or- 
ganized early in 1862, with the following officers: 
President, Joshua Dunbar; Vice-President, J. M. 
Drake; Secretary, William Morin; Treasurer, A. 
Armstrong; Finance Committee, George S. Ruble, 
E. P. Skinner, and James F. Jones; Vigilance 
Committee, E. C. Stacy, A. B. Webber, John B. 
BrowDsill, and L. T. Scott. 

In 1862, Hannibal Bickford, who was a soldier 
in the army, lay sick in a hospital in St. Louis, 
and his death daily expected. His wife started 
for that city intending to bring back his remains, 
but on reaching his hospital she found him actu- 
ally recovering, and as soon as he was considered 
able to travel, the two started for home on the 
steamer Denmark, and while she was laying at 
the wharf their attention was called to a little girl 
who was in a pitiable condition. An investiga- 
tion showed tkat the father of the little girl was a 
union soldier, and having taken sick his wife 
went to his relief with the little girl. She too 
sickened and both died, and an old tarmagant of 
an aunt had her in charge to carry home, and she 
had shamefully abused the little waif. The in- 
dignation of the Captain and all on board was 
aroused, and they resolved to rescue the mother- 
less little one from her heartless relative. The 
woman was willing to be relieved of what she con- 
sidered a burdensome charge, so she was turned 
over to Mr. and Mrs Bickford. the Captain bestow- 
ing the name of Denmark Bickford upon her. She 
was adopted and came home with them to this coun- 
try, and grew up to be a fine young woman, and 
a few years ago was married to Henry White, now 
living at Jackson, Heron Lake. Since the mar- 
riage an advertisement appeared in the "Inter 



350 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY 



Louis ami seeking to find the lost one. Of course 
there was back pay, pension, and perhaps other 
money due. Less romantic incidents than this 
have furnished the groundwork for raauy a thrill- 
ing story. 

THf, VEAR 1864. 

In February a dam was built at Shell Hock by 
Kuble and Tanner. 

The directors of the Southern Minnesota rail- 
road for this year were: E. B. Stoddard, C. D. 
Sherwood, Luke Miller, H. W. ifolley, D. B. 
Sprague, and William Moriu. 

lu April the contract for making the brick for 
the Court House was let to H. M. Manley at $6 
per thousand. 

THE YEAR 1860. 

On the 1-ttli of February Mrs Charles -Anderson, 
living in the town of Bancroft, went out to the 
barn to milk in a blinding snow storm, and not- 
withstanding the house and barn were in an en- 
closure which she had to climb over, she lost her 
way and was found the next morning two 
miles away from home, stark and cold in the icy 
embrace of death. 

This year a daily mail was ordered through 
from LaCroBse to Winnebago City. J. C. Bur- 
bauk k Co. "(vere contractors. The service com- 
menced on the 1st of July. 

During the summer there was an average of 
twenty wagons a day passing through Albert Lea 
with emigrants. 

In the summer of this year there was talk of or- 
ganizing au agricultural society. 

Wheat in July was selling in Milwaukee for 
«2.04ia per bushel. 

On the 10th of July the hotel liarn in Albert 
Lea was burned. 

F. Hall started his Houriug mill in August, 
with a single run of stones operated by water un- 
der a head of eighteen and one half feet. 

In November two jiersons were drowned in 
Nunda; Willard Parshall and Thomas J. Stock- 
dale. 

On tho l.")th of December a cemetery associa- 
tion was formed in Albert Lea; Luther Parker 
was Chairman, and S. S. Luther, H. I). Brown, 
and 1). G. Parker, were trustees. 

THE VEAK 18C7. 

By a general order promulgated on the Ist (if 



March, the merchants of Albert Lea adopted the 
cash system. 

The school fund fur the county this year was 
S64fi.()-1. 

At the cemetery meeting in .Vpril, E. C. Stacy 
was Chairman; H. D. Brown, Secretary; the 
Trnstees apjjointed were William Morin, S. S. 
Luther, and S. Eaton. It was resolved to ask 
the town to subscribe $500. 

During this year there were a large number of 
railroad projects brought out, with Albert Lea as 
a focal point. 

In May the .'Vlbert Lea Musical and Theatrical 
Association was organized. President and Gen- 
eral Manager, F. B. Fobes; Vice-President, P_ 
W. Dickinson; Secretary, S. S. Edwards; Treas- 
urer, A. W. St. John; Musical Director, D. G. 
Parker. On the 18th of June the Association 
gave its initial entertainment, " Box & Cox; mar- 
ried and settled." 

The 4th of July was celebrated with more than 
usual display. A basket pic-nic with a barbe- 
cued ox as an auxiliary was thrown in. Thirteen 
guns were fired at sunrise and thirty-eight at 
noon. The procession made a grand display. 
Thirty-eight beautiful girls represented the States 
of the Uni<m, and the various societies marched 
with martial music to Thomas" Ptiint. Rev. S. G. 
Lowry was the President of the day. The decla- 
ration of independence was readliy H. D. Brown. 
The orator of the day was Hon. A. Armstrong. 
In the evening there was a grand ball at W. J. 
Martin's, and a performance at the Court House, 
which included "Slasher & Crasher," and several 
tableaux representing the " Gipsey Camp," and 
"Pocahontas saving the life of Ca])t. Smith.'' 

Mr, Stage, on the fith of August, lost a tin and 
hardware shop in Albert Lea l)y fire, entailing a 
lo.ss of .S1500. 

On the 8th of September, Hon. William F. 
Stearns, of Chicago, who was stopping at Albert 
Lea to transact some business, was seized with 
hallucinations that parties were on his track to 
torture him, and he committed suicide. He was 
an attorney, and a man highly respected. 

At Twin Lakes, on the 21st of September, Peter 
Peterson fell from a stack of hay, so injuring him 
that he died within four hours. 

THE YEAR 1868. 

In January, Mr. A. B. Davis, an early jiioneer 



E VENTS OF INTEREST. 



35 J 



in the staging business, bought an interest in 
the Austin & Winnebago City line. 

Some time in tlie month of January, James 
Buchanan, of Hhell Rock, shuffled otf this mor- 
tal coil through the medium of fifty cents worth 
of morphine. He was about forty-five years of 
age and had been in Arizona. 

In August, Nathaniel Stacy, father of Judge 
Stacy, died. He liad been a Mason for more than 
sixty years, and was buried with funeral rites, in 
accordance with the land-marks of that aucient 
order. 

Samuel Wedge, who was 66 years of age, paid 
the debt of mortality on the 19th of September. 

This season Albert Lea became a money order 
office. 

In the fall of this year, Clark W. Thompson, of 
the Southern Minnesota railroad, proposed to 
have the towns issue bonds to assist in building 
the line. 

THE YEAR 1869. 

Early in 1869, the patrons of husbandry came 
into notice in Freeborn county. 

In April the hopes of the people were carried 
up several degrees by the statement that the rail- 
road engineers were between Austin and Albert 
Lea. 

During April bonds were issued to the amount 
of $12,50(1 to assist in building a schoolhouse in 
Albert Lea. 

The engineers reached Albert Lea on the 17th 
of April. 

In April Albert Lea was honored by tKe ap- 
poimtment of A. Armstrong as United States 
Marshal for Minnesota. 

In the spring of 1869, pigeons were so plenti- 
ful in the region of Albert Lea, that like clouds 
they darkened the sun. 

In the town of Bath on the 7th of May, a Dane 
by the name of Christen Rassmuson, disappoint- 
ed in love, and climbing into the branches of a 
tree, tied a cord around his neck and the other 
end to a limb, with a razor cut his throat in a 
ghastly manner, and jumped from his perch, to 
leave his sanguinary looking corpse to horrify the 
first person who happened near. 

The tide of emigration in May was at its flood. 
Prairie schooners by the score were floating along 
through town, and day after day their white can- 



vass might be seen surrounded by herds of cattle, 
as they wended their way toward the setting sun, 
which presaged a rising orb to all their liopes. 

The sui-veyors of the railroad, during May, had 
their headquarters at Albert Lea. 

The contractors between Austin and .\lbert Lea 
were Allen & Stewart. 

The flag, which it will be remembered was pre- 
sented to (Jompany F, of the Fourth Regiment, 
and carried through nine battles (which were in- 
scribed on it at a cost of $25} was kept by Ser- 
geant Enoch Croy for several years, and then 
placed in the hands of the County Treasurer. 

The construction of the new schoolhouse in Al- 
bert Lea was commenced in August. 

On the '22d and 23d of September a regular 
county fair was held. 

In Septeaiber Col. Albert M. Lea suggested a 
grand trunk railroad from Galveston, Texas, to St. 
Paul, Minnesota, saying that the traffic between 
the North and South should be larger than be- 
tween the East and West. 

The Southern Minnesota railroad reached Al- 
bert Lea on Saturday, the 16th of October, and 
on Monday business began. 

In the summer of this year a new brass band 
was organized. 

In November thene were two confidence men 
around through this section, who represented that 
they were engaged in an extensive manufacture of 
an article that required old feathers, and that they 
would escliange new ones for old, paying thirty 
cents a pound difference between the two; and as 
they had teams would take them away at 
once, paying the difference, and that the new ones 
would be sent in about two weeks. A great many 
thrifty housewives emptied their feather beds, and 
put up with the inconvenience of sleeping on straw 
for a week or two until the new feathers came. 
The result was, of course, they never saw the new 
feathers, but had sold their old ones for thirty 
cents a pound. 

THE ¥E.\R 1870. 

Wheat in .January was selling at from 43 to 46 
cents a bushel. 

In the summer Mr. Ernst erected a building 
and started a boarding school in Alden. 

A violent tornado swept over the county on the 
14th of July; houses were um-oofed and much 
other damage done. 



352 



HISTORY OF FBEBBORN GOUNTT. 



During the nioiitli of July a petrefied duck was 
found near Pickerel Lake. 

A hook and ladder company was organized on 
the 22d of November, at the Court House. Col. 
S. Eaton was called to the chair and Capt. A. W. 
White was appointed secretary. A committee was 
appointed to draft By-Laws. 

A great niilroa<l excursion took place on the 
17th of October to celebrate the completion of the 
through line to LaCrosse. The train was in holi- 
day trim and had a refreshment car where the 
liquid samples predominated over the solid com- 
forts. At Every station the number kept augment- 
ing, until they crossed the river from LaCrescent 
to LaCrosse, and at Pomeroy's Hall they were 
welcomed in a speech by the Mayor, which was 
responded to by Hon. M. S. Wilkinson. The next 
day they were entertained at the Opera House, 
and the company returned after an enjoyable trip. 

Tn the spring of this year a special act was 
passed enlarging the powers of the officers of 
Albert Lea in relation to the village, giving 
authority as to ordinances and licenses. 

At the celebration of the Independence of the 
United States at Albert Lea there were 5,000 
people present. The oration was by Rev. R. B. 
Abbott. 

THE YE.\R 1671. 

A town meeting was held at Albert Lea on the 
4th of January, and SI, 500 voted in aid of the St. 
Louis railroad. Shell Rock voted .SI, 500, and 
Hartland voted *10,000. 

On the 7th of January the Orophiliau Lyceum 
was organized. Miss Minnie Ernst read an 
essay on the occasion. 

A cheese factory was started in Albert Lea in 
March. 

On the 23rd of February there \vas a great 
freshet in Southern Minnesota. 

Andrew Larson, a Swede, hung himself in the 
town of Hayward on the 14th of March at the 
house of Andrew Sanderson. He was an erratic 
and insane individual. 

On the 12th of April the citizens of Albert Lea 
had a meeting and resolved to secure six Babcock 
fire extinguishers. 

In April the citizens of Albert Lea contributed 
to pay for the instruments for the cornet band. 

The railroad bond (]uestion was submitted to a 



vote of the people ; and this county was almost 
solid against it, the whole number of votes cast 
being 760; for the payment, 80 — against the pay- 
ment G80. Hayward, Alden Riceland, Bancroft 
Manchester, and Hartland had no votes for the 
payment, while Carlston and Ne«ry had one 
each. 

The Albert Lea cheese factory with its appoint- 
ments cost S6,000, and it was completed in June. 
William Peck was the foreman of the establish- 
ment, which had a six horse-power engine. 

In October an elk was seen near the residence 
of Dr. Blaokmer, and was shot at with a bird 
charge by the Doctor's son. He ran across the 
railroad track, going south ; quite a cavalcade 
was soon in pursuit, and he was followed as far as 
the Shell Kock and beyond that he was '-lost to 
sight but to memory deer," to the many weary 
pilgrims who sadly retraced their steps. It was 
probably a mournful satisfaction to aftenvard 
learn that the royal game was killed in Cresco, 
Iowa. 

When Chicgo was bunied, in October, the citi- 
zens of Albert Lea had relief meetings and sent 
what they could. 

THE TE.^R 1872. 

James Fitzgerald, a resident of the town of 
Bath, 50 years of age, was frozen to death on the 
Ist of February. He was away with a team, and 
it is supposed had an attack of asthma, and did 
not survive the cold, which was intense ; he was 
found a few miles from home. 

Ggrdiner Cottrell, an old settler of Shell Rock, 
died in May. 

Martin Sheehan, an old settler who located in 
Bath in 1857, quietly passed away on the 7th of 
of August. He had lived an unobtrusive life. 

On the second of November, Mr. L. G. Pierce, 
of Alden, with his wife and four children were 
struck liy the engine of a passing train, while on 
a wagon loaded with goods, and singularly enough 
none of them were seriously injured. 

In November Hon. CharU s Mcllrath was 
ap])ointed receiver of the Southern Minnesota 
railroad. 

Here is a moilcl return on a writ issued in this 
county. "This cuss is a dead beat; after harvest 
he will have something; then hand me the writ 
and I will give him a clatter." 



EVENTS OF INTEUESr. 



353 



THE YEAR 1873. 

In October there was quite au extensive conspir- 
acy to obtain money by selling land not their own, 
by parties from Cleveland, Ohio. They had 
obtained descriptions of land owned by Cleveland 
men, and then came out here with forged deeds, 
and having bad them recorded, proceeded to sell 
the lots ; but as they were on the point of leaving, 
they were detected and their plana frustrated. 
Considerable trouble was caused by the affair 
which will be related elsewhere. 

THE YEAR 1874. 

Early in 187i there was quite a spirited contro- 
versy as to the name, Albert Lea. Varions sug- 
gestions were made pro and con. The objection 
to the name being because it was unusual and 
unlike the name of any other place in the wide 
world, which ought to strike the majority of peo- 
ple as being a most admirable reason why it 
should be retained. 

In February a young man was frozen to death, 
near Albert Lea, when intoxicated, and a coroner's 
jury declared that the saloon-keeper who sold him 
the liquor was responsible. 

The Albert Lea Temperance Alliance was organ- 
ized in February. Fifty-eight persons joined the 
Society. The first officers were: President, Gil- 
bert Gulbrandson; Vice President, Capt. A. W. 
White; Treasurer, H. O. Haukness; Secretary, 
August Peterson. 

In March Mr. A. A. Munn, a leading citizen of 
Freeborn, died. 

A library and reading room was organized on 
the 27th of March at the office of Ballard k 
Hibbs. Dr. Ballard presided at the first meeting. 

There was quite a gale swept aci-oss the county 
on the 2.5th of July; in Bath, Manchester, and 
Freeborn it was particularly tierce, unroofing 
houses, destroying crops, and doing thousands of 
dollars worth of damage. 

Grange Hall in Shell Rock was dedicated on the 
6th of November. Among the concomitants of 
the occasion were a supper and a dance with 62 
couples in attendance. 

Albert Lea Seminary was opened for pupils on 
the 9th of December by Bliss S. A. Thayer of Bos- 
ton, a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary. 

THE YEAR 1875. 

At the March meeting in Albert Lea the No- 
License party carried their point by fifty majority. 
23 



The spring term of the Albert Lea Seminary 
was under the charge of Miss Jennette Curtis, of 
Michigan. 

The Congregationalist church bell, weighing 
616 pounds, was swung up about the 1st of 
November, and waked the slumbering echoes of 
the village with its joyous ringing. 

THE YEAR 1876. 

Joseph Schorbeck, 14 years of age, was killed 
by a runaway accident early in January. His 
body was dragged three miles and mangled be- 
yond all recognition. 

In Freeman, Mr. Lea Hughes secured a through 
ticket to the land of the hereafter, by a shot 
through a vital part. This was in the \vinter of 
this year. 

In the year 1874 and 1875 the opponents of 
license had carried the day at the polls, but in 
1876 the order was reversed and the license party 
were triumphant. 

John H. Smith, a venerable man of 86 years, and 
father-in-law of Mr. T. Walcott, on the 7th of 
June, while fishing at Albert Lea, near the rail- 
road, became bewildered and stepped in front of 
an engine and was instantly killed. He was a 
pensioner of the war of 1812. 

At Freeborn, in the early summer of this year, 
"Dora" a little daughter of Mr. Shoen, six years 
of age, was lost, and after eleven hours search by 
the whole neighborhood, was found near midnight 
on the prairie near a grove, fast asleep, and re- 
stored to her distracted paients. 

The Centennial Anniversary of the Declaration 
of Independence by the United States of America 
was celebrated in Albert Lea in a way and man- 
ner befitting the occasion, which was one of re- 
joicing that the experiment of self government 
had been in every way so successful, that ten solid 
decades had passed away since the American peo- 
ple had declared "that they were and by right 
ought to be free and Independent," and that from 
a few millions, they were nearly half a hundred 
millions, occupying, instead of a small strip of 
country along the Atlantic coast, the wide ex- 
panse from ocean to ocean, from the Bay of 
Fundy to San Diego, and from Vancouver's 
Island to the Florida Reefs. The citizens of 
Albert Lea and the surrounding country, were 
fully alive to the spirit of the occasion, and the dis- 
play was quite equal to that in Philadelphia, con- 



354 



arSTORT OF FREEBOttN COUNTY. 



Bidering the size of the two places. Nothing like 
it had ever happened here nor will ocenr again 
until some remarkable occasion shall call for a 
duplicatiiin of the pageant. There w Te .soldiers 
ou parade keeping time to martial musie. Beauti- 
ful young ladies representing the States; General- 
Washington and his family rejiresented in the 
long procession, enthusiasm everywhere, Hags, 
fire-crackers, fire arms, fire works, and in a few 
words an exaggerated fourth of July. 
The procession was made up as follows: 

1. Soldiers of the late war. 

2. Thirty-nine girls representing the States. 

3. General and Lady Washington, son and 
daughter. 

4. President of the day, orator and reader. 

5. City and County Officers in carriages. 

6. Band. 

7. Citizens ou foot. 

8. Citizens in carriages. 

The Hon. Lea Barton was orator of the day. 

Various amusements, boat racing and other 
sports were indulged in and a good example set 
for the next Centennial when it shall roll around. 

Freeborn and Geneva also appropriately cele- 
brated the Centennial 4th. 

The grasahoppers appeared in the county in 
August. 

In September the grasshopper plague had 
proved so disastrous in other places that serious 
fears were entertained that thoy would actually 
depopulate the county, and on the 10th of this 
month, in accordance with suitable notice, a con- 
vention was held, and the speeches that were made 
reminded one of the dark days of the rebellion 
when reinforcements were wanted to fight the 
common enemies of the country. The meeting 
was at the Court House, all parts of the county 
being represented. Hon. J. L. Gibbs was called 
to the chair, and Isaac Botbford was named for 
Secretary. A committee on resolutions was ap- 
pointed as follows: A. M. Johnson, Wm. Morin, 
J. T. Hall, Dr. Ballard, and E. C. Stacy. Mr. J. 
T. Hall addressed the meeting, and declared that 
he was not to be destroyed bv grasshoppers; that, 
although the ground was peppered with grass- 
hopper eggs, he proposed next year to put in a full 
crop and use all the means that should come to his 
knowledge to exterminate these unwelcome pests. 
A. M. Burnham had two hundred acres under the 
plow,and as his soil was sandy, it was said to be the 



particular breeding ground for these lively in- 
sects. A part of his laud had been rented to a 
man who had had experience wieh the " hopper '" 
plague, and his opinion was that the eggs there 
were spoiled. Mr. S. Smith, of Manchester, had 
been through all hardships, the privation and toil 
of pioneer life, and he had faith to l)eli(?ve that 
providence would help those who helped them- 
selves. William Morin said that he had 1,100 
acres under cultivation; most of it was leased to 
other parties, but he proposed to break up 12.5 
acres of it himself, just for fun, and to keep his 
hand in. David Calvin had a panacea for the 
grasshopper plague in the form of large doses of 
fowls; he had several scores of turkeys and hens, 
and they worked for nothing and found them- 
selves, and kept his place clear. Mr. Fern, of 
Hayward, had experience with the pestiferous 
locusts in Kansas, and he had learned that a wet 
.season was bad for them and good for the farm- 
er.^, for in such a case most of them would decay. 
Judge Stacy said that those who were residents 
of Freeborn county came here to stay, and they 
proposed to stay, for people who had lived on 
Johnuy-cake and suckers for several years were not 
to be driven otf by such a miserable, in.significant 
jerky insect as a grasshopper. J. H. Parker had 
thirty-five acres of new breaking, which he found 
was completely filled with eggs, and he proposed 
to cover the knolls and sandy places with hay, and 
as soon as they hatched out in the spring, make 
it hot for the little beasts by firing the whole 
business. Mr. Dominick came to Minnesota to 
follow the occupation t)f farming, and he pro- 
posed to go on, hoppers or no hoppers. Hanni- 
bal Bickford served notice that he would shoot 
every dog found on his premises, and titty others 
shouted " me too!" He preferred chickens to hop- 
pers. Mr. Tilton had experienced a four years siege 
with the "varmints," but these were of a smaller 
variety. Among other things, burning prairie grass 
in the spring instead of the fall was recommended. 

The resolutions were submitted, and they stated 
that it was a deplorable fact that there were grass- 
hoppers in our midst, but not enough to discour- 
age the farmers. That we came to stay and have 
a prior right to the soil. That a stop should be 
made to killing birds. The following committee 
was appointed to arrange concert of action: Dr. 
A. C. Wedge, Dr. 0. W. Ballard, E. C. Stacy, I. 
Botsford. The meeting was large and enthiisias- 



EVENTS OF INTEREST. 



355 



tic, with a predominating spirit of ^^carthnginum 
est iliileiida." Tbe meeting ailjourned to the last 
day of the county fair, which would be on the 12th 
of October. 

In November the murder and attempted rob- 
bery at Northfleld excited considerable interest in 
the chase and capture of the bandits, and what 
assistance could be given was rendered. 

Early in October two well dressed gentlemen 
stopped at Martin's Hotel, and while here, after 
some days, a lady claiming to be the wife of one 
of the men, and a boy fourteen years of 
age, came, and remaining a few days, they 
left. About this time Mr. D. W. Goodrich learn- 
ed that his trunk had been broken and robbed of 
S13,000 in notes, bonds, and mortgages. Sus- 
picion at once rested on this party, and they were 
followed, identified, and arrested at Wells, and 
lodged in jail here. The property being found, 
they gave their names as Frank Clifford, William 
E. Wilson, Mrs. Clifford, and a son by a former 
husband. lu December they were brought up for 
trial. Wilson was put on the defense as there 
was the least evidence against him, and he was 
acquitted. It was then proposed (o put him on 
the stand, where he proved that he was really the 
guilty man and that the others knew nothing 
about it. The others were also acquitted. The 
man Wilson was then re-arrested and afterwards 
the other, and the next July they were convicted 
and sent up for five years. 

THE YEAR 1877. 

At the March meeting in Albert Lea the "No 
License" vote came out ahead with sixty-five ma- 
jority. The contest was spirited and active, and 
settled a great question for twelve months. 

A severe snow storm raged for several days near 
the last of April, and the prediction was universal 
that it was a distressing time for the infantile 
"hoppers" who were just warming into life, and 
who came to an untimely end by the million. 

Much ingenuity was displayed in the invention 
of engines of death for the unwelcome insects. 
Large numbers of devices were arranged, ditches 
dug, and various measures adopted. In the town 
of Alden alone a careful estimate placed the 
number of bushels caught at one thousand. 

A woman mysteriously disappeared in Carlston 
in .June; her name was Martha Sweet, and some- 
time afterwards her remains were found, she bav- 



ing drowned in ten inches of water, leaving a note 
that she intended to take an aqueous route for 
that -other side." 

In 1877, the tramps were so numerous that a 
military company was organized to look after 
them. The officers were: Captain, Theodore 
Tyrer; First Lieutenant, H. D. Brown; Second 
Lieutenant, Charles Kittleson. 

The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern rail- 
road reached Shell Rock on the 15th of August, 
and created the usual rejoicing. 

At Nunda on the 30th of August, the eldest 
son of Mr. Bessenger was killed by a runaway 
accident. 

The county Bar Association met on the 4th of 
September at the office of Stacy & Tyrer, to take 
action on the accusations that had been so point- 
edly made in the "Pioneer Press" against Sher- 
man Page, the judge of the district court. The 
feeling was that if true they should be known, 
and if not true the judge was certainly entitled 
to a vindication. The following committee was 
appointed to confer with other members of the 
bar in the district, and to have the charges inves- 
tigated: E. C. Stacy, J. A. Lovely, and D. E. P. 
Hibbs. At a subsequent meeting a district com- 
mittee which had been appointed reported that the 
charges were groundless. 

The Minneapolis & St. Louis railway reached 
this point on the 11th of November, and there 
was a regular opening excursion. The Mayor and 
counci of Minneapolis, with railroad magnates, in- 
vited guests, and citizens, came on a special train, 
ran down to the State line and returned to partake 
of a dinner at the Hall House. The welcome speech 
was made by Judge Stacy, who, it is needless to 
remark, did ample justice to the occasion, to 
which Mayor De Laittre responded. Hon. W. D. 
Washburn, in the course of his remarks, said that 
this was the happiest day of his life, that this was 

"The day he long had sought," 

And mourned because he found it not," 

or words to that effect. It was a day of general 

rejoicing, beccuse the city of Albert Lea and 

neighboring towns now had direct communication 

in the direction of the four cardinal points of the 

compass. 

THE YE.\R 1878. 

In Bancroft on Sunday, the 24th of February, 

the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Prescott met 

at the house of Henry Loomis to celebrate the 



356 



HISTORY OF FHEBBORN COUNTY. 



semi-centennial of their wedding day. Mr. Pres- 
cott appeared to be a well kept gentleman of tlie 
old school, still active and full of vivacity. Mrs. 
Prescott was a lady ofrare culture and refinement, 
and at the age of four score was remarkable for 
her mental vigor and sprightliness. There were 
present three children, twenty-three grand-chil- 
dren, and five great grand-cLildren. The presents 
covered a large center table with beautiful tokens 
of love and respect for the venerable pair. Two 
long tables were .spread and charmingly orna- 
mented with fruits, liowers, and daiutie.s. and 
loaded with tempting viands, reflecting great 
credit upon those who prepared it with such taste. 

Daniel Prescott and Miss Elizribeth Masservey 
were married on the 24th of February, 1828, at 
Appleton, Waldo county, Maine, from where they 
removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1831, and from 
thence came to Bancroft in 18.i7. They raised 
seven children, three of whom were at thi.s time 
living near their aged p-irents. 

The golden ceremony on this occasion was per- 
formed by E. K. Pickett, Esq. The groomsman 
and bridesmaid being Mr. and Mrs. .Jerry Ward. 
The following ritual for this rare event had been 
prepared by the magistrate: 

''With this ring, Betsey, I thee wed. 
So fifty yoart* aj;o I said 
While standing at the holy shrine. 
I took your truth and plighted mine. 
Our love was like a laughing stream. 
Or as the morning's gentle beam. 
No clouds or shadows hid from view. 
The bliss in store for me and you. 

The rivulet soon became a river. 

Deeper an<l broader, ever, ever; 

No longer skipping like a fawn, 

But deep and wide it rolled along, 

And so with you and I, dear wife. 

These fifty years of wedded life 

Have added depth, and strength, and truth, 

.\nd '•eplaeed joys for Heeting youth. 

Faithful we've kept the marriage vow. 
Honest and true, and even now. 
Though fifty years we've walked together, 
We'll now renew our troth forever. 
I take thee. Betsey, for my wife. 
Another titty years of life., 
Renew the l)liss for yon and me. 
And Betsey says, so mote it be. 

Angels attend and witness bear, 

I here rejoin this happy pair. 

The band now bound sliall ever liold 

With chains of love and links of gold. 

Kternity can never sever 

These cords of love thus bound forever; 

A husband and a wife again, 

.\nd angels say .\men! Amen!" 



The company separated after a most joyous 
time, interspersed with reminiscences and good 
wishes expressed for the continued health and 
prosperity of the aged cotiple. This, the first 
golden wedding in Bancroft, which was such a 
success, it is hoped was but the beginning of a 
long list to follow as time rolls on. 

Tlie Farmeis' Mutual Fire Insurance Company 
of Bath was organized on the 1st of .January, and 
commenced business on the 1st of February. 
H. P. Jensen was president, and Nels I-". Peterson, 
secretary. 

In March the question as to city or no city, 
charter or no charter, was the all absorbing one 
in Albert Lea. Petitions ///•" and run went to the 
Legislature; tlie number signing for were 132 tax 
payers; those a gainst, 77 tax payers. The argu- 
ments were mostly in relation to the relative cost 
and to the influence of a city charter upon the 
prospective growth of the city. 

It passed the Legislature and was submitted to 
the people on the 1st of April, and carried by 75 
majority. 

Mr. and Mrs. .J. W. Smith had a surprise 
Crystal wedding on the 23rd of April. The bride 
appeared in her original dross, worn fifteen years 
before. Eev. R. B. Abbott and Rev. J. T. Todd 
officiated to readjust the marital tie. The occasion 
was an enjoyable one, the presents being numer- 
ous and appropriate. 

The first city election was held on the Titli of 
May. The whole number of votes cast was 380, 
of which Frank Hall had 3(i<t. 

OleOleson iossom, who came to Manchester in 
1856, and opened a farm which he cultivated till 
his death, passed on with the great majority on 
the 9th of .June. He was a fine old gentleman. 

In the fall W. C. Lincoln, County Auditor, 
plead guilty to a charge of embezzlement of school 
funds belonging to District No. 38, and was sent 
to State Prison for one year and fined $1,273, or 
double the amount of the misappropriation. It 
seems that the amount had been returned, and it 
is regarded by many as a deplorable mistake of 
Mr. Lincoln to plead guilty under the circum- 
stances. 

THE YE.\K 1879. 

In Harthiiid, on the 31st of January, Mr. Mads 
Madson, landlord of the Madson House, hung 
hims?lf in liis barn. The cause assigned for this 
act was temporary embarrassment. 



EVENTS OF IXTEREST. 



357 



THE TEAR 1880. 

A terrible tragedy occurred on Sunday. October 
2d. Kay McMilleu, with Henry Johnson and his 
brother, started on a hunt, going out to White's 
Lake, where they expected to find sport through 
the day. They had shot one duck when the trio 
separated, McMillen being at the foot of the lake 
and the Johnsons to the north, where a unmber of 
ducks were seen. The two were away an hour or 
so; on returning they found McMillen .sitting on a 
rail, a little benumbed with the cold, and on 
rising he stumbled and fell over the rail, discharg- 
ing his gun, which took effect in the right side of 
the mouth, and entering the brain produced instant 
death. He was thirty years of age, a native of 
New York State, and had lived in Albert Lea two 
and one-half years. He left a wife and many 
friends. 

THE YEAR 1881. 

On the 28th of January a Post of the Grand 
Army was instituted in the city. 

A Board of Trade in the city of Albert Lea was 
organized on the 10th day of February, and the 
following officers were elected : President, H. D. 
Brown ; Vice President, W. P. Sergeant; Treasurer, 
0. M, Hewett; Seeretar-y, 0. W. Ballard; Execu- 
tive Committee, D. E. Dwyer, W. W. Johnson, 
William Morin, D. G. Parker, G. Gulbrandson, 
and G. A. Patrick. 

In June some children in the town of Moscow, 
who were playing in some clay that had been 
thrown from a well at a depth of thirty feet, found 
several copper coins with square holes through 
the center of them, not unlike the copper coins of 



the Chinese. If these coins actually came from 
that depth of undisturbed deposite it is one of the 
most remarkable discoveries in this line ever 
made. 

THE YEAK 1882. 

In January there was some sporadic smallpox 
in the city, but it was so carefully looked after by 
the proper authorities that it did not become 
epidemic. 

On the 13th of January, 1882, Mr. and Mrs. 
David Hurd had their Silver wedding, which was 
the most noticeable event of the kind yet taking 
place in the county, because this couple, with Mr. 
and Mrs. C. C. Colby, were the first couples mar- 
ried in the town of Albert Lea, aecording to the 
report. On this occasion the weather was cold, 
but there was a house full, and a bountiful repast 
with warmth and geniality. The center table was 
strewn with silver tokens of love and esteem, and 
really a day to be long remembered by those who 
were present. 

In June there was a gang of robbers in town 
who went through the railway station and several 
residences, getting considerable booty; but they 
soon left for a healthier climate. 

On the 11th of April one of the most extensive 
conflagrations that ever aiHicted Albert Lea occur- 
red. Several buildings were consumed, and among 
the losses sustained were those of the '-Standard'" 
office, to the extent of about $3,000. Mr. L. Lace 
lost in personal property about .f 300. Other suf- 
ferers were W. Buel, Strauss & Schlesinger, Knat- 
vold Brothers, D. E. Dwyer, Judge Town, Mrs. 
Pratton, J. P. Colby, W. M. Butler, C. F. Davis, 
T. J. Wauek and others. 



358 



BISTORT OF FRBEBOUN C OUNTT. 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



CHAPTER LII. 

Descriptive — Eaelt Beginnings — Neceologt 
— Industrial enterprises — Citt Govern- 
ment — Periodicals — Associations — Eduoa- 

tional religions — cemeteries fraternal 

orders. 

The city of Albert Lea is situated in the town- 
ship bearing the same name, a full description of 
which will be found in another chapter. The city- 
is located in sections eight, nine, sixteen, and sev- 
enteen. It is laid out in the usual form, iirrec- 
tangular blocks, with alleys, some running north 
and south and others east and west. Broadway is 
a north and south street, one liundred feet wide, 
the others being eighty. Parallel with Broad- 
way, on the east, is Newton, Elizabeth, and Lake; 
on the west are the avenues, Washington, Jeffer- 
son, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Taylor, 
and Lincoln, with Grove and Park as local streets. 
South of the railroad the streets are numbered, 
First, Second, etc. Madison and Court are diagonal 
streets, converging toward the Southern Minne- 
sota depot. Above the railroad are South, Pearl, 
and Cottage streets, the latter of which runs by 
the Court House; then Main, William, and Clark, 
where the first business place was located ; then 
comes Water and Fountain streets. These are. he 
the principal streets and avenues and give a gen- 
eral idea of the nomenclature associated with the 
highways. 

Spring lake, which was at first not a repulsive 
body of water is within the city, but it is under 
going the process of being filled up, and in due time 
will exist only as a name and a recollection. 
Fountain Park, a comparatively late addition to 
the city, is a symetrical projeotion into Fountain 
Lake, at a good elevation, and is dotted with fine 
residences. The buildings in the city are of a 
good cliaracter, esjjecially those lately con.structed. 
Like all western cities, it began in a small way, 



the business blocks and dwelling houses were mere 
makeshifts, improvised to supply an emergency, 
except in rare cases. Now there is the ability and 
taste to supplement the utilitarian aspect of 
buildings with elegance, which is shown in the 
improved architectural pretentions. 

Albert Lea is a delightful city in which to live; 
the natural inducements to purchase suburban res 
idences are here in all their pristine beauty, — a 
salubrious climate, good society, near schools and 
churches, and but a few minutes walk from the 
depot. The environments ond concomitants of 
the place, are such that we must be excused for 
dwelling upon them. 

The surroundings of Albert Lea are fairer than 
dreamland. On the southeast is Lake Albert Lea 
with its waving lines of meadow and woodland ; 
and on the north is the charming Fountain Lake, 
with its graceful, wooded slopes, cheerful head- 
lauds, and peaceful bays, halt encircling the town; 
on the west and lieyond these bright waters, other 
lakes lie in tha (juiet prairie, Uke islands on the 
bosom of the sea. 

The Shell Rock River takes full volumes of lim 
pid water from these basins, and flows southward 
along one of the loveliest of valleys. 

The city, particularly the residence portions, 
is embowered in a flowery forest, and the very 
atmosphere of poetry is upon lake and river, wood- 
land and prairie. Picturesque views are surrounded 
witb overarching trees, embosomed cottages and 
villas. These placid and unruffled waters are rife 
with boating, fishing, and of course, love making 
in the humid summer afternoons and evenings, 
and no fleet of Venetian gondolas ever bore fairer 
freightage of beauty, laughter anil song, than 
the many hued pleasure craft of Fountain Lak^e. 
As a summer pleasure resort nothing could be 
more superb. 

The lakes and rivers are alive with fi.sh and fowl. 
People from all over the East and South come 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



359 



here to pass a week or a moutli ; and the 
augling and shodting leave nothing to be desired. 
Some take quarters at the hotels, some live in cot- 
tages, and others camp out, where the convention- 
alities of society may be measurably ignored, and 
communion with nature en joyed without restraint. 
The people of Albert Lea should make a specialty 
of entertaining summer visitors, and transform 
the whole city into a rural boarding house com- 
munity, where homelike fare and favor could be 
obtained without the starched formalities of hotel 
life at the summer resorts. 

Around the lake there is a drive, but if the pub- 
lic-spirited citizens would make a boulevard around 
the entire lake, close to the shore, following the 
contour of its winding banks, it would be the 
finest drive between Long Branch and the Golden 
Gate. 

Poets have sung of many beautiful spots, and 
painters pictured charming scenes, and here are 
scenes for both. 

Below we copy an article published in the "Turf, 
Field and Farm" of New York, under date of May 
22d, 1874: 

"Albert Lea, a beautiful lake about thirteen 
miles in length and varying in width from a 
quarter of a mile to three miles, and situated in 
Freeborn county, Minnesota, is an attractive body 
of water to the sportsman. A gentleman, whose 
name is known to the whole country, and who is 
a thorough sportsman, writesus some interesting 
facts from that neighborhood. The elevation 
being great, the air is pure and the climate 
healtliy. People seldom die there. A few years 
ago the lake was stocked with fish, but we are 
told that the 'Vandals who follow murder for a 
living, having no perception or appreciation of 
sjjort, have nearly drained it.' In the winter a 
hole is cut in the ice, and the fish are speared with 
a pitchfork and hauled away by the wagon-load. 
From five to twenty -five tons of pickerel have 
been taken out of the lake each winter for several 
years. It is gratifying to learn that the sports- 
men of the State have been successful in the effort 
to have the Legislature pass a stringent law for 
the preservation of fish and game, and also that 
they are determined to see the law enforced. In 
the fall of the year ducks and geese visit Albert 
Lea in myriads, and it is said that no place on 
the continent affords better sport. Sandhill cranes 
cover the prairie and grain fields, and snipe, plo- 



ver, and curlew are, to use an expressive phrase, 
•as thick as flies in a country tavern,' and prairie 
chickens are without number. All this will sound 
most eloquent to the ear of the sportsman, and 
doubtless he will dream fond dreams of Albert 
Lea when he reads this paragraph." 

In driving about the various lakes and natural 
parks, constant surprises are in waiting for those 
who appreciate nature in her quiet moods. One 
of the highest authorities as to sporting grounds 
is the above mentioned journal, and in connection 
with other pleasant things said about Albert Lea 
a few years ago, we cull the following: 

"Col. S. A. Hatch has returned to the city from 
his shooting-box on the romantic shores of the 
lake at Albert Lea, Minnesota. He reports that 
the duck and geese shooting was never better 
than this fall. Quite a party of gentlemen from 
New York gathered at Albert Lea in the last days 
of September, and remained until the lakes closed 
on the 29th of October. The majority of them 
were Wall street magnates, who had shot ducks 
in various parts of the country, not excepting 
Maryland and Virginia and the Carolina coast. 
After a thorough experience they were unanimous 
in expressing the opinion that they never saw 
ducks in greater abundance, and of such delicate 
flavor, as in the bracing altitudes of Minnesota. 
They voted Albert Lea the center [of the sports- 
man's paradise. It is just far enough removed 
from the great hatching district, to become the 
first feeding-ground of the full-grown birds. And 
the food is so abundant and of such fine quality, 
that the ducks fairly burst with fatness when 
stopped short in their flight by a charge of num- 
ber sixes. Very large bags of canvas backs, 
mallards, red heads, and teal, were made every day 
by each member of the party. The goose shoot- 
ing was also superb in October. In a small body 
of water, which the gentlemen christened Lake 
Kosa, rude blinds were made, and one day a well- 
known shot of the party killed six geese, in 
addition to a large number of red heads and 
mallards. Any one who has had experience in 
wild goose shooting, knows how difficult it is to 
bring the cautious birds to bag, and therefore he 
will appreciate the skill of the sportsman who 
captured six in a hunt lasting but a few hours. 
The sandhill cranes swarmed the prairies, but no 
effort was made to bring them to bag. We are 
surprised at this, for there is a charm in crane 



360 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



shooting, which is only heightened by the wari- 
ness of the huge birds. The pinnated gronse had 
packed early in October, and so not much time 
was wasted on them. When the "chickens'" move 
in (locks, which number thousands, they will not 
lie to the dogs, and no pleasure is extracted from 
the pursuit of them, especially when water fowl 
swarm liy the million right under your nose. The 
fishing was very fine this fall in the lakes about 
Albert Lea. One day shortly after the arrival of 
the party, Col. Hatch entered the house with a 
splendid string of pickerel in his hand. "What 
are those?" asked a well-known New Yorker, his 
eyes blazing with admiration. "Trout." was the 
laconic reply. "Good heavens! you don't tell me 
BO. Why, they are the biggest trout I ever saw. 
Where did you catch them?" "They came from 
the lake which you see before you," said Col. 
Hatch, with a wave of the hand. "And are there 
any like these left in the lake?" queried the New 
Yorker, with the deepest interest in his tones. 
"Plenty of them," said the host. "Then, boys," 
almost shouted the enthusiastic disciple of Wal- 
ton, rising from his chair, "no duck shooting for 
me to-morrow. I shall try my hand at the trout." 
When the would be fisherman realized that a joke 
had been played on him, he put on a grave face, 
and swore that the pickerel bred in the cool and 
clear waters of Fountain Lake were equal to the 
best trout ever t.iken from a mountain brook in 
Virginia, or a Umpid stream in the Adiroudacks. 
This fish story beats all hollow the little mud-hen 
narrative which had circulation last year. There 
seems to be something deceptive in the air of 
Minnesota. Objects do not always look what 
they really are. The Storm King swept down 
from the north earUer than usual this year. On 
the 29th of October, the ice was an inch and a 
half thick on the lakes, and the water fowl moved 
in solid bodies for the South, bringing the shoot- 
ing to an abrupt close at Albert Lea." 

Of course there is no place ia the county, so 
interwoven with its history from the earliest jjer- 
iod up to the present time as the county seat, and 
in respect to many points they are identical, and 
in giving something of the early settlement sev- 
eral items already alluded to, reappear here, in 
order not to destroy the connection. As to the 
town, the village or city, little attempt will be 
made to separate them here, although the town 
and the city governments will receive individual 
mention. 



Those who first came here resolved to build a 
town that should become a city, and although 
their determination was supplemcnt<'d by the nat- 
ural advantages of the location, it is doing but 
simple justice to the pioneers to express the opin- 
ion that equal energy and determination, displayed 
almost anywhere else, would have accomplished 
a like result. 

When Mr. Ruble made the proposition to 
Ly Brand and Thompson to pool their united ener- 
gies and means, and make St. Nicholas the 
metropolis of this region, they made a fatal mis- 
take in .spurning the offer, for that city, which so 
filled their minds as almost to dethrone common 
sense, now has no shelter, even for the owls and 
the bats, which are supposed to linger around 
deserted habitations. 

Albert Lea village was platted by Charles C. 
Colby, and recorded on the 29th of October 1856, 
in Dodge county, of which it then formed a part. 
On the 24th of February, 1859, it was duly 
recorded in the Register's office of this county, 
and numerous additions have been made since that 
time, the most important of which will be men- 
tioned. 

The first plat recorded had the name of 
Charles C. Cobly as surveyor. Austin T. Clark, 
as administrator of Lucius P. Wedge, signed the 
document. A. Armstrong was the Notary Pub- 
lie. John Wood was Register of Deeds, and 
J. E. Bancroft, Deputy Register. William Morin 
and George S. Ruble were also proprietors. 

E. C. Stacy had a subdivision recorded on the 
13th of October, 1877. H. C. Stacy, Surveyor. 

Ballard's Additiim was recorded on the 22d of 
March, 1880. 

Out-lots of Parker's Addition, surveyed by W. 
G. Kellar, went on the record on the 22d of Jmic, 
1880. 

F. A. Blackmer's addition was on the records 
on tha 25th of June, 1880. 

Charles W. Ballard's Subdivision to Albert Lea 
was recordod on the 15th of November, 1880. 

' Among the earlier additions were Kittleson k 

\ Johnson's, recorded as a subdivision on the Ifith 

I of June, 1869. 

FrancisHall's addition was recorded on the 12th 
of June, 1859. 

I D. (t. Parker's addition was made on the 28th 
of November, 1869. 

I The Railroad Addition, south of the railroad. 



CITY OF ALBERT LiHA. 



H61 



was made by William Morin, Francis Hali, H. W. 
Holley, and A. P. Man, at the time the railroad 
reached this point. 

Augustus Armstrong had an addition recorded 
on the 31st of August, 1872. 

North Point Subdivision was recorded on the 
1st of February, 1871. 

Francis Hall's Subdivisson was recorded on the 
2ud of Aisril, 1872. 

It seems that a part of the south part of the 
city has never been platted, that between the 
Court. House and railroad, but the residents there 
seem contented and happy. 

EAKLY EXPIiOBATION AND .SETTLEMENT. 

In the State history the reader will perceive the 
steps by which this quarter of the world was open- 
ed Tip to the Caucasian race, but here we have to 
record the visit of a single exploring party nearly 
twenty years before the country began to be actu- 
ally settled, and this will be done while furnishing 
a sketch of the life of the Commandant of the ex- 
pedition, which seems to naturally fit in at this 
point. 

Col. Albert Miller Lea Was born in Richland, 
Grainger County, Tennessee, on the 23rd of July, 
1808. His jjarents were Major Luke Lea and 
Lavinia Jarnagiu. At thirteen years of age he 
entered college at Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1827 
he received an apppointment at West Point, and 
graduated the fifth in his class in 1831. He was 
appointed a Lieutenant in the 13th Artillery but 
shortly afterwards exchanged positions with the 
since noted John B. Magruder, of the Seventh In- 
fantry, and was stationed at Fort Gibson, then on 
the extreme frontier. 

From thence he was ordered to Washington, 
there receiving instructions and orders to report 
to Knoxville, Tennessee, to survey and plan im- 
jjrovemeuts for the Tenessee River and its tribu- 
taries. From this time he passed through the 
usual variations in army life, being detailed for 
different duties in several parts of the country, 
and in 1835, was in Fort DesMoines, Iowa, and 
there received orders to undertake a summer cam- 
paign to the St. Peters, now the Minnesota River. 

On the seventh of Jufle, 1835, the march was 
commenced with three detachments of sixty men 
each, with Captain Nathan Boone, a son of the 
Daniel Boone, as guide. The route taken was up 
the divide between the DesMoines and Mississippi 
Rivers to Lake Pepin, then the column turned 



west and headed for the source of the Blue Earth 
River, Kossuth county, in Iowa. 

On this march the trip was made through Free- 
born county. As near as can now be traced the 
column entered the county near the schoolhouse 
in district No. 30, in the town of Moscow. Pro- 
ceeding thence in a circuitous route across a por- 
tion of Moscow, the southern part of Riceland, 
northwest corner of Hayward, and into Albert Lea 
township, striking Albert Lea Lake, which they 
named Fox Lake, and following up to section six, 
crossed into Pickerel Lake and lialted for dinner 
on the banks of White's Lake. This lake was given 
the name of Lake Chapeau, from its resemblance 
to that form of a military hat. They then moved 
southwesterly to Alden and Mansfield, crossing 
the county line nearithe middle of section nineteen, 
and continued the march down the DesMoines to 
the place of starting, now the capital of Iowa. 

In the latter part of the winter of 1835^36, Mr. 
Lea resigned his commission in the army, to take 
effect June 1st, in the mean time having obtained 
a leave of absence, which he improved by writing 
up for publication in book form, a sketch of this 
expedition, including a map of the country, which 
was published in Philadelphia by H. S. Tanner. 
In this book the name Iowa was first applied to 
the territory now composing the State of that 
name. 

In May, 1830, the Colonel was married to Ellen 
Shoemaker, of Philadelphia. For a time he was 
located at the mouth of Pine River, below Rock 
Island, to survey some lands, which being com- 
pleted he received the appointment of Chief 
Engineer of the state of Tennessee, with head- 
quarters at Nashville, arfd for some time he was 
engaged in prosecuting internal improvements in 
that State. Soon afterward he was appointed by 
Martin VanBuren to establish the southern bound- 
ary of Iowa, which he did. Aftenvards he was in 
the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
company as locating engineer. In March, 1841, 
he was appointed Chief Clerk in the war depart- 
ment, and in September of that year, upon the 
resignation of President Harrison's cabinet, he 
became Secretary of War ad interim, which he 
held for six weeks. 

About this time, as elsewhere recorded, Jean N. 
Nicollet, a French saBniit, gave to Lake Chapeau 
the name of Albert Lea, which has since been 
trausfeired to the larger lake below the city. 



362 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



In 1844, lie accepted the appointment of Profes- 
sor of Mathematics in the Eaat TennesseeUniversity 
at KuDXvillo, which position he lielJ until 1851. 

In the meantime, having lost his wife, he mar- 
ried Catherine S. 1). Heath. He then started a 
new enterprise, the manufacture of glass in Knox- 
ville, which proved a financial failure. 

In railroad interests he afterwards went to 
Texas, and on the breaking out of the war between 
the two sections of the country, he offered his 
services to the Confederacy, and served in various 
capacities. His son Edward, who adhered to the 
Union cause, was killed at (ialveston, Texas, while 
acting as chief officer of the steamer Harriet Lane. 

After the close of the war. Col. Lea resided for 
a time iu Galveston, but afterwards removed to 
Corsicaua, Texas. 

In June, 1879, on a special invitation of the 
municipality, he visited this city and region, and 
was given a right royal welcome, delivering an 
interesting address to the Old Settlers" Associa- 
tion. He was profuse in his expressions of 
astonishment at the change which had been 
wrought. 

While preparing the history a letter was sent to 
Col. Albert M. Lea, asking if there was anything 
connected with his journey across the county, or 
in relation to his last visit here, to which he 
wished to add, and his brief reply is herewith 
published : 

"Corsieana, Texas, August 18th, 1882. 
Prof. I. H. Stearns, Albert Lea, Minn. 

Dear Sir: Referring to your note of the 9th 
instant, allow me to say that more honor has been 
done me by the people of Freeborn county than 
my transient visit at an early day would seem to 
merit, and that I do not wish to make my name 
still more conspicuous in that connection by per- 
sonal communications in your proposed History 
or Freeborn County, which you will doubtless 
till with more interesting matter. 

With thanks tor your courteous tender. T am 
very truly your ol)edient servant, 

AijBert Lea." 

George S. Buble came here in July, 1855, to 
find a mill site, and after a careful reconnoissauce 
selected a point at the foot of Lake Albert Lea, 
where he proposed to build a dam, and by raising 
the lake a few feet secure a splendid water power. 
While away for reinforcements, Jacob Lybrand 
secured that point, and so Mr. Ruble did the next 



best thing; came here and planted himself and 
built his mill. 

Mr. Lorenzo Merry, from Cedar River, the man 
who gave his name to Merry's Ford, in Iowa, was 
here living in his wagon, which he had hauled 
here with an ox team; and he soon got up a log 
cabin on block eight between Clark and Water 
and Broadway and Washington streets, which of 
course is to be remembered as the location of the 
first residence of a white man in Albert Lea City. 
He went to Walnut Lake and built a hotel, and 
then to the Red River country. The next house 
was that of George S. Ruble, on what was called 
the Island. This may bo described as a double 
log house, with magnificent proportions for those 
times, the size being 18x18 and 14x18 feet. This 
house still stands, but it has been sided up and 
measurably modernized. 

The first mill was on the comer of the lake, 
south of its present location, a race having lieen 
cut from that point to the river some rods below; 
and there it stood and did good service until the 
12th of April. 1801, when it was undermined by 
the freshet, and settled four feet at the upper end. 
It was never repaired, part of the machinery go- 
ing to North wood and a part into the new- mill. 
The building of this mill, which was the nucleus 
of the village and city of Albert Lea, was com- 
menced on the 29th of October, 1855. 

The next residence to go \ip was on block nine, 
and as an evidence of the metropolitan ideas en- 
tertained in those early days by these pushing 
pioneers, it should be recorded that the next 
building to go up was a printing office, built by 
Mr. Ruble, and presented to Swineford and (iray, 
the first printers to penetrate this region. The 
next shanty to go up was by Daniel Hard, and 
Swineferd soon built an office and used the one 
presented by Ruble as a residence. 

Mr. Merry opened the first hotel, although Mr. 
Ruble, having a house of two rooms, entertained 
people by the dozen, as his table was an extension 
one in a certain sense, and his beds were all elastic 
— that is, there were bunks on three sides of the 
room. 

The Clark building, as- it was called, was erec- 
ted in 185G. The first building on the spot was 
Mr. Merry's boading house, wliieh was burned in 
1865. It was 14x16 feet, and had a few shelves 
with some goods. 

Squire Clark used to hold court here. A lad- 



CITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



363 



der extended to a room above, and a trap-door to 
a hole below. In this room the court would meet, 
and in a jury case the people would have to be 
ttirned out of doors, and would listen through the 
cracks to the unconfined eloquence withii', and 
know the verdict as soon as it was agreed upon. 

The old settlers relate many anecdotes as to the 
marriages that were jjerformed there; one of them, 
which is of course told as the first ceremony of 
the kind in town, if not in the county, and to one 
who has never looked up such matters, it is aston- 
ishing how many of these first events will be dis- 
covered. Well, the story is that when the first 
bridal pair stood up before the 'Squire, and had 
joined hands, while the crowd, with feverish anxi- 
ety, awaited the consummation of their plighted 
vows, the magistrate nerved himself to the task, 
with the awful feeling of responsibility resting 
upon him, and began : "Know all men by these 
presents", but finding that this did not sound all 
right, he began again. "To whom it may con- 
cern"; this "splurge" created such an impression 
that he abruptly stopped and called for the stat- 
utes or any book that had a marriage form, but 
on being told that the form was not essential, he 
ended the ceremony by pronouncing them hus- 
band and wife. 

In this building it is reported that the first ser- 
mon was preached; Kev. Mr. Lowry and Eev. 
Mr. McReynolds being the early preachers. 

On one occasion, a man who lived somewhere 
near, who had listened to what he considered a 
powerful discourse, offered publicly to give the 
minister half a cheese, if he would come over to his 
house and discuss the matter with "Lucinda," his 
wife,in whose Biblical knowledge he had the utmost 
confidence. The Sabbath School Convention at 
first met here ; but the old building finished its 
own history in the fall of 1872. 

The men who came here to work for Mr. Rubla 
were: Saxon C.Roberts, Joseph Willford, who was 
afterward frozn to death in Martin county, Charles 
F. Warren, H, V. Henderson, A. Ableman, L. C. 
Roberts, John B, Lenox, John Rion, Ed. Murphy, 
Arthur Boulton, Edward Henderson, and David 
Irons. 

The pay roll tor these men commenced on the 
2d of November, 1855. Of course these men had 
to be boarded and lodged by Ruble, and Mr. H. 
Peck used to say that any one coming within forty 
miles of Albert Lea wouUl swing round here and 
get a meal at Ruble's. 



The next store in the place was opened by Col . 
Eaton, opposite where the Post-office now is. 

Francis Hall, whom usage has transformed into 
Frank Hall, was the next man to come and com- 
mence general merchandising, and he has been a 
prominent and public spirited citizen ever since, 
being frequently mentioned in this work. 

G. A. Watrous made the first brick, in 1857. 

The land on the site of the city was pre-empted 
by Mr. Ruble on the east of Broadway, and 
by Mr. Merry on the west of that street. The 
latter secured 160 acres, 40 of which he sold to 
T. C. Thorn, who transferred it to William Morin, 
and he, being an engineer, surveyed and platted 
it. 

At first the lots were sold fron $25 to $100 each, 
according to location. The fact that there was no 
exorbitant prices for lots was one of the elements 
contributing to the success of the town. 

Mr. Ruble laid out 312 acres east of the town, 
and Thomas Smith, of Red Wing, also had an in- 
terest in the town site and sold town lots. 

In 1857, during the fall, the hard times that 
prevailed in every section of the country, most 
seriously affected the growth and prosperity of 
the place, and a few of the lots east of the town 
were sold, and to-day that is Ruble's farm. 

When Swineford and Gray, the printers, came, 
Mr. Ruble made arrangements to have a news- 
paper started at once, and endorsed their paper to 
Rounds, of Chicago, to secure press and material. 
In about a year it was sold to Gray, who finally 
turned it over to Botsford, but a sketch of the 
paper appears under the proper head. 

Mr. Merry's interest was bought out by L. P. 
Wedge, a non-resident, who sent his relative, A. 
C. Wedge, to look after the property. L. P. 
Wedge subsequently died and his widow married 
Augustus Armstrong. 

Charles Kittleson, a young man, came out west 
to obtain work, and not finding it, as he had no 
trade, became discouraged and was about to re- 
turn to Wisconsin when Ruble offered him fifty 
cents a day to work in the mill, and afterwards 
he went to work for Frank Hall in his store. Sub- 
sequently some one built a saloon for him. which 
he kept until the war broke out, and then went in- 
to the army, in Captain Heath's company. On 
his return he was elected County Treasurer, and 
afterwards re-elected, serving ten years; he is now 
State Treasurer of Minnesota. 



364 



IIISrORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



A. B. Webber waa a Rejjublican, and among 
other things he did for the good of the town, waa 
IjuiKling the Webber House, a part of wliich ia 
stdl standing unocoupied next to the Cliicago fur- 
niture establishment on Broadway. He went into 
the armj. was in the commissary department, and 
afterwards moved to Kansas, and thence to Cali- 
fornia. 

The first dance was on that first Christmas eve,, 
with C. C. Colbj' to fnrnisli the music, and it was 
an enjoyable alFair. Mr. Colby is now in New 
York in the music business. 

The first child born in town was a daughter of 
Mr. Walford and his wife Mary, in March, 1856; 
her name was Louisa. She is married and now 
lives in Vinton, Iowa. 

Mr. Crowfoot started the first blacksmith shop, 
and in due time others came in, and the town has 
always been well supplied with iron working ar- 
tizaus. 

The supplies in those times were generally 
brought from McGregor, Iowa, and the transpor- 
tation was from two to three dollars for a hundred 
pounds, depending \i])im the weather to some ex- 
tent. Sometimes several weeks would be con- 
sumed in a trip, as the country was roadless and 
bridgeleas, and the water in the sloughs would be 
t<jo deep to ford. 

Hall's first store was built by Wedge A- Moriu. 
When Hall went into his new store his old place 
waa occupied by Whitten. 

One of the early society events was the marri- 
age by Colonel Eaton, who was a Justice of the 
Peace, of Mr. Heath, the second Sheriff of the 
county, to Miss Rice. The ritual employed was a 
striking improvement ujion Squire Clark's jerkey 
impromptu. Tlie magistrate's fee was 12.50, in 
gold. What the Colonel could possibly do with 
so much gold in those days no one could conjec- 
ture. 

The story is told of a devout (■hurch member 
who had a passion for card playing, and who 
spent most of his evenings in the saloons, en- 
gaged in his favorite game, but he waa quite reg- 
ular at the prayer meetings, and he would take 
part in the exercises, not unfrequently interluding 
his remarks with such expressions as '-at this 
stage of the game," "go it alone," got euchred," 
and "playing the best trump," which evidently 
conveyed quite as mucli meaning as he intended. 

In 1857, the new-comers were numerous; the 



village of Albert Lea began to assume acme pro- 
portions, and it is a matter of congratulation that 
it is still growing, the ])resent season having wit- 
nessed the erection of some of the finest buildings 
in town, as residences and for business purposes 

As to what became of the men who came to 
work for Mr. Ruble: E. W. Murphy is one of the 
leading merchants of Albert Lea; Roberts and hia 
son Lars went to Kansas; the Hendersons left some 
years ago; Gtrtler, Ableman and Willfnrd liave 
climbed the golden stair. Mr. Willford had the 
genertil management of the gang. 

Lorenzo Merry had been on the ground one 
mcjnth, and the only persons then known to be in 
the county, according to E. W. Murphy, were 
Tlieodore Lilly, Charles C. Colby and two sisters, 
and Charles Wilder and brother, who were all on 
the west side of the lake; and on the oppo.site side 
were Chris. Mickleson and family, and Charles 
Peterson. 

Mr. Merry remainetl about two years, when he 
started for pastures new. 

In 1856, a stage hne commenced running 

through Albert Lea, and the people began to feel 

that they must very soon begin to put on some 

I style, for this brought in settlers in a rapid 

manner. 

In the summer of 185G, the urgent and pressing 
necessity was felt for an establishmsnt where, to 
use the characteristic vernacular, the ever festive 
'•bug juice" might be dispensed, and in resjionse 
to this demand, a man made liis appearance on the 
scene and opened a saloon. 

When Frank Hall arrived, he made everything 
lively; as one of the early settlers remarked, "he 
was a buster," and at once commenced the erec- 
tion of a fine store. for those times, and opened a 
first-class assortment of goods, embracing general 
merchandise in great variety. This was in 1857. 
A number of years afterward he Imilt the "old 
brick store," which waa and still is a landmark. 

Mr. Wilder, at an early day, opened a small 
stock of general merchandise and a large stock of 
whisky, in Hall's old place. At this time the 
inhabitants of the village were few, but as the 
tide of emigration in this direction was on the 
Hood-tide, and the country was fast settling up, 
the streets presented a busy appearance. 

Brock Woodruff opened a small store of general 
merchandise, and as that was the first thing usually 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



365 



called tor by the thirsty traveler, he also put in 
licjiiid refreshments. 

"Squire Clark may be described as an inferior 
looking man, who had a chronic opthalmia. He 
had considerable professional pride, and when he 
was called down to Shell Rock to marry Mr. 
Andrews senior, and completely broke down, he 
was a good deal mortified, telling his friends 
when be returned that he "completely broke down, 
by gosh!" H. D. Brown was present at that 
wedding. 

At one time there was a man who was on trial 
for some offense, and he demanded a jury, but the 
justice decided that he could only have a jury by 
paying the expenses of such luxury. This start- 
ling proposition was shown by tlie counsel for the 
defense to be contrary to the statutes, but 'Squire 
Clark stated that he had once so decided, and he 
did not propose to reverse his own decision, for a 
Justice in all things should be consistent. 

Affairs were not long in assuming form and 
coherence in the town; men gravitated to their 
proper level, a subdivision of labor, the true index 
of civilization, resulted, and to-day there is a 
thriving and prosperous community. 

NECROLOGICAL. 

It has been deemed proper to furnish a brief sketch 
of some of the most prominent men and women 
who have drifted into that unseen Sea, which is 
but a step from our present existence, and ultim- 
ately swallows every living soul. It is not unlike- 
ly that some names 'that should appear here have 
been omitted, for it is a notable thing to see how 
soon one is disremembered, who, having joined 
the endless possession, has passed from mortal 
view, 

Augustus Armstrong. — The thread of his life 
was snapped asunder on the 18th of August, 1873 
at the age of 39 years. He was born in Milan, 
Ohio, and after the necessary preliminary educa- 
tion, began the study of law in a school in Cincin- 
nati, and after admission to the bar, began prac- 
tice. In 18.57, he came to this county, where as a 
lawyer, public officer, private citizen, and legisla- 
tor, he became identified with the growth and 
prosperity of the rising State. He was the first 
County Treasurer and the first district Attorney. 
In 1865, he was elected to the Legislature, return- 
ed the next year, was sent to the Senate in 1867, 
and again to the House in 1869. He was one of the 
directors of the Southern Minnesota railroad, and 



was United States Marshal of Miuuesota. Stricken 
down in the meridian of his life's journey, Min- 
nesota lost a sou very faithfid, loboring for the 
good of all. His friends mourned a counselor 
and his family lost the sun that shone o'er their 
pathway. He was married on the 10th of October, 
1861, to Mrs Mary .1. Wedge. He left two child- 
ren ; Mary A. and Augustus. 

Samuel Batchelder. — A leading citizen of 
Freeborn county, was born in Topsham, Orange 
county, Vermont, on the 28th of April 182.5, and 
after attending the common school went to Nor- 
wich University, and there regularly graduated at 
the age of' twenty years. He then studied law 
under Judge Underwood and was duly admitted 
to the bar and entered upon the practice of his 
profession. Symptoms of pulmonary disease ap- 
pearing he went to Georgia where his condition 
was materially improved. He ha,d already been 
married to Miss Susan P. Taplin who went south 
with him. In 1850, he went to Kemper Springs, 
Mississippi, and taught and conducted anAcademy 
with eminent success. In 1856, he removed to 
Philadelphia, and leaving his wife there spent the 
winter of 1856-57 in Minnesota. At first he took 
a claim near Mr. Dill's but relinquished that and 
purchased a farm near Itasca, which is still known 
by his name. The following season he returned 
to Philadelphia and took charga of Attleborough 
Academy, about twenty miles from there. In 
1861, his wife died, leaving a child .six months 
old. This little one subsequently died as had two 
others, also in infancy. Two years later, in 1863, 
he came here for a permanent residence. In 1867, 
he was married to Miss Adide Sims of Albert Lea. 
He was elected Superintendent of Schools for 
Freeborn county, serving \\ ith rare ability for three 
years, and in 1869, was chosen County Auditor, a 
position he occupied with credit to himself until 
1877. He built a house in this city, where his 
estimable widow now lives. He was one of the 
few early members of the Presbyterian church, 
and was a ripe scholar, with unusual attainments, 
being especially efficient in mathematics, Latin, 
and Greek. His character for honesty, integrity, 
and perfect reliability, was never questioned. It 
may be truly said that he was unselfish, true, and 
firm in his convictions of right. He was sadly 
missed in the secular and church circles. 

Ashley M. Tyreu was a native of Concord, 
Erie county. New York, and studied law in the 



366 



niSTORY OF FREEPORN COUNTY. 



office of Judge Hazelton, at Jamestown, Cbautua- 
qua county. Sometime after the war he came to 
Alhirt Lea, and went into the office of Augustus 
Armstrong, and afterwards with Judge Stacy. 
His death was in June, 1880. He was an honora- 
ble man, highly respected, a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, and of the Presbyterian church. 

N. H. Ellickson.— Mr. N. H. Ellick.so'n, of 
Albert Lea, one of the first settlers of this county, 
had an extensive acquaintimce, and was well 
known as a man of ability and learning. He was 
the editor of the first Norwegian paper printed in 
thr United States, and for a number of years was 
coroner of this county. He died February 1st, 
aged 58 years, and was buried in the cemetery 
west of this city, where "Life's fitful fever o"er, he 
sleepeth well." 

Mrs. Minerv.\ Blackmek, widow of Dr. Frank- 
lin Blackmer, entered this world in Middlebury, 
Vermont, on the 9th of .Tamiary, 1811. At the 
age of three years, her parents moved to Chau- 
tauqua county, New York, where they were the 
first settlers. She was left motherless at thirteen 
years of age, and assumed the care of the youn- 
ger children. At the age age of twenty she was 
married to Dr. Blackmer, and five years later 
went to Ohio and lived in the town of Amherst. 
In the year 1856, they removed to Minnesota and 
located in Albert Lea. After living here more 
than twenty years, the Doctor died, in 1877. 
Most of her life was spent on the frontier, as she 
removed three times to the border of civilization 
to help subdue the wilderness. She was remark- 
ably well fitted for success iu such an arduous 
life; possessing, as she did, a strong constitution, 
with an earnest will she endured hardships be- 
yond the ability of many. She was always happy 
in making others comfortable. Her departure to 
an unknown frontier was on the 17th of May, 
1882. 

"After the shower, the givini? sun. 
Silver stars when the day is done. 
After the snow the emerald leaves, 
After the harvest the golden sheaves." 

Mhs. Cii.vniTY Fay. — The wife of L. W. Fay, 
was born in Otterville, Indiana, and came to this 
county in 1857. The dial of time struck its last 
hour for her on the 25th of May, 1882. A hus- 
band and three children were left to love and re- 
member a beloved wife and mother. 

Mrs. Mart Dow Howell, wife of Mr. H. 
Rowell, yielded up her natural life on Sunday 



morning, the 11th of Jime, 1876, at three score 
and eiglit years. She was a native of Norfolk, 
England; was married to Mr. Rowell in Chelsea, 
England, int)ctober, 1831. The next year they 
came to New York, and lived there two years. 
Then spent eight years in New Orleans and Vicks- 
burg. In 1840 went up the Mississippi as far as 
Illinois, and lived near Springfield four years; 
then pushed on up to Wisconsin. In ISSl they 
came to Kochester, in this State, and in 18()9 came 
here, where the family became well known. 
While in New Orleans. Mrs. Rowell had an attack 
of Yellow fever, from the effects of which she 
never recovered. 

John Uolby. At the age of three score 
and ten, on the 5th day of June, 1876, he was 
gathered to his fathers. His nativity dated from 
the 4th of December, 1806, in the (rreen Moun- 
tain State. He was married on the 21st of Janu- 
ary, 1829, to Miss Hannah Rowell. In 1835, he 
removed to Pennsylvania and remained there fif- 
teen years, then came west as far as Wisconsin 
where he lived six years; then got over on this 
side of the Mississippi, and pre-empted the farm 
now in possession of some of the family. He 
was an honest, upright man, held in great regard 
by his acquaintances. A wife, one son and seven 
daughters, all married, survive him. His remains 
were deposited iu the cemetery on part of the 
land where he first located. 

Mrs. Amanda WoouRrrr came in 1856 with 
her husband, and found a place in the Burr Oaks 
in London township, and iu 1857 removed to 
Albert Lea. She was true to all the instincts of 
womanhood, and was thus an eminently useful 
woman. On the 28th of May, 1879, the cares of 
life were quietly laid down for whatever else may 
be in store for her. 

OiiE O. SiMONsoN died suddenly on the 21st of 
February, 1881, of Cerebro-spiual Meningitis, 
while filling the office of Register of Deeds. He 
was a very conscientious, careful, painstaking, 
accurate and reliable man, and his lo.ss was deeply 
felt throughout the county. Suitable resolutions 
were passed by the county officers in commemor- 
ation of his services. He was born in Normandy, 
was forty years of age at the time of his death, 
and left a widow and four children. 

B. J. House was formerly a member of the 
Massachusetts legislature, where he served with 
great ability. He came west in 1858, locating in 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



367 



Albert Lea. He was elected three times as Pro- 
bate Judge, and held other positions of responsi- 
bility. He served in the Fourth Minnesota Regi- 
ment, from which he was honorably discharged, 
and remained a respectable private citizen. He 
was mustered out of earthly service on the 22d of 
January, 1879. 

Hiram J. Joxes, one of the oldest persons in 
the cuunty, died during the year 1879, much re- 
spected. 

Mes. Elizabeth Williams was born in Onon- 
daga county, New York, and at an early day mar- 
ried Mr. Gideon Marlett. They moved west to 
Elkhart, Indiana, and while there her husband 
died. She afterwards married Mr. R. Williams 
at Chillioothe, Illinois, and they came to Albert 
Lea in 18.57. Mrs. Williams was one of the sis 
who organized the Congregational church in 1858. 
Her loss was especially felt in the chuich. Her 
trials ended on the 18th of June, 1877, at the age 
of 63 years. 

INDTJSTKIAL. 

Albert Lea is a commercial city. It is true 
there are a few manufacturing establishments on 
a moderate scale, and most of them are mentioned 
in a brief way. No attempt is made togive a business 
du'ectory of the city; the changes in this respect 
are so frequent that a correct list of all the Ijusi- 
ness houses might be written to have it very im- 
perfect by the time it gets into print. Among the 
industrial enterprises may be mentioned the fol- 
lowing, which, to save too many heading.?, includes 
the Post-office and Banks. 

Post-office. — The office was opened at an early 
day, as mentioned in the early history, when there 
was but the house of Mr. Merry, before Mr. Ruble 
had got out of his tents, and while the bulk of the 
inhabitants were his workmen. A petition was 
drawn up, and all signed it, requesting a 
Post-office, to be called Albert Lea. It was 
favorably considered, and Lerenzo Merry was 
appointed Postmaster. The office was at first in 
bis house, but when Clark opened his store he was 
appointed deputy Postmaster. Mr. A. C. S vine- 
ford was afterward appointed to the position, while 
Clark still held his old place until Col. Eaton was 
appointed deputy, and removed the office to his 
boot and shoe store, which was on the Hall House 
block. 

Clark kept the mail on a shelf in his store. 
Eaton had a case made, with twenty -four call 



boxes and four lock boxes. But a single one was 
let tor some time, and that was taken by George 
S. Ruble. Col. Eaton himself was appointed 
Postmaster in 1861, and continued to keep it for 
some years. President Johnson appointed D. K. 
Stacy, Postmaster, and he kept it in his law office. 
When General Grant became President, the Colo 
nel was re-appointed, and for a time it was held 
in a building on the corner of Newton and Wil- 
liam streets. In 1870, it was placed in a building 
put up for the purpose on Broadway. G. John- 
stoo was the next Postmaster, appointed in the 
spring of 1876. Mr. H. A. Hanson received the 
appointment in November, 1881, and the office 
was removed to its present location in the Opera 
House block. It has 730 call boxes and 194 look 
boxes, and is roomy and convenient. 

It 1868 it was made a Money Order office, tha 
first order sola being dated on the 2d of Novem- 
ber. Seven mails are received each day by rail, 
and a tri-weekly frotn Owatonna by stage. It is 
rated as a third-class office. S. H. Cady has been 
the efficient mailing clerk and assistant for eight 
years. The salary of the Postmaster is |1,600 
per annum. The stamps, &c., sold in 1881 
amounted to .'$5,053.52; and the money order 
business, .$38,101.24. 

Freeborn County Bank. — Thomas H. Arm- 
strong, President; W. B. Rumsey, Cashier. The 
correspondents are the Merchants National Bank, 
at St. Paul; The Security Bank, at Minneapolis; 
The First National Bank, at Chicago; the Ameri- 
can Exchange National Bank, in New York; The 
Batavian Bank, at LaOrosse; and the First 
National Bank, in Milwaukee. The deposits 
average about .f 80,000. This bank was started 
on the 1st of September, 1874, by the present 
proprietor. 

H. D. Brown fr Co.'s Bank. — This banking 
house was started in the fall of 1669, by Frank 
Hall, who at first had the safe in hia store; but he 
soon built the brick block where the bank now is, 
on the corner of Broadway and William streets. 
In the fall of 1871, the business was bought out 
by H. D. Brown, who was sole proprietor until 
1876, when D. R. P. Hibbs became associated 
with him, and is still interested in the ownership. 
The correspondents of this bank in the business 
centers are: First National Bank, Minneapolis; 
First National Bank, St. Paul; Merchants' Loan 
and Trust Company, Chicago; Alexander Mitchell's 



3fi8 



irrsTo/.'V OF FREEBORN GOl/XTV. 



Bank, Milwaukee; Fourth Natioual Bank, New 
York; and The LaCrossa National Bank. This 
institution has depofsits to the extent of S75,000. 

CiTV Bank.— ^This t)aDkinp; house hegan l)usi- 
ness in 1878, on the Ist ot SepteiulHT. (xilbert 
(Jiilbrandson has been the proprietor from the 
first; D. W. Dwver is Cashier, and it does a gen- 
eral banking business, having depo.sits to the 
extent of 870.000. The banks with which it 
transacts business are: Dawson, Smith A- Shatl'er, 
St. Paul; The Merchants' National, Chicago; Mar- 
shall & Ilslev, Milwaukee; and American Exchange 
National, New York. 

Aldkut Le.\ FiiOUBiNG Mill. — This is the only 
flouring mill in town: it has two run of stones and 
can grind 125 bushels in ten hours. For power 
it has Fountain Lake, which may be said to be the 
headwaters of Shell Kock River, and this is com- 
municated by two turbine wheels, with ten and 
fifteen hor.'je ]iowcr respectively. In addition to 
this there is a steam engine of forty horse-power, 
manufactured by A. P. Allis, of Milwaukee. A. 
M. Avery has managed the mill for the past three 
years. It does custom work. 

During the summer of 1882 a f<'ed-mill was 
added, to be driven by an improved vertical wind- 
mill^n which the wind is admitted through slats,- 
to operate upon a drum with liuckets not unlike a 
turbine wheel. This mill is identified with the 
early history of the town, and is owned at this 
time jointly by Mr. Ruble and Mr. Hall. 

Spring Lakf. Creameky. — This establishment 
is owned and operated by a joint stock company, 
with a capital of SIO.OOO, and is located at the 
foot of Broadway, near the lake. Some of the 
leading business men in the city are interested in 
the enterprise. The stockholders were .John (rod- 
ley, Frank Hall, F. A. Blackmer, A. C. Wedge, J. 
W. Smith, Knatvold Brotlicr.s, E. S. Prentice, H. 
A. Colburn, Theodore Tyrer, D. R. P. Hibbs, H. 
D. Brown, W. P. Sergeant, and William Hazleton. 

The officers of the comi)any are: President, A. 
C. Wedge; Secretary and Treasurer, D. R. P. 
Hibbs; Superintendent, William Hazleton. 

The business was started on Tuesday the 11th 
of May, 1881, with cream from 200 cows, although 
1,000 had been promised. During the first year 
the number ot cows having increased, the average 
make was between seven and eight hundred 
pounds a day. 

Specific directions are given as to how the milk 



shall be set by the farmers, in cans of certain size, 
and the price paid is fifteen cents or more an inch 
for cream, which is e(|uivaleut to a pound of but- 
ter. The l)usiness being new the farmers are only 
beginning to learn how to get the best results 
from their cows; one very desirable point being to 
lengthen the season as far as possible, and to do 
this, catttle should be started early on green feed, 
which is inexpensively accomplished by sowing 
rye in the fall, to put them on early; and the fall 
which is apt to be dry should be lengthened out 
by sowing corn fodder to the extent of one fourth 
of an acre for each cow. 

As to the income from cows where cream is sold 
to a creamery, the annexed statements are good 
examples of how the dairy pays : 

One man, who had eighteen cows, realized dur- 
ing the season SI, 021, 08. 

Another with sixteen cows, received $882.73. 

Twenty cows" cream for one month was sold for 
$143.54, and six cows for the same length of time 
nitted «!40.74. 

Examples might be multiplied but the above 
items are sutlicient to fiirnish an idea of what the 
jjrofits on the business actually is. 

RULES OF THE ALBERT LEA CREAMERY COMPANY. 

"The following rules have been adopted by the 
Albert Lea Creamery Company, to keep U]) the 
high standard of the butter ot their manufacture. 
They are the same as have been adopted by the 
creameries of Iowa, and have resulted in placing 
that State at the head of the butter manufacturing 
interests of the country. These rules will be 
strictly adhered to: 

1. Any patron found selling nfilk from an un- 
healthy cow, or from cows still feverish from 
calving, will be dropped and tlie case reported to 
the civil authorities. 

2. Cream from milk showing careless and un- 
cleanly milking, or containing insects or dirt of 
any kind, will not be accepted. 

3. Milk should be kept out of vegetable cel- 
lars, and its surroundings be kept free from all 
odors and impurities. 

4. No tainted or frozen cream will be re- 
ceived. 

5. No collector will, in any case, take cream 
except what he himself skims from the cans. 

fi. .Vny per.son discovered tampering with 
cream in any fraudulent way, either by stirring. 



C1T7 OF ALBERT LISA. 



369 



pouring in water, or any otlier substance, will be 
dropped and subjected to punishment by law. 

7. Cream from milk standing in low tempera- 
ture is thin and will not hold out. Such cream 
will not be taken unless the proper reduction be 
made. The proper temperature for milk to stand 
in is from 50 to 60 degress, and to make honest 
cream; milk should stand from fourteen to twenty- 
four hours in summer, and from twenty -four to 
thirty -six in the winter before skimming. 

8. Ice and snow are detrimental to cream, and 
when used in milk will not be taken. 

9. Two difterent milking must not be put into 
the same can, nor must the milk or can be disturb- 
ed after the milk is set. 

10. Milk must stand at least ten hours after 
straining before the cream can skimmed and then 
be determined by the collector whether it is in 
condition to skim or not. 

11. It is distinctly understood by all that the 
word inch is used as the equivalent of a pound or 
half pound of butter, according to the size of the 
can, and the creameries reserve the right to pay 
any patrou for the number of pounds his cream 
will make. 

12. Patrons are required to notify their cream- 
eries at once of any neglect of the collectors, or 
any failure on their part to conform with the 
above rules. 

Albebt Lea Creamey Co." 

EiiEVATOHs AND Warbhoi'ses.- — The produce of 
the county which is shipped from this city is han- 
dled by the following concerns : 

Armstrong's elevator, which is 30x.50 feet, two 
stories, and will hold -t.OOO bushels. It is owned 
and operated by'T. H. Armstrong. In 1870 this 
was erected by the farmers of the county, as a 
company, and managed by them for about tour 
years, when it was sold to the present owner, who 
put in a two horse-power engine. It is managed 
by John Heising, who purchases grain and 
hides. 

William W. Cargill put uj) a small warehouse 
on the completion of the Southern Minnesota 
railroad to this point. This building collapsed 
some time after, and he put up the present build- 
ing, which has a capacity of about 15,000 bush- 
els and an eight horse-power engine. The firm is 
now Cargill Brothers, who are large buyers all 
all along the line, and deal in grain, hogs and 
hides. 

24 



Another ware-house was built just before the 
railroad was completed, by Bassett and Hunting- 
don. It is a frame building, and is now simply 
used as a storehouse for oats and corn by Cargill 
Brothers, 

Vining, Calkins & Co. put up a small ware- 
house and used it but a few years. They had an 
engine, the power from which was used mostly in 
cleaning grain. It would hold about 8,000 bush- 
els; it is owned by L. F.Hodges & Co. and is 
now laying idle. 

An elevator with a capacity of 30,000 bushels 
was put up by Henry Kowell in 1876. He owned 
and operated it for about three years, when it was 
disposed of to Cargill Brothers, who took it to 
Sherman and it has since been burned. It had a 
ten horse-power engine. 

In 1877, Sergeant and Skinner built an elevator 
at a cost of .^7,500. It is a frame building, with 
a capacity of about 35,000 bushels, and is operated 
with an eight horse-power engine. In 1870 Mr. 
Sargent's interest was purchased by H. D. Brown, 
amd the firm is now Brown & Skinner, who buy 
wheat only. 

At the same time K. M. Todd & Co. of Rock 
Palls, Iowa, put nji a fiat ware-house, for the pur- 
pose of buying wheat for their mill. 

Kimmer & Lamb put up that same season a 
small ware-house at-a cost of $500. This was at 
first rented by Todd & Co., but is now owned by 
that firm. 

D. G. Parker subsequently put up his ware- 
hou.se, a one-story building, and buys wheat and 
barley. 

The Albert Lea Board of Trade built a one- 
story ware-house in 1881, and began the purchase 
of wheat. It is now used as a store-house by 
Ransom Brothers. 

It is understood that the prices are well up to 
the large wheat markets, after deducting the 
freights. 

Olson & Anderson, Waoon-makebs and Gen- 
eral Blacksmithing. — This establishment has 
been in operation since 1869, with Martin Olson as 
a member of the firm. The shop is on Clark Street. 
At first general blacksmithing business only was 
done, but in 1879, the manufacture of wagons and 
buggies was commenced. In 1882 the firm put 
in a small steam engine of sis horse-power. They 
do considerable plow repairing and other like 
kinds of work. 



370 



BISTORT OF FREKBOHX COUXTY. 



G. A. Hauoe & C. Christopherson manufac- 
ture wagons and rej)air plows. They also manu- 
facture C. D. Edwards Ditchers, whi 'li cuts a 
ditch two and one half feet wida and three and 
one half deep. The power is conveyed by a 
capstan turned by horses or oxen, and it seems to 
be a valuable device for the purpose of excavating 
drainage ditches. Mr. Hauge purchased the 
establishment in 1875. About seven hnud.s are 
employed. The shop is a large brick building on 
Washington street, near Spring Lake, and has a 
horse-power to drive some of the machinery. Such 
an establishment is of great value in the mitlst of 
an agricultural community. 

Albert Lea Carriaoe Shop. — Charles Drom- 
merhausen is the proprietor, having started the 
business in 1866, on the comer of Newton and 
William streets, in a blacksmith shop, where he 
did repairing and made a few wagons and sleighs. 
In 1868, he moved to Clark street and built the 
shop he still occupies, and after a time commen- 
ced the manufacture of carriages aud a variety of 
light wagons. The establishment has three 
buildings and quite an extensive business. 

Waoon, Carriage, and Blacksmith Shop, 
Joseph Peffer, Proprietor. — This wagon shop 
was started in 1869, and work continued in it 
until 1878, when a blacksmith shop was added. 
General repairing, blacksmithing. horse shoeing, 
and wagon making is carried on, employing four 
men. 

BLACK.SMITHING. — C. P. Jolmson oped a shop in 
May, 1882, and does general repair work aud 
horse shoeing. 

A Waoon Shop was opened by Brown & Pratt, 
in 1867, and after changing hands several times it 
was bought by A. .7. Balcli. who added black- 
smithing and kept it in operation until August, 
1882, when it passed into the hands of F. W. 
Balch and M. C. Larson. They do general re- 
pairing and horse shoeing. 

Boat Buildino.— In 1865, Mr. C. V. Marlett 
built a shop in which to construct boats. It is 
still in operation by Mr. Marlett, who also does 
general repairing. 

The city is uot noted as a manufacturing place, 
but it is predicted that in the near future more 
attention will h^ paid to the subject : for manu- 
facturing, especially of articles having a general 
sale, serves as a kind of business balance wheel to 
steady atlairs during crop shortages or other local 



fluctuations. A Houring mill on a large scale 
would conduce to the prosperity of the city, and 
in due time it will no doubt be established. 

CioAR Mantfaitort. — Thomas J. Wanek began 
manufacturing cigars on the 6th of April, 1878. 
Cigar manufacturers are still amenable to the 
revenue tax, started during the war of 1861. The 
license to start with is SIO per year, and then a 
stamp tax of ^l> per thousand must be affixed to 
all that are made. About thirty-five or forty 
thousand are \nit up each month. Among the 
various brands made are the "Select." "Henry 
Clay," "Evening Star,'" '-Happy Dream." '•Pro- 
tector,'" "Magic Slipper," -'Shade.'" and "La Mon- 
tana." 

Merchandising. — Albert Lea is the trading 
point for the whole county, for while there are 
some gjod stores in the townships, the bulk of 
the trade is done at the county seat. Here may 
be found grocery stores, dry goods, hardware, 
agricultural implements, furniture, drugs and 
medicines, clothing, millinery, fancy goods, and 
in fact, all the usual variety of articles reiiuired 
by the present stage of civilization. 

Lager Beer Warehouses. — C. and J. Michels 
have a refrigerating storehouse for their LaCrosse 
beer. It holds perhaps two hundred barrels, and 
is stored here to be shipped northwest and south, 
about a car-load a week being disposed of. Mr. 
T. Blacklin is the agent at this point. 

John (ri'xD Brewing Company has a refrig- 
erating warehouse at the depot, which holds about 
two hundred barrels of lager beer. It is sold 
along the line of road to the extent of about three 
car-loads every two weeks. O. Knudsen is the 
manager at Albert Lea. 

It may be remarked that the growth of the 
lagfr beer business has been rather marked, and 
when we remember that the Anglo-Saxon race is 
a drinking race, as is also the Scandinavian and 
the Celtic race, theu- favorite beverage being spir- 
its, the change in favor of malt liquor is noticeable. 
What is to be the outcome is a matter that the 
political and social scieutlsts may speculate upon, 
as the question is not yet decided whether the use 
of malt liquor, in contradistinction to spirituous, is 
really a guard against drunkenness. 

HOTELS. 

Hall House. -This building was erected for a 
dwelling by Frank Hall, in 1866 or '67. In about 
four years he remodeled the house, and it has 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



371 



since been run as a hotel. A man named Foster 
was the first landlord, but after a year or two Mr. 
Hall assumed charge, and has conducted it ever 
since. It is a three-story brick, has 33 guest 
rooms, is near the central part of the city, and has 
the reputation of being a good hotel. 

Gilbert House. — This building was erected by 
Morin, Armstrong, and others, in 1868, for a 
cheese factory, and run as such a couple of sea- 
sons. S. S. Sutton, in the meantime, had come 
into possession of the property and converted it 
into a hotel, known as the Lake House. After a 
year or so it was sold to Warren Gilbert, who is 
still the owner. The next lessees were Gardner & 
Hunter, who run it a few years when a dissolu- 
tion of partnership occurred, the latter continuing 
as proprietor about one year longer. During this 
time it had been changed to the Gardner House. 
The present proprietor, John B. Foote, leased the 
premises in 1879, and since then the capacity of 
the house has been doubled, and the standard 
raised so that it now ranks among the best hotels 
of the city. Seventy-five guests can be comforta- 
bly accommodated at this hotel. 

La CrosseHouse. — This was built by the present 
proprietor, L. Gentrich, in 1877. It is a two-story 
frame, and can accommodate about twenty guests. 
It is located on Clark street, west of Broadway. 

City Hotel. — In 1867, William Fenholt erect- 
ed this hostlery, and still continues its manage- 
ment. It is a two story frame house, and can 
accommodate about thirty guests. It is located 
on Clark street, east of Broadway. 

National Hodse. — This was built in 1875 by 
Andrew Rolfson, who conducted it until the first 
of September, 1882, wLen H. A. Orandall became 
proprietor. It is a two story frame house, situ- 
ated on East Clark street, and can accommodate 
about thirty-five guests. 

WiNSLOW House. — This house was built at the 
station of the Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad, 
on the completion of that line to Albert Lea, in 
1878. It was run by Mr. Bunker until 1882, 
and has since been conducted by Frank Hall. It 
is a two story brick, and contains twenty-six 
rooms. 

Albert Lea HonsE. — This sign appears on the 
the outside of a white frame house, nearly oppo- 
the Winslow House, but as the proprietor did not 
possess sufficient courtesy to answer the few civil 



questions propounded to him, no further remarks 
can be made regarding this place. 

There is a hotel and boarding house near the 
depot on the Southern Minnesota railroad, kept 
by Mr. Brandon. It is a neat and home-like 
place, and gives good satisfaction to its patrons. 

CITY GOVERNMENT. 

In the winter of 1878, the city charter was 
granted by the State Legislature, in obedience to 
a numerously signed petition of the tax-payers of 
the village. And having been accepted by a vote , 
of tbe people, on the 12th day of May, 1878, the 
city government was organized, the first officers 
being: Mayor, Frank Hall; Board of Aldermen, 
W. P. Sergeant, President, J. W. Smith, R. E. 
Johnson, John F. Anderson, and E. D. Porter, 
two from each ward; Clerk, Fred. S. Lincoln. 

After the organization, the various details re- 
quiring action were attended to. Some of the 
most important of which will be mentioned. 

The city Justices were required to furnish bonds 
for the faithful discharge of their duties in the 
sum of 11,000 each. Tbe City Treasurer for 
$5,000. The license for the sale of beer was fixed 
at $100, and both malt and spirituous liquors at 
f250. 

The second meeting was on the 15th of the 
same month, when the Mayor delivered his inaug- 
ural address. 

A license fee for Cole's circus, which desired to 
exhibit, was fixed at ^25. 

The city Assessor's bonds were fixed at .$500; 
the city Attorney's, $500, and various committees 
were appointed. At a subsequent meeting the 
order of business was established. 

1st. Reading of Minutes. 

2d. Reports of Committees. 

3d. Action on the reports of Committees. 

4th. Unfinished business. 

5th. New business. 

Meetings of the board were arranged for the 
1st and 3d Tuesdays of each month. 

The first ordinance was passed on the Ist of 
May, and related to the sale of intoxicating bev- 
erages. 

The city printing, after some manouvering, was 
given to the "Enterprise." 

Side walks early received attention. 

In June the pay of the poUce was fixed at $45 
per month. 

The machinery of the city government was set 



372 



niSTOET OF FRl'lEBORN COUNTY. 



in motion and run with little friction considering 
its newness, and the fiuanci.il condition at the end 
of the year presented a good showing, as the ex- 
penditures had not been extravagant, and there 
was a small bahince in the treasury. 
The exhibit was as follows: 

Cash received S5,.549 52 

Cash paid out 5,5'23 11 

In the treasury 26 41 

i879. — The election was on the 5th of May. 
There were two candidates for Mayor, H, D. 
Brown and W. P. Sergeant. Mr. Brown was 
elected by seven majority, and the otBoers tliis 
year were: Mayor, H. D. Brown: .Mdermen, W. 
P. Sergeant, President, Thomas H. Armstrong. 
Elland Erickson, J. W. Smith, William Fenholt, 
and John H. Anderson; Clerk, John Anderson; 
Attorney, K. M. Palmer; Assessor, D. X. Gates; 
Street Commissioner, E. D. Porter; Chief of 
Police, Reabeh Williams; City Surveyor, William 
Morin. 

Liquor licenses were fixed at .SlOU, and the one 
hundred dollar licenses for selling malt liquors 
were discontinued. The license for a brewery 
was fixed at .'$200 a year. 

On the 27th of June it was voted to purchase a 
La France Steam fire engine at a cost of 82,800. 
This was done after careful investigation. The 
question as to the location of an engine house was 
one of the problems the Council had to wrestle 
with. Several lots were offered, and finally two 
were accepted which were presented by William 
Morin and Thomas H. Armstrong. On the 2r)th 
of August the engine arrived, and after examina- 
tion and testing, it was declared satisfactory. 

An ordinance, passed to prevent the obstruction 
of certain streets by forbidding the feeding of 
teems on them, was vetoed by the Mayor on ac- 
count of its improver discriminations and because 
the streets were made for use, and the prosperity 
of the city largely depended upon the trade 
brought by the persons who would be thus in- 
commoded. 

1880.^ — The officers this year were: Mayor. R. 
C. VanVechten, who received 358 votes out of 
390; Treasurer, N. H. Shaugh, who received 393 
votes: Justice of the Peace, E C Stacy, wlio received 
391votes, and H A Haukness; Aldermen, Wm Morin 
chairman, O. F. Nelson, J. A. Anderson, with those 
liolding over; Clerk, John Auder.son; Street Com- 
missioner, E. D. Porter; Treasurer, W. A. Hig- 



gins; Chief of police, E. D. Patrick; City Engin- 
eer, A. Motzfeldt. 

Some of the salaries were fixed as follows: 
Chief of Police, S4") a month, and the night watch 
man S35. The clerk S2.')0 a year; Street Commis- 
sioner $2 a day for actual work; Engineer of 
steam fire engine, S150 a^, year, and the fireman 
S60 a year; the city engineer $100 a year. 

On the 21st of June a bell was authorized for 
the engine house, and the fire limits were fixed. 

The public drive around the lake was made in 
the summer of 1880. The right of way was con- 
veyed by Theodore Tyrer, of Albert Lea, and 
Washington Lee, of New York, who materially 
assisted in doing the work. The city gave S269, 
and received a deed of the property. 

In October, the Spring Lake having become so 
filled as to be" obnoxious, exhaling foul emana- 
tions, five physicians, A. C. Wedge, M. E. Wood- 
bury. W. H. Smith, G. W. Barch, and M. M. 
Dodge, presented a petition to the council as to 
the effects upon the sanitary condition"of the city, 
and recommended that it be filled or drained. 
Their prayer was supplemented by another from 
Frank Hall and seventy-one other citizens, and 
the machinery was set in motion to have it drained 
and filled. 

On the loth of March, a board of health was 
established, with Dr. A. M. Burnham, the Mayor, 
and presideut of council, as members. J. H. Par- 
ker was appointed City Attorney for the balance of 
the year 

1881. — The new government was organized 
on the 3rd of May. The Mayor was Frank 
Hall. The board of alder nen were: John A. 
Anderson, President, O. F. Nelson, M. P. Ser- 
geant, Thomas H. Armstrong, William Morin, and 
Willam Fenholt; Clerk, .John Anderson; Assessor, 
A. W. White; Treasurer, B. H. Skaug; Sinking 
Fund Commissioner, D. G. Parker; City Attor- 
ney, J. H. Parker; Health Officers, A. M. Burnham. 
M. D., John A. Anderson, and Frank Hall. 

Tlie city, on the question of "License" or "No 
License,"' voted aye, and thi 
parchment conferring rights 
this respect was fixed at •'i!400.* 

The Secretary of the State Board of Health, 
Charles N. Hewitt, inspected Spring Lake, and 
re])i)rted what should 1 e done in the interest of 
the sanitary coudition of the city, and his sugges- 



price fixed for a 
Old privileges in 



CITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



373 



tions were carried into eflfeot, not, however, without 
considerable friction. 

1882. — There was what is called a dead-lock in 
the Board of Aldermen. It lieing understood 
that there was an eqnal division of parties, and as 
the President has no vote, except in case of a tie, 
a compromise was effected by the appointment of 
a President pro tein. 

According to the index, there are eighty-two 
subjects for town ordinances, which are included 
in thirty-five separate acts. These regulations 
embrace the matters usually legislated upon by 
local authorities, and while in such cases there is a 
constant interference with individual freedom, of 
course upon the plea of the public good, this has 
not been of an umisnal character, and honesty and 
economy have been the prevailing traits in the 
administi'ation of city affairs. 

Herewith is presented an abstract of the report 
of the City Clerk and Treasurer for the year end- 
ing on the 15th of April, 1882, which will be 
useful for reference or comparison: 

"City Clerk's Office, ) 

City of Albeet Le.\, Minnesota, • 
April 16th, 1882. ) 
To the Common Council : 

I herewith submit to you a statement of the 
city's finances for the fiscal year ending April 15th, 
1882: 

abstract of receipts. 

Cash in treasury April 15, 

1881 1 336 29 

Liquor and brewery licenses 3,750 00 

Miscellaneous licenses 248 00 

Poll tax 18 00 

Justice fees 208 80 

General tax 1,615 75 

Sidewalk 182 77 

Roads 789 04 

Fire department 778 72 

Bridge bonds 2,990 00 

$11,218 37 

abstract of EXPENDITPEES. 

Paid outstanding orders and 
time orders, including en- 
gine and hose orders. . . ..S2,201 89 

Poor 811 68 

Salaries 2,592 10 

Fire bell, freight and hang- 
ing." 252 88 



Of road funds 1,439 47 

A. McNeill on bridge con- 
tract 1,250 00 

Court and jail expenses. -. . . 51 60 
Brought over to sinking 

fund 937 50 

Books for justice and sta- 
tionery ■ 24 80 

Wood and wood sawing .... 6355 
Street cleansing, shoveling 

snow, etc 65 82 

Mill dam 225 00 

Printing 163 80 

Election expenses 73 00 

Pound 10 00 

Street lamps, oils, etc 58 55 . 

Spring Lake drain and cis- 
tern 739 61 

Pest house and small-pox 

patients 736 07 

Lumber and hardware .... 980 84 

Miscellaneous 229 11 

.«12,007 30 

GENERAL BALANCE SHEET. 

Assets. Liabilities. 
Taxes for 1881 and previ- 
ous years $3,624 76 

Sidewalks (to be levied). 94 52 
Value real and personal 

city property, as per 

last annual statement . . 7,909 00 
Shed by engine house. . . 100 00 

Fire bell 250 00 

Pest house, and furniture, 

&c., therein 250 00 

Bridge fund 1,740 00 

City Lake Park, owned by 

city and valued at . ... 1,500 00 
La France Manufacturing 

Company, non-interest 

bearing orders $3,648 00 

B. F. Goodrich & Co 1,066 00 

Other outstanding orders 3,530 30 

Bridge bonds ( bearing 7 

per cent, interest) 3,000 00 

Balance 4,223 98 

Total $15,468 28 $15,468 28 

Most respectfully submitted. 

John Anderson, 

City Clerk." 



374 



HTSrORT OF FRBBBORN COUNTr. 



Report of Treasurer of City of Albert Lea, from 
April 15, 1881, to April 15, 1882: 
"To the Honorable Mayor and Oommon Council of tlw. 

City of Albert Lea: 

Gentlemen: — Pursuant to section 6, chapter 3, 
of the charter of the city of Albert Lea, I herewith 
transmit to you a statement ot all monies received 
as City Treasurer, and all orders paid on the same. 

RECEIPTS. 

1881. 

April 15. By cash balance in treasury . $ 882 51 
By 9 liquor licenses. .^-100 

each 3,600 00 

By 1 beer license 150 00 

By 14 billiard table licenses, 

10 each .* 140 00 

By concert licenses 43 GO 

By circus license 35 00 

By auction licenses 25 00 

By poll tax 19 25 

By fines from city justices . . 208 80 
By amount from county 

treasurer 3,666 03 

By sale of bridge bonds 2,990 00 

$11,764 59 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Orders on general fund paid . S 4,547 48 

Orders on road fund paid. . 1,739 50 
Orders on fire department 

fund paid 904 38 

Orders on sinking fund paid 456 37 
Orders on bridge fund paid 1,250 00 
Orders on railroad bond in- 
terest paid 210 00 

April 15, 1882, balance in treasury at 

at this date 2,656 85 

$11,764 59 

BALANCE IN DIFFERENT FUNDS. 
1882. 

April 15. General fund $ 37 76 

Eoad fund 57 63 

Fire department fund 4 11 

Sinking fund 481 13 

Bridge fund 1,740 00 

S. M. E. K. fund 336 22 

$ 2,656 85 
Respectfully submitted. 

B. H. Skaug, 

City Treasurer." 



PERSONAL TAXES IN ALBERT LEA. 

In this list is presented those who pay a tax of 
this character on one thousand dollars and up- 
wards : 

T. H. Armstrong $9,900 

M. A. Armstrong 1,100 

D. H. Brown & Co 5,550 

Brigham k Co .3,500 

Brown k Skinner 2,000 

C.Burtch ■ 1,712 

G. M. Crane 3,654 

I Conklin, Dwight k Co 2,625 

Chicago Furniture Co 1,760 

C. L. Coleman 1,750 

P. Clauson 1,444 

D. E. Dwyer 2,473 

Enterprise Printing Co 1.021 

Gulbrandson Bros 1,395 

L O. Greene 1,092 

Gulbrandson 2,595 

C. F. Hcdonstad 1,067 

C. M. Hewett 4,005 

Frank Hall 1,579 

W. W. Johnson 2,501 

Knatvold Bros 3,150 

Ed. Murphy 1,313 

McCormick Bros 1,525 

William Morin 2,072 

Now & Soth 4,625 

John Paul 1,442 

A. Palmer, Jr 1,095 

R. N. Parks 1,821 

W. W. Powell & Co 3,500 

Ransom Bros 3,625 

Raymon Bro. & Prentice 3,535 

Strauss k Schlesinger 2,100 

G. O. Ludloy 5,481 

W. P. Sergeant 5,463 

Smith k Gassett 3,500 

Wedge k Spicer 3,900 

Williams k Drake 1,134 

There is a large number coming well up toward 
like amounts. 

The following table shows the value of improve- 
ments that have been made in Albert Lea since the 
year 1869, the smallest being in the year 1873, 
and the largest in 1878 : 

1869 $59,230 

1870 45,842 

1871 70,959 

1872 48,275 



CITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



375 



1873 3i,310 

1874 76,121 

1875 84,200 

1876 42,201 

1877 89,689 

1878 99,941 

1879 62,700 

1880 81,965 

On the 18th of July, 1879, a public meeting was 
held for the purpose of organizing a fire company. 
Eev. J. R. Chalmers was chosen chairman, and J. 
K. Richards secretary. An organization was 
etfected, with the subjoined officers : Chief, James 
Allen; Assistant, Ans. Peck; Chief of Hose, 
Charles Soth; Assistant, J. J. Bond ; Treasurer, N. 
O. Narveson; Secretary, J.K.Richards. At this 
meeting a committee to draft a constitutian was 
appointed. 

This is an efficient organization, supplied with 
modern apparatus. The officers for 1882 are: 
Chief Engineer, William P. Sergeant; First As- 
sistant, J. J. Bond; Second Assistant, E. W. 
Murphy; Foreman, James Allen; Assistant Fore- 
man, M. C. Mitchell; Hose Foreman, E. H. Ellick- 
'son; Assistant, George Pratt; Secretary, Adam 
Wiegard; Treasurer, N. O. Narveson; Engineer, 
George Rutam; Second Engineer, A. Peck; First 
Fireman, Thomas Carney; Second Fireman, An- 
drew Peterson ; Finance Committee, H. O. Brager, 
A. M. Anderson; Steward, Axle Brundin. 

The department is a compromise between a paid 
and a volunteer institution. The skilled mechanics 
on the force receiving a salary. 

The city officers for the year ending in May 
1883, are as follows; Mayor, Dr. C. W. Ballard; 
Treasurer, N. O. Narveson; Assessor, Aug. Peter- 
son ; Justices of the Peace, E. C. Stacy and H. O. 
Haukuess; Aldermen: 

IsL Ward, W. P. Sergeant, Martin Olson ; 

3d Ward, Wm. Morin, T. H. Armstrong, 

3rd Ward, Wm. Feuholt, John Tliompson. 

On the vote regarding the license question, 
there was 186 majority for license. 

PERIODICALS. 

Freeboen County Standard. — This paper was 
first issued on the 11th of July, 1857, by Swine- 
ford & Gray, under the name of the Minnesota 
Star." It was a Democrat paper and, it la said, 
was encouraged by the Damocratic Central Com- 
mittee, to the extent of S500 in cash, and many 



citizens took ten copies, subscribing for them at 
the rate of .$2 a year in advance, but it soon fell 
the victim of one of those diseases incident to 
juvenile newspaperdom, and which are so fatal. 
The press on which it had been printed, after lay- 
ing idle some months, was sold under a foreclos- 
ure, to satisfy a mortgage held by G. S. Ruble, 
and was bid in by him, who afterwards sold it to 
Alf. P. Swineford, one of the former proprietors. 
Mr. Swineford then commenced the publication of 
the "Freeborn County Eagle." 

This paper commenced on the 11th of Septem- 
ber, 1858, and went on as a Democratic paper until 
the 26th of February, 1850, when the publishers 
retired and Isaac Botsford took the supervision, 
and from that time it was Republican. On the 
19th of May, 1860, the Eagle made its last flight, 
and George S. Ruble, who held the greatest inter- 
est in the establishment, associated with him 
Joseph Hooker, and on the 20th of the same 
month came out with the Freeborn County Stan- 
dard. 

This firm had an experience of just twenty- 
three weeks, when the office was sold at a great 
discount to A. D. Clark, who on the 21st of 
October, 1860, assumed the editorial chair and 
began to use the royal pronoun "we", until the 
25th of July, 1861, when he divested himself of 
the editorial harness, and sold to A. B. Webber. 

This gentleman kept distributing ink up to the 
10th of October, when the concern passed into the 
hands of J. 0. Ross, who conducted the paper up 
to the 20th of February, 1862, when he sold to 
William Morin and enlisted in the army. Mr. 
Morin kept the paper going until the 4th of July, 
1864, and then his foreman and compositors leav- 
ing for the war, the paper was suspended. 

In March, 1865, Mr. D. G. Parker bought the 
paper, and on the 6th of April recommenced the 
publication, which has been kept up ever since. 

Mr. Isaac Botsford was again connected with 
tlie paper, which has always been a journal with 
considerable influence. 

In April, 1878, George T. Robinson bought out 
Mr. Botsford's interest, and in May of that year 
W. W. Williams bought out D. G. Parker, and in 
February, 1879, T. W. Drake purchased Mr. 
Robinson's part of the establishment. 

In 1878 the the paper was enlarged to its pres- 
ent size and form, a six column folio. This eatab- 



376 



llIsTiiHY OF FUEEBOUy VUVMY. 



liahment was burned on the lltL of April, 1882, 
entailiug a heavy loss. 

Bancboft Banner. — This was one of those 
county seat papers which, having failed in the 
object for which it was issued, there was no furth- 
er necessity for its existence, and so died a natur- 
al death. But Mr. Bleakely, who had brought it 
into existence, tells the story in such an admir- 
able way, that it would be a pity to mar its 
beauty, so the reader is referred to the extract 
from his speech before the Old Settlers' Associa- 
tion. 

The Albert Lea Enterphise — This is a 
weekly repuljlicau newspaper, which first appeared 
on th 25th of April, 1872, with James 0. Hamlin, 
of Mason City, Iowa, as publisher. It was an 
eight column folio. At the end of a year, S. H. 
Cady, of Wisconsin, came and brought a job 
printing outfit, and the paper then appeared as 
published by the Enterprise Printing Company. 
On the 25th of September, 1873, Mr. Hamlin 
sold his interest to Mr. Cady, and on the 2d of 
October the paper came out with S. H. Cady as 
sole proprietor. Thus it remained until the win- 
ter of 1874-75, when Fred Cochrane became editor 
of the sheet. On the 26th of August, 1875, the 
establishment was purchased by the present pro- 
prietor, M. Halversou, who has been the sole 
owner, except in the spring of 1881, when' an 
interest in the concern was sold to F. D. Pierce 
and A. E. EUickson, who retained a share in the 
paper for nine mouths, until the present time. 

In the spring of 1870, the paper was enlarged 
to a SIX column quarto. It is on a sound financial 
basis, with a local habitation, and a circulation of 
1,000 copies. There is a Babcock & Cottrell 
power press, with three job presses, knife pajjer 
cutter, 125 fonts of type, and in all respects a 
well appointed ottice. When purchased by Mr. 
Halverson the paper had a circulation of 400. At 
present the press work of the other papers is done 
in this office. The building is 20x50 feet, of 
brick. 

The Albert Lea Postbn was first issued on 
the 5th of July, 1882, by the Albert Lea Pub- 
lishing Company, the officers of which are: H. 
Erickson, President; H. G. Emmons, Vice-Presi- 
dent; J. P. Gnnager, Secretary; H. O. Haukness, 
Treasurer and general manager; and O. J. Hagen, 
Editor. It is a seven column folio, printed in 



the Norwegian language, at $1.25 a year, and has 
a circulation of 8G-1. 

This paper is the successor of tlie "Sanverke," 
of which N. Nelson was editor, published by the 
same company. Before this there was the "Son- 
dre Minnesota," by Peterson, Anderson, and Mot- 
ezfeldt, and then there was the 'North Star," by 
Jac. Elleston, and T. T. Pierce. 

There have been several other papers in the city 
and county, which have had an existence more or 
less brief, and have passed away from inanition or 
some other disease' Some of them were preco- 
cious, and could not have been reasonably 
expected to live and thrive in this bleak and inhos- 
pitable world. 

Among the various buds of promise may be 
mentioned the "Will of the Wisp," which launched 
upon the troubled sea of existence, breasted the 
waves for three months, and sunk forever beneath 
its waters. T. T. Pierce was at the helm of this 
well managed sheet. 

The High Sohool Journal was a sprightly, 
well behaved little entity, managed by W. W. Par- 
ker, Jerry Sheehan, and Willie Crane, high school 
students, and during the four months it survived 
was a credit to all concerned. 

The Freeborn Springs Herald. — This was a 
campaign sheet, evolved by the county seat con- 
test in the interest of Itasca, where it was pub- 
lished, and Dr. Burnham was the Visa tergo that 
furnished the power. Isaac Botstord was the 
editor and proprietor, and it was a battle ax wor- 
thy of a more successful cause. For thirteen 
weeks the friction of its presence filled the air 
with electricity so that a good many heads of hair 
stood on end imtil after the election. The octa- 
gon from which it issued still stands, but the jiaper 
itself is a mere recollection. 

During the county seat contest there was con- 
siderable fierceness between the rival sheets, and 
each one, of course, estimated the value of its 
utterances in moulding public opinion quite as 
high as they would bring in open market, and the 
Itasca concern, as was claimed at the time, sent a 
young man down, who purloined the "toggle 
joint" of the Albert Lea press, hoping thus to 
prevent the issue of its hated rival until the elec- 
tion was over, but Kublo and the boys were equal 
to the emergency, and did not propose to let a 
little thing like that prevent the regular appear- 
ance of the paper. So they procured a long 



CITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



377 



scantling for a lever, and, letting one end project 
out of the door, the form was run under the 
platen, when a man outside would heave down, 
and take the impression. Mr. F. W. Drake was a 
young man in the office at the time, and helped 
to work off the edition. 

If there have been other newspapers or periodi- 
cals in the county, they will be mentioned in the 
towns where they existed. 

FBBEBOKN OOUNTr CANE GEOWEES' ASSOCIATION. 

This association is in the interests of the 
syrup and sugar manufacture, and the raising of 
cane generally. Considerable attention has been 
paid to the cultivation of the amber cane, and 
there are quite a number of mills and evaporating 
pans, where small amounts of syrup are made. A 
mill was started a few years ago to manufacture 
on quite a liberal scale, but jt was this season 
removed into the country. The President of the 
association is H. N. Oatrander; Secretary, George 
H. Prescott. 

ANTI HOESE THIEF ASSOCIATION OF FREEBOKN 
COUNTY. 

After a preliminary meeting an organiza- 
tion was effected at the Court House, on the 
afternoon of the 30th of September, 1882. A con- 
stitution was adopted, and the following officers 
elected: President, George S. Kuble; Vice Presi- 
dents, A. C. Wedge, T. J. Sheehan, and N. P. 
Howe; Treasurer, L. B. Spicer; Secretary, C. W. 
Levens. 

The proposition is to appoint active riders, and 
make it exceedingly uncomfortable for the equine 
purloiners who visit this section. 

THE GREAT ALBERT LEA ROUTE. 

The Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad was com- 
pleted to this point on the 10th of September, 
1877. It makes a through route between the twin 
cities and Chicago, over the Burlington, Cedar 
Eapids & Northern, and the Eock Island & Pacific, 
railroads. The line to St. Louis is over the same 
line to Burlington, and then over the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quiucy road. These lines are called 
the "Great Albert Lea Route," which receives a 
large patronage. At this station there are, 
including the eight passenger trains, about forty 
arrivals each twenty-four hours. 

The southwestern line runs to Angus, Iowa, and- 
there connects with the Des Moines and Fort 
Dodge line. 



An account of the celebration of the arrival of 
the first train on this route, is given in the chap- 
ter on "Events," and need not be repeated here. 

Although the difficulties of railroad building, 
when this road was constructed, were as nothing 
compared to those attending the construction and 
equipment of the Southern Blinuesota, it must not 
be supposed that it did not require the highest 
order of talent and energy, and a liberal exchequer, 
to get them into running order. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The first district school established in Albert 
Lea was number seven, which was soon after the 
organization of the county. Before this, bow- 
ever, there had been private schools, which are 
elsewhere mentioned. The first appropriation was 
in the form of a district tax to the amount of $400. 
Theschoolhousebuiltwith that money lasted several 
years, and then another was built which stijl stands 
in the corner of the school grounds, which occupy 
a square west of the public square on Clark street. 
Messrs. Stacy, Tyrer, and Wedge were on the 
board when it was built, and Mr. I. J. Fuller, of 
Oconomowoc, furnished the plans. 

On the organization of the district system in 
1860, this became the Thirty-eighth, and so con- 
tinued until the winter of 1881, when an inde- 
pendent district was created by a special act of 
the Legislature, and the present fine schoolhouse 
was erected. Messrs. D. R. P. Hibbs, D. N. Gates^ 
and W. P. Sergeant constituted the school board. 
The plans were furnished by Mr. Jones, of Madi- 
son, Wisconsin. The cost of the building, which 
is of brick, modern in style and well adapted 
for school purposes, was $20,000, and it was com- 
pleted on the 1st of January, 1881. 

The school system of the county has been fos- 
tered here, as it has been aU over the country, by 
"Teachers' Institutes," which, in addition to the 
knowledge as. to the science of school teaching 
imparted, serve to create and sustain the esprit du 
corps, which is so important in this profession. 
There have been other schools of a graded charac- 
ter, which did good work, but they are in exist- 
ence no longer, and the energies of the friends of 
education are concentrated upon the public 
schools. 

When the new schoolhtuise was ready for oc- 
cupancy, there were some formalities attending 
the tearing away from the old building, and among 
the other good things said was a poem by Miss 



378 



'HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY, 



Lora Levens, which is given entire. It is entitled 

FAREWELL TO THE OLD SCHOOL HOFSE. 

■'When an old frieml, tried and true, 
We change for one unknown and new. 
It seems hut meet to leave liehind 
A tear for the old one. true and kind- 
Ten years ago last gonehy spring. 
When Howers were in bloom and birds on wing. 
I entered first this public school, 
(For, happily, 'twas free to wit or f^tol.) 
The house then stood upon a spot, 
Kemotc from flower, or tree, or cot; 
Ju»t here in front of the "Public Squa'e." 
With plenty of gravel, acddirt, and air. 
But 'twas not liuilt in the ancient way. 
As was the Deanon's One Hoss Shay — 
"To last a hundred years to a day"— 
tor the builders thout;ht it "wtmldn't pay," 
Soon the ccilinj; cracked, and then it fell 
And dropped on our heads and laps— pell mell. 
And then the windows would rattle and shake. 
And the flo«»r beneath would tn-mble and quake. 
Ana in and out all through its walls. 
In cl-isets and entries, and rooms and halls, 
The wind would whistle and rush and roar, 
And e'en come up through the cracks in the floor. 
In vain we've punched and knocked and poked. 
But still the old stove has smoked and smoked; 
And many an hour have we stood and bat. 
With wrap and shawl and cloak and hat, 
While tears adown our cheeks would flow — 
But not the tears of grief and woe. 
But perhaps by these we'll value more 
The comforts that now for us are in store! 
And everj thing else in this old room— 
From our teacher there to— even the broom, 
Has so long been subject to wear and tear 
They do with each other, most fitly compare. 
But the end has come. Let us take our last view 
Ere the old and the dear we change for the new, 
For so long they've been with us and each is so old, 
Places, like living friends, in our hearts they hold, 
Many a year before us has stood 
Numbering the hours for bad or good. 
The big old clock, with its tick, tick tick. 
Keeping time to the pencils' click, click, click. 
Full many an hour with listless look. 
The idler has sat with eyes off his book, 
With many a groan and many a sigh. 
Watching how slowly the hours went by. 
Upon the wall, with a deep, dark frown. 
Our "country's hero" has long looked down. 
Inciting us to strive for a st.ition. 
Equal to his in affairs of the nation. 
Thougli none may trea<l the senate halj. 
Yet each of us will heed some call; 
And we'll all look back now and then with a sigh. 
To the happy hours that here passed by. 
Before the stove is the low front seat. 
With little of room and much of heat. 
Where the wicked have gi)t (I've heard some say.) 
A taste of the heat of a future day. 
We can never forget, though far away. 
The old green curtains that, day after day, 
Have hung at the windows, slit and torn- 
Of all their former beauty shorn. 
And ever ''green," in memory, will stand 
The old ink keg, with bright red band; 
And ne'er to ) e erased from (»ur minds— or the floor 
Is that beautiful ink spot we made there of yore; 



And as "bright" in memory as e'er it shown 

Will that little bell be with its silvery tone; 

And 'twill seem, on memory's wall to call 

Pictures of school days, gone from us all. 

And ttb' what tales these walls could tell 

Of the sad lots that have us befell— 

Of the weary Vimbs. and aching head. 

And real tears that we have shed. 

And how. at times, have they echoed and swelled 

With cries and groans that could not be quelled. 

At the fall of the stick, or wooden rule. 

When a euljirit has broken a law of the school. 

Again, sounds of gay mirth and glee 

Are softly brought back on the air to me ; 

And again the walls all seem to resound 

With a sort of stifled, giggling sound. 

They could tell of classes that have passed away. 

Till now isleft the school of to-day. 

Of somu who have joined the tierce, weary strife, 

.\nd are fighting nobly the battle of life, 

Antl of a few who are lying, lying low, 

L'ndi-r the sod and under the snow. 

But others come on. and in they pour, 

Till now no room is left for more. 

80 now at last is built, complete, 

A new schoolhou!-e, with comforts replete, 

Where all of the rising generation 

May be fitted to fill, in life, their station. 

So farewell, old schoolhousel We'll say good bye. 

And away to the new we'll each of us hie. 

We kuow all thy faults, they are before us in view. 

But even by these you are endeared to us, too. 

Soon will thy walls be covered with must, 

The stove will be coated with dirt and with rust, 

Unmolested, the mice will come imt to their play. 

But finding no cruml>s will soon hasten away. 

Around the corners, deserted and lone. 

The fierce winter wind will whistle and moan. 

In through the cracks the snow will soon sift. 

And over the steps, unheeded, 'twill drift- 

The spiders will weave their webs overhead. 

And all will be silent and still au the dead. 

But 01 the lessons we've mastered here 

Will live with us all for many a year. 

Lessons of truth, and honor, and trust. 

Lessons that show us we can and we must, 

Lessons that will help us to keep our place, 

In this great, and hard, and worldly race." 

Ah to the present condition of the schools 
in the citj. a reference to the returns of the work 
done shows that thej are in a healthy contlition. 
and in competent hands. 

From the first annual report of Prof. J. C. 
Ailing, the Principal and Su])erintendent of the 
schools of Albert Lea, which includes the school 
year ending on the Ist of July, 1882, the follow- 
ing statistics are gathered: 

Whole nuud)or of scholars entitled to ap- 
portionment 548 

Not of school age, or non-residents paying 

tuition 24 

Separate names enrolled during the year. . 572 

Days of school 195 

Total attendance, in days, by all scholars. . fi0,559 



CITY OF ALBEKT LEA. 



379 



Average daily attendance 311 

Wliole number of teachers — one man and 

seven women ' 8 

Pupils enrolled per teacher 72 

Average attendance per teacher 44 

Percentage of perfect attendance through 

the year 55 

Number of grades below the High School . 8 
Cost of supervision and instruction, based 

on average daily attendance, per capita. S12.34 

HIGH SCHOOL. 

Whole number of pupils enrolled during 

the year 76 

Greatest number present at any one time. . 67 

Number of days of school 195 

Average daily attendance 45 

Percentage of perfect attendance on enroll- 
ment 59 

Number of teachers 2 

The curriculum ot statistics embraces the higher 
English branches and Latin. 

At the commencement exercises, in .June, a wide 
range ot subjects was embraced, and those having 
parts acquitted themselves in a very creditable 
manner. 

BELIGIOnS. 

The Pbesbytbbian Chtjboh op Albeet Lea. — 
It must have been in April, 1857, when Eev. S. G. 
Lowry visited this place, and he, in connection with 
Kev. Isaac McReynokls, a Methodist clergyman, 
who still lives in the county, were the first to 
break the bread of the word to the people in this 
region. For three years Mr. Lowry continued to 
hold meetings from time to time, but finally his 
health failed, and Rev. Mr. Cook, a Congrega- 
tional minister, of Austin, visited the town and 
was invited to preach, and the result was that a 
church was organized under the Congregational 
form, with six members, three ot whom had been 
Presbyterians, and three Congregationalists. This 
church, which was maintained in this form until 
the autumn of 1868. is alluded to under its own 
heading. 

At the Fall meeting of the Presbytery of South- 
ern Minnesota, Old School, a petition was pre- 
sented, subscribed to by the members of the 
Congregational Church in Albert Lea, and a few 
other persons, requesting the organization of a 
Presbyterian Church. The petitioners were eigh- 
teen in number, all expressing a desire to become 



members. In response to this petition, the Pres- 
bytery appointed Rev. D. C. Lyon and Rev. A. J. 
Stead a committee to meet the petitioners, and, if 
the way should be clear, organize the church. 
Accordingly, on the 29th ot September, 1868, 
these brethren held a meeting for this purpose in 
the Court House in Albert Lea. Rev. S. G. Lowry 
and Rev. Theophus Lowry, of the Presbytery of 
Mankato, New School, were present by invitation, 
and assisted in the proceedings. The Church was 
then formally organized, under the name of the 
First Presbyterian Cburch ot Albert Lea, with the 
following members: Benjamin Brownsill, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Brownsill, Curtis B. Kellar, Samuel 
Eaton, Mrs. Clarissa Eaton, Mrs. S. M. Robinson, 
Mrs. Eliza Hunt, Mrs. Harriet J. Barden, Mrs. 
Mary F. Armstrong, Samuel Thompson, Mrs. 
Amanda Woodruff, Mrs. Darrow, Mrs Henrietta 
Ruble, Mrs. C. E. Sheehan, Thomas Sherwood, 
Clarence Wedge, Mrs. Mary Buell, Samuel Batch- 
elder, and Wm. J. Squier — 19. Samuel Batchelder, 
Samuel Eaton, and Curtis B. Kellar, were elected 
Ruling Elders, to serve respectively one, two, and 
three years. A public service was held in the 
evening; a sermon was preached by Rev. A. J. 
Stead, and the elders were ordained — the charge 
to them was given by Rev. Theophus Lowry. 
Brief addresses were made by Rev. 8. G. Lowry 
and Rev. I). C. Lyon, and the meeting was 
dismissed with the Apostolic benediction. 

Thus the former Congregational Church of this 
place was, by the unanimous choice and action of 
its own members, merged into the Presbyterian 
Church; and they, with a few others received at 
the time, constituted the original membership of 
the present organization. 

Rev. Dr. W. M. Paxton, of the First Presby- 
terian Church of New York City, was here during 
that summer, on his vacation, and conceived a lively 
interest in the people and the church, going so far 
as to offer to build a church, if the people desired 
it and would contribute what they were able. 
This proposition was accepted by the people, and 
the Congregationalists considered that it was the 
best they could do, under the circumstances, as it 
involved no sacrifice of any article of belief: the 
real difference in the two denominations being in 
their form of church government. In this way, 
then, the Presbyterian church in Albert Lea came 
into existence, and was organized as above 
recorded. 



380 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



They at once commenced to Ijnikl, and before 
the following winter had fairly set in, this house 
was raised and enclosed. It was completed the 
following summer, and was dedicated to the wor- 
ship of God <m the 15th day of August, 1869. 
The Presbytery of Southern Minnesota was in 
session here at that time, and the dedicatory ser- 
mon was priached Ijy Dr. Paxtou. from Matt. 
26;8. "To What Pi'Upose is This Waste ?" 
The success of the entetpri.se was largely owing 
to the liberality and energy of one who has since 
gone to his rest. Augusitus Armstrong, who, 
though not a communicant, was nevertheless one 
of the wisest in council and tlie most elTicient in 
executing all that was needful to the establishment 
of the church. While he lived he manifested a 
lively interest in the growth of the church, spirit- 
ual as well as material ; and was always to the min- 
ister a prudent and safe adviser. 

Along with the names of Dr. Paxton and Mr. 
Armstrong, lionoraI)le and grateful mention must 
be made of Miss Mary Gelston, a member of Dr. 
Paxton's church, from the city of New York, who 
from first to last lias contributed more than half 
the means necessary to build and complete the 
church pioparty in its present form. "This excel- 
lent christian lady, though an entire stranger to 
every one of us, became interested in Albert Lea 
and this church through her Pastor, and sent us 
$3,000 for the church building and grounds, 
.'$2,000 towards building the Manse, and less than 
two years ago sent us S50() more to assist in 
the erection of our chapel, besides at one time a 
handsome donation for our Sabbath School 
Library. Altogether we have received from her 
nearly sJCi.OOO. It is her munificence which, under 
God, has raised up and established this church. 
Let us record her name in our hearts with most 
aii'ectionate remembrance, and in our prayers let 
us seek for the blessings of tiod upon one through 
whose beneficence so great blessings have come 
upon .us. This church has been raised up and 
fostered by Mary Gelston; let it be her everlast- 
ing memorial. Let it tell to the end of time 
what well directed giving can accomplish. And 
may God grant that her unselfish devotion to the 
cause of Christ, and her liberal spirit in giving to 
build up the church, a church she has uever seen 
— may be imitated by the prople she has blessed 
— by all of us upon whom the blessing has 
come." 



Mrs. Armstrong and Clarence Wedge gave the 
land. The pulpit was presented by Mr. Tuttle, 
the bell by Mr. Darlington of Pittsburg. The 
Bible and hymn books, to the value of Sl(M), were 
presented by Mr Deiiney of Pittsburg. H. D. 
Brown presented a three years' policy of insur- 
ance on the church for 85,000, at a net cost of S75. 

For nine months after the church was organ- 
ized, it was supplied with preaching by different 
ministers. Among these were Rev. Charles 
Thayer, of Farmington, Kev. John L. Gaj.e, of 
Kasson, and Rev. R. B. Abbott, who first preached 
on the 21st of March, 1809. He soon received a 
formal call, and removed here from St. Paul in 
July. On the 15th of August the church was 
dedicated in the morning, and the pastor was 
installed in the evening. The seimon was 
preached by Rev. W. S. Wilson, of Owatonna, the 
charge to the Pastor was given by Rev. D. C. 
Lyon, and the charge to the people by Dr. Pax- 
ton. 

The resident membership at this time consisted 
•of eighteen persons, as follows: — Mr. and Mrs. 
Brownsill, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Kellar, Mr. and 
Mrs. Eaton, INIrs. Robinson, Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. 
Barden, Mr. Samuel Thompson, Mrs. Woodruff, 
Mrs. Ruble, Mr. and Mrs. Squier, Mr. Batchelder, 
Mrs. Buell, Mr. Clarence Wedge, and Mr. Sher- 
wood. 

Up to the centennial year, when Mr. Abbott 
preached a historical sermon, from which many of 
tlie.se facts were gathered, there had been a total 
number received into the church of two hundred 
and sixty-four. . 

The Sabbath School was at first commenced as 
a union one, and although there have been losses 
by detachments going to make up other schools, it 
has kept on growing. 

There are connected with the Sunday school 
work, half a dozen missi<m schools, with an aggre- 
gate attendance of two hundred and fifty children. 

In 1874, the church undertook the erection of a 
chapel, which was felt to be a necessity, and here 
that estimable wc^mau, the fast friend of the 
church. Miss Gelston, did not fail tliem, for she 
sent $500, and, with another $500 added, it was 
completed. 

Rev. Mr. Abbott has been the pastor since his 
installation. The church may be siiid to be in a 
flourishing condition, with a good house of wor- 
ship, and a commodious Manse adjoining. 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



38) 



The Methodist Episcopal Church. — Like the 
most of the frontier regions, this vicinity early 
received the attention of the itinerant Methodist 
preacher. Lsaac W. McEeynohls, who was a 
local preacher, but had never been ordained, came 
here and took a farm, a mile west of the village, in 
1856. He was born in North Carolina, in 180r>. 
He came here in the fall of the year, and the next 
season went l)ack and brought his family, in an 
ox-team. Mr. Mo Reynolds, it is likely, was the 
first to hold religious services in the county, 
which he did in Shell Rock, in the fall of 185fi. 
Rev. Mr. Wilson was aLso at Shell Kock several 
times, at the house of brother Scott. Preaching 
was also done near the State line, at Gordousville, 
and a class was formed, with Jacob Beighley as 
leader; also at Bear Lake and other places, where 
there was an opportunity. The very first in 
Albert Lea must have been at the house of George 
Ruble, near the saw-mill. Mr. Gates, with his 
family, attended in an ox-team. Mr. McReynolds 
was one year in the employ of the conference as a 
supply, which must have been the conference year 
of 18.'i8. Thomas Kirkpatrick was the Presiding 
Elder. Classes were formed where it seemed to 
be feasible, at Bear Lake, Rice Lake, Glendale; 
and although there was a stated supply at Geneva, 
no class was organized there. la Albert Lea 
there was occasional preaching. Several more or 
less promising organizations were formed, but 
from various reasons they failed to be sustained. 
There was a kind of floating population; restive 
individuals, who would remain a certain time and 
then push on west. Regular supplies were started 
several times by the conference. Rev. Mr. Wat- 
son, Rev. John Garner, and perhaps . one or two 
more, but the ground was either stony or was 
preoccupied. 

One year, Mr. McReynolds told the conference 
that if they would send a man who had no family, 
he would board him for a year without cost, and 
I. W. W. Wright was sent; but, after a time, find- 
ing his affinity, he got married, and went to 
keeping house. The young man soon preached 
the schoolhouse, where the meetings were held, 
empty. A few of the heads of families, as a mat- 
ter of duty, kept on attending, luit it terminated 
in a collajise of the Methodist interest here. It is 
told that on one occasion this ecclesiastical lumin- 
nary announced, among other things, that 
Abraham was the first one to proclaim that the 



universe was governed by one God. But to the 
young man's credit, it should be stated that, hav- 
ing accepted what he considered a call to preach, 
he also had the good sense to stop preaching in 
obedience to a like mandate, which is sometimes 
all unheeded. 

Late in the fifties a Sunday School was started ; 
it was a union schot>l, patronized by all denomi- 
nations. 

When Mr. McReynolds had finished his confer- 
ence work, he took charge of the schoi>l in tlie 
schoolhouse, and really made a good success 
of it. 

When the Mothodist influence waned as above 
related, the Congregational predominated, and it 
finally became denominational and was at last 
merged into the Presbyterian, and is stiJl in exis- 
tence, one of the largest and most flourishing in 
town. 

Thus matters remained until the year 1878, 
when the interest was revived and the church re- 
organized on a firm basis. 

In February, 1878, Rev. Robert Fobes, of 
Waseca, who had been an agent of Hamline Uni- 
versity, but at that time had no charge, came 
down here to look over the sitiiation, and he start- 
ed out in a business way; went and secured the 
use of the Court House, and then canvassed the 
the village for an audience; the result was he got 
a good hearing, and the next week he went around 
again drumming up delinquents, telling them to 
come round and listen to the best seimon they 
ever heard. 

This went on for some time. He did preach 
good sermons, and at last came to the subject of 
a regular church organization, and one Sunday, 
invited those who would join, to rise, and sixteen 
responded to the invitation. Two weeks from 
that time was set for the regular organization. 
When the time came, about half of the numlier 
had weakened and the reverend gentlemen was a 
good deal cast down, and hesitated as to what he 
should do. He consultetl Mi'. J. H. Parker, wlio 
declined to advise either pro or con, but Mrs. Par- 
ker happened along while they were talking it 
over. Mr. Fobes asked her what he had better do? 
She replied: "If there is ever going to be a Meth- 
odist Church in Albert Lea, now is the time to 
start it; you came down for that purpose and 
you better go on and organize Jim and I, if no- 
body else is present!" That settled it. The 



362 



n I STORY OP FREEBORN COUNTY 



church was duly organized witli nine members. 
The liRt is mislaid, but from memory there were: 
Mr. J. H. Parker and bis wife Mary J. Parker; 
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tiltou, C. B. Parkinson, Mr. 
.T. W. Abbott, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Bond, and Peter 
Nelson. Eddie Nelson had applied to join as a 
probationer l)efore the church was formed. 

While Rev. Robert Fobes was here the Sunday 
school that is still in existence, was started, and it 
has kept up to a good state of efficiency ever 
since. 

In October, 1878, Rev. .J. W. Klepper was as- 
signed here by the conference, and building oper- 
ations were soon commenced. A lot was purchas- 
ed at a cost of $100. about one third of its market 
value, and the church was buijt at a cost of . '#1,700. 
The business men and citizens generally, took 
hold and did what they could. The sum of $200 
was borrowed from the church extension fund, 
and a like sum was ulso donated from that fund. 
Mr. Klepper remained two years, when Mr. Henry 
Frank was stationed here and still remains. He 
camo from Kansas in October 1881. He formerly 
resided in Chicago. 

In October, 1881, Mr. Frank started an eight 
page four column illustrated paper, called the 
"Church Visitor," intending it for a speciol pur- 
pose and continued it up to July, 1882. 

Mr. Frank is an advanced thinker, a good 
worker, and a remarkably fine speaker. 

The Sunday school is in a good condition under 
Mr. J. H. Parker as superintendent, and has an 
enrollment of more than one hundred, and a large 
average attendance. 

The Fihst Baptist Chukoh of Albert Lea. — 
The first preaching with any sort of regularity in 
this place was by Rev. D. H. Palmer, in the school- 
house. This was before the war. Rev. Amory 
Gale, the very first State missionary, also held 
service here, and so much of an interest was man- 
ifested that it was resolved to organize a church, 
and after suitable preliminary meetings, a council 
of bretliren convened on the 29th of September 
for that purpose. Rev. Gilead Dodge was chosen 
Moderator, and Rev. I). H. Palmer, Clerk. The 
customary examination resulting satisfactorily, 
the church was duly organized and the following 
named persons admitted to membership: Eunice 
Jennings, Lydia C. Jennings, Charles (Ireen, 
Sarah Green, Jeremiah Walker, Mrs. J. Walker, 
Maggie E. Morin, John Wood, Emeline A. Wood, 



Reuben C. Cady, Rodah Lowe, Alden G. Doug- 
lass, and Winnah Pride, with H. 1). Palmer pastor 
of the church. On the following day Sister D. 
Stage was baptized and admitted to full fellow- 
ship. 

At the organization the following services took 
place: Sermon by Rev. H. I. Parker; hand of fel- 
lowship by Rev. A. L. Cole; prayer by Rev. Gilead 
Dodge; charge by Rev. E. L. Rugg; benediction 
by the pastor, Rev. D. H. Palmer. 

To connection with these services, rich and ap- 
jiropriate discourses were preached by Brothers 
Cole, Parker, Dodge, and Rugg. 

It should be mentioned that the venerable mis- 
sionary. Rev. M. W. Hopkins, rendered invaluable 
aid to the society during the preliminary labors 
incident to the organization. 

Elder Cornelius Smith was the next pastor, com- 
mencing his duties on the 1st of October, 186P. 

After Elder Smith left, the church was for a 
time pastorless. Elder Weeden was invited to 
temporarily supply the pulpit. 

The church was duly incorporated on the 13th 
of May, 1871. In October, 1873, Rev. Amos 
Weaver became pastor. In October, Rev. Norman 
F. Hoy t became pastor of the church, and remains 
still at his post. 

On the 5th of February, 1874, the subject of 
building a church was vigorously taken in hand, the 
parsonage having been previously built. Services 
at this time were held in Masonic hall. It was 
rapidly pushed to completion, and dedicated on 
the 1st of November, 1874, at 10:30 a. m. Amory 
Weaver was the pastor. Several other ministers 
were present, among them Rev. S. F. Drew, R. B. 
Alibott, and' George Prescott. The cost of the 
structure was •f3,58.5..56, and there was a debt 
upon the property of $2,300, which was reduced 
by contributions at that time by the sum of $8-56. 
The building is a rather severely plain gothic, 28x 
50 feet, with sixteen foot posts, a recess 4x14 feet 
in the rear and a tower 10 feet square, with the 
spire reaching an altitiide of 63 feet. The front 
has a fine large window — 6x14 feet — of stained 
glass. It is supplied with patent seats, is carpeted, 
and is really neat and tasty. 

In 1876 this churcli was without a ))astor, and 
the debt upon it was pressing heavily upon the 
few members who were struggling to preserve the 
altar they had erected with such self-sacrificing 
devotion, so, after much thought and consultation, 



GITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



383 



it was resolved to make an appeal to the deaomi- 
nation generally, for help. Implorations not un- 
like this have been sent east from every State iu 
the Union, beginning with the Pilgrims — as they 
planted religious liberty on Plymouth Rook. 
This circular is printed, that coming generations 
may see how the eirly settlar;* adapted means to 
ends, and that while the injunction has always been 
to put religion into business, that here they did 
not hesitate to put business into religion. 

Austin, Mix\n„ March, 30, 1876. 
Deau Brother. — Freeborn County, in the 
Southern tier of counties, in this State, has a pop- 
ulation of over 13,000, and is constantly filling 
up. Its county seat is Albert Lea, a thrifty and 
important railroad center in a township of 1,900 
inhabitants. The little Baptist Church there, of 
27 members, mostly females, is in trouble. As 
one of the nearest Baptist Ministers, I have be- 
come deeply interested in the needy condition of 
this church. I know its members to be earnest 
and self-sacrificing. They are in danger of losing 
their neat house of worship, which was recently 
built, and for which they have worked so hard. 
After raising, in two years, over $2,.500 for religi- 
ous purposes, they can do little more and are 
liable to lose all they have thus far gained. On a 
property, (including a parsonage, built some 
years ago ) valued at over $.5,000, they owe about 
•^1,800. The meeting house, costing |3,500, is 
completely finished and furnished — except an 
organ. The united testimony of the community 
is that the expenditure has been very economical, 
and without many favors received must have been 
greater. To-day this church is without a pastor 
or preacher, and burdoned with this debt. There 
are two other small native churches in the county 
accessible from Albert Lea, but without preach- 
ing, so that there is not a single Baptist Minister 
in the county to-day, excepting the Swedish. Re- 
move this dept and we can put a pastor iu this 
field and he will find a good support. Let it drag 
Albert Lea Church down, and Baptist interests 
in that whole section suffer irreparable injury. 
Look at the map and see how important a point 
it is tor us to hold. Its possibilities within ten or 
fifteen years are very great. Now, Baptists can 
raise this debt and not feel it. We ask of your 
whole church the specific sum of two dollars. 
How easy iu a few moments to raise so small an 
amount and thus rescue this church. The only 



expense in this movement is the printing and 
sending this circular, so that every dollar you 
send goes directly to raise the debt. If you re- 
spond, the amount required will be raised. Per- 
haps your Sabbath school would like to own a 
share in one of God's houses out on these broad 
prairies. Will you, for the Master's sake, help to 
make this plan a success? If we had asked a 
hundred dollars, you might lay this appeal aside 
as useless, but surely the amount named is not a 
large one. If you treat this as a small matter and 
lay it aside unnoticed, of course the plan fails. 
They need help at once. Three are waiting 
baptism. Ground can now be occupied, that 
soon will be out of reach. Contributions may be 
sent to .John Wood, or Mrs. M. E. Morin, Albert 
Lea, Freeborn County, Minn.; to Rev. W. W. 
Whitcomb, Owatonua, or to me. Yours fratern- 
ally. 

C. D. Belden, 
Minister of the Baptist Church, Austin, Minn. 

We, the advisory committee to the State Con- 
vention Board, from the Minnesota Central Associ- 
ation, of which body the Baptist Church at Albert 
Lea is a member, heartily endorse the above 
movement for the relief of that church, and wish 
complete success. 

W. W. Whitcomb, 
J. U. Denlson, 
C. D. Belden. 

This paper was indorsed by the trustees of the 
Minnesota Baptist State Convention as certified to 
by A. A. Russsell, Secretary of the Board. It was 
quite extensively circulated and the result was 
contributions to the extent of about $500, which 
relieve<l their present necessities, and in October 
1874, Rjv. Norman F. Hoyt located here, and 
since that time the society has beem moving 
along in a prosperous way, and now has a good 
membership and a thriving Sunday school. 

Roman Catholic— The Chdrch of St. Theo- 
dore. — A beautiful brick church was erected in 
1877, and dedicated on the 9th of September. 
Bishop Ireland, R3V. P. Riordan, and R9V. Theo- 
dore Venn, were present and conducted the exer- 
cises, the Bishop preaching a sermon on the Rules 
of Faith. There ire sixty families connected with 
this church. The pastor is Rev. James Fleming, 
who came in November, 1881. His predecessor 
was Rev. P. F. Dargnault, and before him was 
Rev. Theodore Venn. There are several mission 



384 



JIISTOHY OF FHEEBOIiN COUyiY. 



cimrclie.s iu tlio county, with Albert Lea as the 
mother charch. Oin' of these is in Bath, one in 
Newry, one at Twin Lakes, and another at Aldeu, 
whicli are supplied from here with services at regu- 
lar intervals. In the whole parish there are 210 
families. The connection is witli tiie St. Paul 
Diocese, under Bisliop (irace. 

The parochial residence was built in the sum- 
mer of 1882, at a cost of ••{;l,9.50. The cost of the 
church was upward of $4,200, and it is without 
doul)t the finest and most durable edifice for 
cliurch purposes iu town. 

The First UniveratjIst Society of Albert 
Le4.— -There had been religious services in the 
interest of this form of belief for some time, with 
more or less regularity, iu the Court House, and 
on the 14th of May, 1870, pursuant to four weeks 
notice, a meeting was held for the puri«)se of or- 
ganizing. Wm. C. Pratt was chosen chairman, 
and Alonzo Brown was appointed secretary. On 
motion the meeting adjourned to the house of C. 
R. Ransom. 

On reassembling the Committee on Constitu- 
tion, which had been previously appointed, re- 
ported a Constitution and Articles of Faith, 
which were unanimously adopted. The document 
eml)raced twenty -one articles, including the Dec 
laration of Faith. 

The following officers were elected: Moderator, 
C. R. Ransjm; Clerk, E. C. Stacy: Collector and 
Treasurer, C. E. Ransom; Trustees, E. C. Stacy, 
A. Brown, and M. M. Luce. 

On the 4th of March, 1872, a meeting was held 
to take into consideration the building of a house 
of worship, and a committee was appointed to 
solicit subscriptions, consisting of E. C. Stacy, 
Charles Levens, Frederick Cochrane, A. H. McMil- 
len. and J. M.-Pratt. 

Little progre.ss seems to have been made until 
the fall of 1876, when the following building 
committee was elected: William C. Pratt, John 
M. Marty, and G. C. Harper. In the spring of 
1877 the edifice was completed, and is an 
unpretentious building in size and architectural 
appointments; it was christened "Our Father's 
Chapel." Articles of incorporation were filed in 
the office of the Register of Deeds on the 22d oi 
April, 1879. 

The first preaching was by Rev. Mr. Wood- 
bridge. Mr. Frederick Cochrane also officiated 
for iiuite a time. Rev. A. A'edder was also here. 



Rev. G. S. Gowdy came here in Ai>rLI, 187t'i. and 
has ofliciated ever since, also having charge of the 
church in Glenville. 

The Conorbi;.\tion.\l Church. — The history 
of this society is, during its early period, identi- 
cal with the Presbyterian, into which it was 
transformed, as rel.Tted in the sketch of that de- 
nomination. It will 1)6 remembered that when 
the church was organized there were three Pres- 
byterians and three Congregationalists, and in 
deference t<> Mr. Cook, who visited and preached 
here at an early dxy, and who was connected with 
the Congregationalists, that church form was 
adopted. 

The Presbyterian members were Mr. and Mrs. 
Samuel Eaton and Mrs. Woodrufl'. Those of the 
other connection were Mrs. A. Armstrong, and J. 
U. Perry and wife. Father Lowry was a Presby- 
terian. At first meetings were held at any place 
where couvenient. When Mr. Lowry, or any 
minister came round, Col. Eaton, who had a good 
team, would get Tim Sheehan to take it, with a 
big sled, and circle about the vicinity of the \-il- 
lage and bring them into church. 

When the church was turned over two-thirds of 
them were of Presbyterian antecedents. After a 
time the Congregationalists, or most of them, in . 
the church, concluded to go back to their first 
love, and to build a church of their own. Mrs. 
Reuben Williams took an active part in the work, 
and considerable aid was obtained from the Home 
Mission fund, it is believed to the extent of §1,000, 
and perhaps other sums from the East, and .so the 
church was built, a very neat structure. 

Their first pastor was R?v. Mr. Drew, who 
turned Presbyterian and went to Preston. Rev. 
Mr. Todd was the next minister, and he too went 
into a Presbyterian pulpit. The next, and last, 
was Rev. Chalmers, who went to Dakota, and the 
church was then sold at quite a sacrifice to the 
Episcopalians, and most of the members were 
again merged in the old society. 

Albert Lea Evangelical Lutheran Norwe- 
gian Church. — This society has a fine church on 
Clark street, opposite the Public Park, built in 
imitation of freestone. There are about fifty 
families who worshi]) here. The church was got 
together and the edifice built about 1874. Rev. 
Mr. Vulpsburg was the pastor at one time, and 
Rev. Mr. Eiver. The present pastor is Rev. O. H. 
Smeby. There is a Sunday school, and the church 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



385 



fully admiuisters to the wants of the Lutheran 
Norwegians in the commiiuity. 

The Scandinavian Union Baptist Church. — 
This church is usually called the Danish Baptist 
church, and was organized in 1874, with eleven 
members. It now has about eighty. Preaching 
in this interest was commenced at an early day, 
and kept up with more or less regularity until the 
organization of the society. Of those who have 
been here may be mentioned: Rev. Louis Jorjen- 
son, Kev. James Hendricksou, Adolph Carlsen, 
and others. The erection of the edifice was at a 
cost of more than $2,500. 

The church having been completed, was dedi- 
cated on Sunday, the 2d of July, 1876, with ser- 
vices in the Scandinavian language by Rev. Mr. 
Ostergreen, of St. Paul, and Rev. Mr. Lunde, of 
Clark Grove. In the evening the service was in 
English, by Messrs. Abbott, Alden, Lunde, and 
Wood. The building is a fine appearing building, 
28x42 feet, with a tower extending 65 feet. Rev. 
Carl Carlson, the architect and builder, came here 
in 1873, and for some years has regularly filled 
the pulpit. The services are in English. 

Danish Evangelical Ldtheban Church — In- 
dependent. — This is a small church located in 
Parker's Addition, and built in 1881. The pastor 
is Rev. J. Danielaon, who resides in Freeborn and 
oificiates here once every few weeks. 

Episcopalian — The Church of the Good 
Shepherd. — There have been occasional services 
here in this form since an early day. Sometimes 
it has been quite regular, with some one from the 
Cathedral in Faribault, and Bishop Whipple has 
occasionally been here himself, as well as his 
brother. Rev. George B. Whipple. The church 
edifice was purchased of the Congregationalists 
for S2,000, and arranged for the Episcopal service. 
It was first opened for service on Christmas day, 
1879. Rev. Mr. Irwin was the first pastor, who 
was succeeded by Rev. W. R. Powell, the present 
incumbent. There are twenty-five families who 
worship here. 

CEMETERIES. 

Albert Lea people have, up to this time, paid lit- 
tle attention to the ornamentation of burial places, 
which is in any case a mere sentiment, as nothing 
that can be done here for the departed ones, how- 
ever dear in life and cherished in remembrance, 
will be of any service to them, although the kind 
offices we perform in token of our love for those 
25 



who have gone before, does have a beneficent in- 
fluence upon us and upon those who take cogni- 
zance of this bestowal of such tokens of regard. 

About the first burial place was that on the Pick- 
erel Lake road, taken from McReynold's farm. A 
certain amount of money was appropriated by the 
town at one time to fence the grounds, but only 
the side next to the road got so supplied, the 
money having been used for other purposes. 
This cemetery has some fine monuments, and is 
otherwise very highly ornamented with shrubbery 
and prairie flowers, and if "beauty unadorned is 
adorned the most." this place is embellished in 
the highest style of nature. 

There is also a small corner, north of Fountain 
Lake, that is devoted to burial purposes. 

In the spring of 1882, the subject of a. new 
cemetery was agitated, and in May a meeting was 
held to discuss measures to provide a new ceme- 
tery. Hon. H. D. Brown was called to the chair. 
The matter was freely talked over, and it was the 
almost universal feeling and decision of all pres- 
ent, that a new cemetery ground should be 
purchased and the old cemetery abandoned. As 
to the location there were various opinions, 
although the majority seemed to favor a place 
north of Fountain Lake. Others favored a loca- 
tion east of the mill. The matter was finally 
relegated to a committee of nine, consisting of H 
D. Brown, Chairman; T. H. Armstrong, J. A. 
Lovely, D. R. P. Hibbs, W. P. Sergeant, W. W. 
Johnson, J. W. Smith, Dr. Wedge, and George 
Davies, who were to report to a future meeting of 
citizens concerning all the matters that pertained 
to the location of a new cemetery. So that it is 
likely that at no distant day, Albert Lea will 
have its "Mount Auburn," "Greenwood," or "Glen- 
dale," with its wealth of landscape scenery, and 
costly marble. 

Itasca Cemetery. — This was laid out r.nd 
appropriated as a burial place iu 1871. It is 
owned by a company. A. M. Burnham is Presi- 
dent; Isaac Botsford, Secretary; and E. D. Hop- 
kins, Treasurer. It is located to the west of the 
buried city whose name it bears, commanding a 
view for quite a distance in several directions, and 
is just east of the old north and south territorial 
road, traces of which can yet be seen. Those who 
repose here have fine marble monuments. The 
price of the lots is $20. 



38r. 



HISTOUY OP FUEEBOBN COUNT Y. 



FRATERNAL. ORDERS. 

Masonic. — Western Star Lod^e No. 26 wae 
instituted in OctolxT, 1857, ane worked under a 
dispensation until October 27th, 1858, when a 
charter was granted. 

The first officers were: Asa W. White, W. M.; 
Charles Norton, S. W.; .1. Brownsill. J. W.; A. C. 
Wedge, Tr.; H. D. Brown, Sec'y; A. B. Webber, 
S. D.; Aug. Armstrong, J. D.: Isaac Botsford, 
Tyler. 

The present officers of the lodge are; William 
C. Pratt, W. M.; G. T. Gardner, S. W., .J. J. 
Bond, J. W.; S. S. Edwards, Sec'y ; W. P. Sergeant, 
Tr.;T. E. Schlender, S. D.; S. S. Mallery, J. D.: 
Axel Brunden. Tyler. 

The Masters of the lodge have been, fnun the 
fir.st until 1882, as follows: Asa W. White, John 
Browu.sell, H. D. Brown, F. B. Fobes, D. N. Gates, 
W. P. Sergeant, .7. F. Reppy, F. S. Lincoln, and 
William C. Pratt. 

The lodge is in a nourishing condition, and has 
a capacious and well furnished hall. The meet- 
ings in the summer are on the second Wednesday 
in each month, and the rest of the year, on the 
second and fourth Wednesdays. 

Albert Lea Chapter No. 30, Kotal Arch 
Ma-sons. — Instituted on the 30th of March, 1874. 
The first meeting was on the 17th of April. The 
first officers were; A. W. White, H. P.; C. L. 
West, K. ; S. Partridge, S. ; H. Powell, C. of H. ; 
F. S. Lincoln, P. S.; George Woodward, R. A. C; 
William Morin. Tr. ; F. S. Sinclair, Sec'y. 

The present officers are: H. D. Brown, H. P.; 
GeiTge C, Harper, K.: J. D. Prime, S.; J. F. 
Reppy, C. of H.; George T. Gardner, P. S.; C. M. 
Wilkinson, R. A. C; S. S. Edwards, Sec'y; Wil- 
liam P. Sergeant, Tr. 

There are 31 members. 

Apollo Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 
12.— Instituted on the 1st of October, 1879, with 
nineteen charter members. The officers were: 
John Boyce, E. C. ; H. R. Wells, Gen. ; M. H. 
Avery, C. of G. 

The present officers are: William Morin, E. C; 
J. F. Reppy, Gen.; M. H. Avery, C. G. ; H. D. 
Brown, Prel. ; G. S. Ruble, S. W. ; A. A. Peck, J. 
W.; W. P. Sergeant, Tr. ; George F. Gardner, 
Recorder. 

Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of 
each mouth. The membership is 30. 



Equitable Aid Union. — At the last regular 
semi-annual election of officers of Albert Lea 
Union, No. 390, E. A. U., the following named 
persons were elected officers for the ensuing term: 
Ira A. Town, Chancellor; L. I). Smith, Advocate: 
Theo. Schlender, Vice President; E. H. Ellickson, 
Auxiliary ;H. O. Haukuess, Treasurer; T. K.Ram- 
sey, Secretary; .John Docrr, Accountant; A. G. 
Brundin, Chaplain; Ole Knudson, .Jr., Warden; 
M. P. Johnson, Sentinel; C. O. Barnes, Watch- 
man. 

Odd Fellows — Albert Lea Lodge No. fil. — 
Instituted on the 27th of August, 1877, with the 
following officers: G. S. Gowdy, N. G. ; E. C. 
Stacy, V. G.; S S. Edward, R. S.; A. H. Squier, 
J. S.;T. W.Long, Tr. 

There is a membership of 70. Their hall is ''■ 
good one, over Smith k Gossett's store. 

The present officers are: J. P. Colby, N. G. ; 
S. Strau-ss, V. G.; C. D. Marlett, Sec,; S. S. 
Edwards, Treas. ; D. L. Squier, Mar.; A. H. S([iiier, 
Con.;E. S. Wilson, I. G.; L. Stefterson, O. G.; E. 
C. Stacy, R. S. N. G.; W. H. Long. L. S. N. G.; 
L. Gahi, R. S. V. G.; H. S. Menifee, L. S. V. G.; 
A. Noble, R. S. S. : Aug. Peterson, L. S. S. ; J. B. 
Claybourue, O. C. ; Rev. G. S. Gowdy, Chaplain; 
Z. k. Mallery, P. G. 

Daughters of Rebekah. — The following are 
the officers of Albert Lea Degree Lodge No 16, 
Daughters of Rebekah: E. C. Stacy, N. G.; Mrs. 
C. D. Marlett, V. (}.; Mary Gahl, Rec. Sec; Katie 
Tuuell, F. Sec; Mrs. D. L. Squier, Treas.; Mrs. 
A. H. Squier, I. G.; W. H. Long, O. G.; D. L. 
Squier, Warden; Eva Long, Con.; Mrs. A. H. 
McMillan, R. S. N. G. ; Mrs. W. O. Roasberry, L. 
S. N. G.; L. Gahl, R. S. V. G.; S. Strauss, L. S. 
V. G.; G. S. Gowdy, Chaplain; A. H. Squier, P. G. 

Ancient Order of United Workingmen. — 
This fraternal and beneficial society was instituted 
in Albert Lea on the 10th of March, 1878. 

The first officers were: Dr. A. 0. Wedge, P. M. 
W.; W. P. Sergeant, M. W.; T. J. Watt, (J. F.; 
R. C. VauVeohten, O.; J. F. Rappy, Rec; P. M. 
Wilkinson, F. ; August Peterson, Recr. ; W. G. 
Kellar, I. W. ; G. C. Harper, O. W. ; G. T. Gar- 
diner, G. 

Their meetings were held on Tuesday evenings, 
at Masonic Hall. 

Grand Army of the Republic. — Robson Post, 

No. 5, was instituted in the winter of 1880, and 



CITY OP ALBERT LEA. 



387 



was named in lionor of Captaia James A. Eobson, 
of Company E, Tenth Minnesota Regiment. 

The present officers of the post are: Com- 
mander, George S. Ruble; Senior -Vice Command- 
er, Gr. Q. Annis; Adjutant, F. W. Drake; 
Quartermaster, Jerome P. Greene; Officer of the 
Day, John Murtaugh; Officer of the Guard, J. B. 
Frauss; Chaplain, William Lowe; Surgeon, D. M. 
M. Dodge; Sergeant Major, J. J. Bond; Quarter- 
master Sergeant, Martin Olson; Sentinel, Ai 
Rice. 

The list of members was burned in the Are of 
April, 1882, but it is made up of the men who 
went to the front from wherever they lived when 
the war broke out. 

There have been various other fraternal orders, 
some of them with insurance features, and others 
with monopathic reformatory ideas, and they 
have had an existence more or less extended. 
Some of them may be in existence now, and while 
they are of interest, and perhaps use to those who 
are connected with them, the public, as a rule, are 
not sufficiently concerned to warrant the occu- 
pancy of much space in a work like this. 

MILITAEy. 

From time to time there have been military 
companies in existence here since the war, 
which have been more or less creditable 
Now we have the Albert Lea Light Guakds, 
which was organized on the 4th of May, 1882. It 
is Company E, Second Battalion of the Minnesota 
National Guard. Fifty-two men were mustered 
in by Major Bobeleter, commanding the Second 
Battalion. The company is duly armed and 
equipped, and is a fine body of men. 

The commissioned officers are : Captain, George 
T. Gardner; First Lieutenant, T. K. Ramsey; 
Second Lieutenant, C. S. Roberdson. 

This company took part in the Decoration ser- 
vices on the 30th of May, the same month they 
were organized, and made a fine appearance. 
Their uniform is identical with that of the United 
States regular army, but of finer material. 



CHAPTER Lin. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 

James Carey Alling was born on the 7th of 
January, 1857, in Chemung, New York. In 1858, 
the family moved to Greene county in the same 
State, where his parents still live. His father. 



Harvey Alling, is a Baptist minister. In 1873, 
James entered the State Normal School at Oswego, 
taking a classical course and graduating in 1879. 
He had meanwhile studied law and had also 
taught some ; and after his graduation went to 
Alabama where he was engaged as professor of 
the sciences in the State Normal School, remain- 
ing two years. In September, 1881, he came to 
Minnesota and obtained the position of Principal 
of Pleasant Grove school at Mankato. Since Jan- 
uary 1882, he has been Principal and Superinten- 
dent of-tbe Public Schools of Albert Lea, having 
a present attendence of over four hundred pupils 
and a corps of nine teachers. Mr. Alling is the 
founder of the "Albert Lea City Library" and a 
member of the "American Association for the 
Advancement of Science." 

Rev. R. B. Abbott is a native of Franklin 
county, Indiana. The son of a thrifty farmer, he 
was brought up to habits of manual labor, indus- 
try and self reliance. After improving such 
opportunities for education as the common schools 
of that time afforded, he prepared himself for 
college by private study. He entered the Indiana 
State University and was graduated in the class 
of '47. Three years later he received the degree 
of Master of Arts from the same institution. For 
several years he was engaged in teaching, first in 
Muncie, then in New Castle, and afterward in the 
Whitewater Presbyterian Academy. After stud- 
ying Theology privately several years, he was 
ordained to the ministry of the gospel by the 
Presbytery of the latter place in 1857, and very 
soon after became pastor of the church at Brook- 
ville in his native county, continuing seven years 
with much success. This was followed by a two 
years' pastorate at Knightstown. From this 
place, on account of his wife's failing health, he 
removed to Minnesota and again engaged in 
teaching, first as Principal of the Public schools of 
Anoka, and afterward as the Principal of the St. 
Paul Female Seminary. In 1869, he retired from 
teacliing and accepted the pastorate of the Pres- 
byterian church of Albert Lea, which has since 
grown to be one of the best and strongest church- 
es in southern Minnesota. In connection with 
this, he is laboring for the establishment of a col- 
lege in Albert Lea for the education of young 
women, in which enterprise there is great hope of 
abundant success. 

His wife, whose failing health brought him to 



388 



niSTORT OP FliBEBORN COUNTY. 



this State, having died in 1879, hfi was mar- 
ried again, two years later to Miss Marietta 
Hunter, a graduate of Ripen College, Wisconsin, 
and for several years a teacher iu Albert Lea. 

F. A. Blackmeu, M. I)., a native of Oliio, was 
born in Amherst, Lorain county, on the 16th of 
January, 1848. His father. Dr. Franklin Blaek- 
mer, was one of the fir.><t physicians to locate in 
this town, coming iu 18.56. They settled on a 
farm near the city, and in 1862, F. A. enlisted in 
Company C, of the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer 
Infantry, and while at FortRidgely was wounded, 
a ball passing through his face, in one cheek and 
out of the other. After his return from the army 
he attended school from 1863 to 1868, then en- 
tered the Oberlin College, in Ohio, which he 
attended during the winter months, and in sum- 
mer continued his studies at the University of 
Worcester, in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating 
from the latter institution he was in the drug 
business, and also engaged in the practice of his 
profession, having, since 1872, devoted his entire 
attention to the latter. He was joined iu marriage 
on the 15th of October, 1872, with Miss Franc E. 
Wedge. The union has been blessed with one 
child, Koe C, born on the 17th of October, 1873. 

Hbman Blackmer, also a son of Dr. Franklin 
Blackmer, was born in Amherst, Lorain county, 
Ohio, on the 3d of .January, 1850. He came to 
Albert Lea witn his parents when seven years old, 
attended the public schools until 1865, when he 
entered the Oberlin College, in Ohio, and remained 
four years, teaching a portion of each year. He 
then returned to his home, and in 1870, continued 
his studies at the Appleton College, in Wisconsin, 
and after a year there entered the college in 
Kipon, and in 1872, took a law course in the State 
University at Madison, graduating in 1873. He 
was married in October of the latter year to 
Miss Helen Webster, who has borne him five chil- 
dren, two of whom are living. Mr. Black- 
mer was admitted to practice iu the Supreme 
Court of Wisconsin; subseijuently moved to 
Kansas, and practiced in Osborne until his return 
to Albert Lea in 1874. For the past seven years 
he has hold the office of .Justice of the Peace, and 
is also Court Commissioner. 

Charles W. Ballard, M. D., Mayor of the 
city of Albert Ijea, and one of its public-spirited 
and prominent citizens, was born in New York 
city on the 22d of January, 1826. He attended 



different lioarding schools in New Jersey and 
New York, and, in 1847, began the studies of 
medicine and dentistry in the Washington Medi- 
cal University of Baltimore, and the College of 
Dental Surgery, graduating from both institu- 
tions in 1850. He was united in matrimony on 
the 4th of February, in the latter year, to Miss 
Annie E. Harris. Mr. Ballard practiced dentistry 
in North Carolina two years, then returned to 
New York, and remained iu busiucss there until 
1868, living, the latter portion of the time, in 
Connecticut, and while there was a member of 
the State Senate two terms, taking a decided 
stand against slavery. Iu 1868, he went to Flor- 
ida for the improvement of his health, remained 
two years and came to Minnesota, buying the 
land in Albert Lea now known as Ballard's Point. 
He is engaged in the real estate business. 

F. W. Bablow was born in (xenesee county. 
New York, ou the 27th of November, 1852. and 
came to this county when a child, his parents 
being pioneers of Bancroft. He was brought up 
on a farm, and attended school until eighteen 
years old, then entered a drug store in this city, 
remaining .seven years. On the 14th of June, 
1875, he was joined in wedlock with Miss Emma 
F. Prescott, and they have had two children, both 
daughters, only one of whom is living. In the 
fall of 1879, Mr. Barlow was elected County 
Treasurer, and has since held the office. 

Chancey Bt'RTC'H, a native of Ohio, was born 
near Seneca on the 22d of April, 1859. In 1864, 
his parents moved to Michigan, locating near 
Adrian, where his father died in 1869. Chancey 
came with his mother and the family to Osage 
county, Iowa, in 1871, and there attended school. 
In April, 1881, he moved to Albert Lea, and 
started in the drug business, iu which he has been 
successful. He was married in May, 1881, to Miss 
Ada Cutler, who was born in Osage county, Iowa. 

Warren Buel was born in Genesee county, 
New York, on the 4th of December, 1826. When 
he was twelve years old his parents moved to a 
farm near Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio. After 
finishing school Mr. Buel engaged iu teaching 
for a time. In July, 1852, he was married to Miss 
Mary Deming, who was born in Livingston 
county. New York, on the 5th of November, 1829. 

! They resided on a farm in Huron county, Ohio, 
until 1859, and the following year moved to Ann 

I Arbor, Michigan, and iu ISIil, to Jack.son, where 



aiTY OF ALBERT LI A. 



389 



he was engaged in the grocery business during 
the war. They came from there to Albert Lea in 
1877. Mr. Buel was in the grocery business for 
two vears after coming here, but has since been 
engaged in insurance and real estate, his office 
being on Broadway. In 1873, he was elected to 
the State Legislature, and has also held local 
offices. 

H. O. Beager, a native of Norway, was bom 
on the 1st of February, 1841. In early life he 
learned the watchmaker's trade, and since the age 
of fifteen has been dependent on himself for sup- 
port. He came to America in 1866, and located 
in Black Earth, Dane county, Wisconsin, where, 
in 1873, he married Miss Inger Mathia Gulson, of 
the town of Vermont, in the latter county. They 
have had three children, all boys, only one, 
Joachim, of whom is living. In 1878, Mr. Brayer 
came to Albert Lea, and opened a jewelry and 
watchmaking business, to which he has since de- 
voted his time. 

HoBATio D. Beown, one of the early settlers of 
Freeborn county, was born in Onondaga county. 
New York, on the 15th of April, 1835. He was 
brought up on a farm, and at the same time pre- 
pared for college; attended the DeRuyter and 
Cazenovia seminaries, and afterward, in 1852, 
entered the Union College, from which he gradua- 
ted as a civil engineer in 1805. He immediately 
came West, and spent one year teaching in Illinois 
and Iowa, then came to this county and took a 
claim about six miles south-east of Albert Iiea, in 
Hayward. He was engaged at surveying, and, in 
1857, was elected County Surveyor; was soon after 
appointed deputy Clerk of the Court, and, in 1861, 
elected to the office, holding the same ten years. 
On the 19th of December, 1861, he was married 
to Miss Mary L. Peck, and they have had four 
children, three of whom are living, Mr. "Brown 
enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, 
Company C; was soon promoted to Second Lieu- 
tenant, and, in 1864, was made Adjutant of the 
Eleventh Minnesota Regiment. After receiving 
his discharge, he returned to this place, and, in 
1871, resigned the office of Clerk of the Court, to 
fill that of State Senator, to which he was elected. 
In the latter year he engaged in the banking 
busineis, which he has since continued. He owns 
a fine residence on the lake shore. 

A. M. BuRNHAM, M. D., one of the pioneer 
physicians, and an early settler of this county, 



was born in Genesee county. New York, on the 
16th of October, 1824. When he was quite young 
he entered the family of a Mr. Giles; attended the 
public schools, and assiste<l Mr. Giles in his dairy. 
He subsequently attended the Bethany High 
School, the Springville and Centreville Academies, 
then studied medicine with Drs. Steward and 
Farmers, and finally entered the University of 
Buifalo, from which he was graduated, in 1853, as 
an M. D. In the meantime, he had established a 
good practice in the latter city. In 1857, he came 
to Wisconsin, and the following year to this 
county, takiog land adjoining the town site of 
losca in Waseca county, but spent the winter at 
Shell Rock, where he built a hotel, and was 
engaged in other enterprises. In the spring, he 
returned to his farm, taking a prominent part in 
the contest in regard to the coTinty seat of the 
county. During all this time he was engaged in 
the practice of his profession. In 18 — , he went 
to Wyoming Territory, where he operated a saw- 
mill, and was an extensive contractor for the 
Union Pacific Railroad, doing a heavy business, 
and also engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1871, 
after visiting New York, he returned to his farm, 
and has since continued the practice of medicine, 
Albert Lea has been his home since 1880. 

Rev. Carl Carlsen is a native of Denmark, 
born in the city of Nyborn on the 4th of March, 
1842. He attended the common schools, and, 
while learning the carpenter trade, continued his 
studies at an evening school. In 1863, he came 
to America; first to Wisconsin, but soon after 
located in Chicago, where he was engaged at his 
trade . and contracting, for ten years. On the 
25th of December, 1867, he was joined in mar- 
riage with Miss Anna Hansen, a native of Norway. 
In 1873, they came to Albert Lea, and, besides 
working at his trade, Mr. Carlsen frequently 
preaches in the Danish Baptist Church. Mr. and 
Mrs. Carlsen have had four chiklren, two of whom 
are living, Olga and Victor. 

M. M. Dodge, M. D. was born in New Lime, 
Ashtabula county, Ohio, on the 28th of October, 
1842, and at the age of fifteen years commenced 
to teach school. In 1859 he studied medicine 
with Dr. Porter Key, in his native town, and two 
years later entered the Cincinnati Hospital, and in 
the winter of 1863 and '64, attended lectures at 
Ann Arbor, Michigan, The following spring he 
moved to Wisconsin, immediatelv enlisted in the 



390 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Fortieth Wisconaiu Volunteer Infantry, Company 
D, and was Jetaehed as Assistant Surgeon in the 
Adams Hospital upon the regimuut's arrival in 
Memphis. After the close of the war he located 
in Chicago, and after the fire, being burned out, 
he attended lectures in Hahnemann Medical Col- 
lege, from which institution he graduated on the 
2i2d of February, 1872. On the 21th of the same 
month he was joined in wedlock with Miss Lucy 
H. Norton, and the same year they cane to Lone 
Bock, Wisconsin. In the spring of 1874 they 
came to Albert Lea, where Dr. Dodge has an ox- 
tensive practice. They have one child, Louis, 
nine years old. 

Geokoe Drommerh.^usen, one of the pioneer 
mechanics of the county and among the earliest 
settlers of Geneva, is a native of Prussia, born on 
the 22d day of June, 1832. When young he 
learned the trade of a wagon and carriage maker, 
and in 1854, came to America and worked at his 
trade in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He afterward 
worked in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and in Red 
Wing, coming to Geneva in 1857, and started the 
the first wagon shop in the place. He was mar- 
ried in the latter year to Miss Julia Persig, who 
has borne him four children, all boys. Mr. Drom- 
merhausen took a farm in Bancroft in 1859, which 
he still owns, but in ISOfi, came to this place. He 
owns one of the largest carriage and general re- 
pair shops in the city. 

C. C. DwiGHT, a Vermonter, was born in Ver- 
shire. Orange county, and when about twelve 
years old removed with his parents to Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, in which State he received an aca- 
demical education. At the age of eighteen years 
he came west as traveling salesman for an eastern 
clothing house, and in 187() opened a clothing 
store in Winnebago City, in the southern part 
of this State. In March, 1880, he married Miss 
Emma L. Harvey, a native of Cambridge, Massa- 
cnhsetts. The same month they came to Albert Lea, 
and Mr. Dwight opened a boot and shoe store in 
company with J. O. Conklin, but is now in the 
business alone. He is the father of one child, 
Margaretta, born cm the 8th of January, 1881. 

S. S. Edward.s, one of tha early settlers, and 
the oldest photographer in the city, was born in 
Watertown, Connecticut, on the 15th of .Tuly, 1843. 
He attended the commtm schools near his home, 
and afterward the high school of New Haven. In 
1871, he married Miss B. M. Lunde, who is a na- 



tive of Christiauirt, Norway. They have two chil- 
dren, Mary E. and Charles G. Mr. Edwards 
came to Albert Lea in 18t;3, and immediately 
started in his present business, at which he has 
been unusually successful- 

CoL. Samuel Eaton is a native of New York, 
bora in Onondaga county in 1815. At the early 
age of seven years his lot was cast with strangers, 
his p.irents being unable to provide for and edu- 
cate him. Having learned the trade, he com- 
menced the manufacture of leather and boots and 
shoes, at which he was engaged twenty years. 
Having a taste for military lif?, he filled all posi- 
tions from a private to the command of a regiment, 
holding thp latter five years. In 1857 he came to 
Albert Lea, where he has since resided, and during 
this time he has been called upon to fill oflBces of 
trust, such as Justice of the Peace, Assessor, 
Treasurer, Coroner, Judge of Probate, and since 
1879 has been Postmaster, having retired from all 
other business. He was also Deputy Clerk of the 
Court four years and Deputy County Treasurer 
two years. 

John B. Poote is a native of New York, born 
in the town of Salisbury, Herkimer county, on 
the 11th day of September, 1823. He completed 
his studies at the Fairfield Academy, receiving 
from the Superintendent a certificate to teach in 
any part of New York State, and for thirteen 
years availed himself of this privilege. On the 
1st of November, 1848, he was joined in wedlock 
with Miss Eliza Sharp, a native of Fulton County, 
New York. She died on the 23d of February, 
1867, aud was buried in Yorkshire, Cattaraugus 
County. Mr. Foote was again married on the 
25th of April, 1871, his bride being Mrs. Louisa 
Burnette. From 1860 to 1879 he was employed 
by publishing houses of New York and Philadel- 
phia, and in the latter year came to Albert Lea. 
He has since been proprietor of the Gilbert 
House, one of the prinoijial hotels in the city. 
He had three children by his first marriage; 
Charles M., Francelia Ann, and Sherwoo d L., the 
two latter being dead; and one, Ernest B., by his 
second wife. The eldest son, Charles M., is of the 
firm of Warner aud Foote, Minneapolis, one of the 
most extensive publishing houses in the State. 

O. B. FoBEs was born in St. Lawrence county, 
New York, on the 30th of July, 1832. He receiv- 
ed an academical, education, and in 1854, came to 
Kipon, Wisconsin. In 1861, he moved to Minne- 



UITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



39) 



in Winnebago City until 1863, when he enlisted 
in Company M, of the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, and remaining in service until the close 
of the war. After receiving his discharge he re- 
turned to Ripou, Wisconsin, and was Deputy 
Postmaster for about six years. He then came to 
Albert Lea, and in company with his brother open- 
ed a hardware store but has recently sold out and 
is now in the grocery business, the firm name be- 
ing Fobes & Owen. Mr. Fobes was married in 
1876, to Miss Cassie McNeill, a native of Canada. 
The union has been blessed with one child, 
Lucile. 

William Fenholt, one of the earlier settlers of 
Freeborn county, was born in Saxony, Germany, 
on the 12th of May, 183.5. He came to America 
in 1854, first located in Wisconsin, and in 1858, 
moved to this county, near the head of Freeborn 
lake, in Carlston township. He was married in 
1859 to Miss Emma Killmer, a native of Canada. 
Soon after the outlareak of the war he enlisted in 
Company F, of the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer 
Infantry and participated in many hard fought 
battles; was hurt at the battle of Chattanooga and 
Atlanta, and now draws a pension. He came to 
Albert Lea after the war and opened the City 
Hotel which he still owns and conducts. Mr. and 
Mrs. Fenholt have a family of seven children. 

Rev. Henby Frank was born in Lafayette, In- 
diana, on the 21st of December, 1853. When a 
child his parents moved to Chicago where he at- 
tended the public schools, and after graduating 
entered the Piiilip Academy, at Andover, Massa- 
chusetts, and later the Harvard University. In 
1875, he obtained the position of professor of 
English Literature and Elocution in the Cornell 
University, at Mt. Vernon, Iowa. He was united 
in marriage with Miss Carrie L. Cleveland, daugh- 
ter of Dr. Cleveland of Chicago, in 1876. The 
following year he entered the ministry and for 
several years preached iu Kansas, then, in 1880, 
on account of failing health came to Minnesota 
and has since had charge of a church in Albert 
Lea. 

Joseph A. Fuller is a native of Walworth 
county, Wisconsin, born on the 17th of March, 
1851, near the village of Geneva. When 21 years 
old he went to Decorah, Iowa, and learned photo- 
graphy, at which business he has since been en- 
gaged, coming to Albert Lea soon after finishing 



the study of his profession. He was married iu 
1871, to Miss Luella A. Owen, who was born in 
Wisconsin. They have one child; Mert L., born 
on the 11th of January, 1875. 

P. H. Green was born in Otsego county. New 
York, on the 5th of April, 1818. When he was 
young hia parents moved to Erie county, where he 
grew to manhood and then farmed for himself. 
In 1861, he came west to Freeborn county and 
located in the town of Freeman, where he improv- 
ed a farm and remained until 1874, during which 
time he held several of the local offices. In the 
latter year he came to Albert Lea, which has since 
been his home, and resides with his sons who 
carry on the homestead. Mr. Green was married 
before leaving his native State to Miss Margaret 
R. Miner, the ceremony taking place on the 17th 
of August, 1843. Mrs Green died on the 24th of 
December, 1873, leaving a family of five children. 

Walter Gillette was born lu the city of 
Amherst, New Hampshire, on the 22d of Febru- 
ary, 1848. In 1855, his parents moved to Mil- 
waukee where Walter received a good business 
education. His father was a leather dealer in the 
latter city, for a number of years; in 1872, he 
moved to Ripon, Wisconsin, in the same business, 
and remained until coming here in 1878. Walter 
is associated with him, and besides leather they 
deal iu wool, hides, and furs, theirs being the only 
enterprise of the kind in the city. 

Rev. G. S. Gowdy, a native of New York, was 
born in Rome, Oneida county, on the 19th of May, 
1810. When he was young his parents removed 
to Jefferson county, in the same State, and G. S. 
attended school and learned of his father the mil- 
ler's trade. He was married in 1830, to Miss 
Nancy Allen, who was burn in Oswego couLty, on 
the Ist of February, 1812. Mr. Gowdy entered 
upon the ministry at the age of thirty years, and 
has since continued in that field of labor in the 
Uuiversalist faith. He had charge of a parish in 
Yorkshire for a time, and after coming to Minne- 
sota was in Faribault until 1876, then came to 
Albert Lea as pastor of the church here. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gowdy have had three children, two of whom 
are living; Mary Ann, now Mrs. Sylvester Rice, 
and Nancy M., now Mrs. Franklin Gould. 

Daniel N. Gates, a native of New York, was 
born in Hopewell, Ontario county, on the 25th of 
July, 1832. He received an academical education 
in a Canada college, and in 1853 came west, first 



392 



inSTOllY OF FREEBORN COUXTY. 



to Dubuque, Iowa, and engaged in surveying on 
the St. Croix river, and a year later began mer- 
cantile pursuits in Brownsville, Houston county. 
On the 9tli of October, 185fi, be was joined in 
marriage with Miss Sarah A. Dunbar, and the 
union has been blessed with three children. In 
1858 Mr. Gates moved to St. Paul, where he was 
Dejjuty State Auditor three years, and remained 
until 1869, when he came to Albert Lea and has 
since been freight and ticket agent for the Chica- 
go, St. Paul & Minneapolis railroad. He is Pres- 
ident of the Board of Education for this city and 
Chairman of the Board of Education for the 
county. 

George T. Gaudner was born in Albion, Or- 
leans county. New York, on the 18th of August, 
1848. He removed with his parents to Buffalo, 
and in 185G to Joliet, Illinois, thence to Milwau- 
kee and to Ivilbourn City, Wisconsin. In 1801, 
he returned to Buffalo, New York, and entered a 
drug store, but in 1870 came to Lone Eock, Wis- 
consin, and opened a store of his own. On the 
28th of November, 1872, he married Miss Hattie 
H. Hayes, and the next year they removed to this 
city, Mr. Gardner clerking in a drug store. Later 
he purchased the business of A. H. Street, and 
conducted it until 188(1, when he was elected Clerk 
of the District Court, running on a Democratic 
ticket, and received a majority of 281 in a district 
which has heretofore given 2,500 Bepulilican ma- 
jority. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner have had three 
children, two of whom are living. 

M. HaijVorsen was born in Norway on the 24th 
of February, 1855. In 1863 he came with his 
father, Richard Halvorsen, who was a Methodist 
minister, to Chicago, Illinois, but for three years 
the family was not permanently located. They 
finally settled in Forest City, Iowa, and wlien our 
subject was fourteen years old he commenced to 
learn the printer's trade in the office of the "Win- 
nebago Press," and in 1871, purchased the enter- 
prise in partnership with W. C. Hayward. In 
1S73 Mr. Halvorsen became sole proprietor, being 
the youngest editor in the State, but a few months 
later again took a partner. The paper proved a 
financial failure under the new management, and 
In 1874 he removed to Lake Mills, Iowa, purchas- 
ing there a full outfit, and started "The Independ- 
ent Herald," making it a grand success. In Au- 
gust, 1875, he purchased the "Albert Lea Enter- 
prise,'' and has succeeded here far beyond his ex- 



pectations, having the largest office in the county, 
and a circulation of his paper of nearly 1,000. 
Mr. Halvorsen was married on the 15th of August, 
1876, to Miss Mildred A. Salsich, and they have 
one child, Alexander Salsich. 

Ole J. Hacien is a native of Norway, born near 
Christiania, on the 31st of August, 1852. He came 
with his parents to America and settled on a farm 
in Winneshiek county, Iowa, remaining until the 
age of fifteen years, during which time he attend- 
ed the public schools. In 1867 the family came 
to this county and located on a farm near Free- 
man. On the 18th of May, 1872, the subject of 
this sketch was united in marriage with Miss Anna 
A. Stovern. The same year he came to All)ert 
Lea, and for eighteen months was in the drug 
business in company with his brother. He was 
subsequently engaged in the sale of agricultural 
implements, and later entered a printing office, re- 
maining in the office in the winter and selling 
machinery in the summer. In 1880 he again 
worked in the printing office, and when the "Alliert 
Lea Posteu" was started he was appointed its edi- 
tor, which position he still holds. He has a fam- 
ily of four children. 

H. A. Hanson was born in Hurdalen, Norway, 
on the 26th of August, 1843. When about ten 
years old he became an apprentice to the tailor 
trade, and worked at the same six years, when he 
started in business for himself. On the 6th of 
November, 1868, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Bertha M. Nelson. They came to America 
the following year, directly to this county, and 
engaged in farming for one summer. In the fall, 
Mr. Hanson opened a tailor shop in this city, and 
in 1870 increased his business, thus obtaining the 
best class of trade in the place. In 1880, he sold 
out to flu the office of Postmaster, to which he had 
been appointed. He was the first City Treasui'er,and 
has held other local offices. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson 
have had eight children, five of whom are living. 

Rev. Norman F. Hoyt was born in Saratoga 
county. New I'ork, in the village of Watcrford, 
near Troy, on the 23rd of May, 1840. At the age 
of ten years he moved with his parents to Almira, 
where he received his early education and 
remained until the breaking out of the war, when 
he enlisted in Company F, of the 23rd New York 
Vohmteer Infantry. He went South witb his 
regiment, and was in the battles of Bull Run, 
Fredericksburg, and others. At the expiration of 



CITY OF ALBEUT LEA. 



393 



his term of service, (two years, ) he returned home, 
having been promoted to the rank of Sergeant, 
and in December re-eulisted as a veteran in the 
the One Hundred and Forty-Eighth Regiment, 
Company B; was promoted to Brigade Adjutant, 
and participated in the first and second battles of 
Petersburg, Cold Harbor, Fort Harrison, and 
Richmond. After the close of the war he was sent 
to Texas, and remained in service two years 
longer, receiving an honorable discharge in Feb- 
ruary, 1867. He returned to his native State, and 
the following August came west to Chicago, where 
for five years he attended the Baptist Theolog- 
ical Seminary, In 1872, he was joined in 
matrimony with Miss Emma J. Slayson, a native 
of New York. The following year he took charge 
of a church at Mai[uoketa, Iowa, and presided 
over it three years. Mrs. Hoyt died in October, 

1874, leaving a young child, and in January, 

1875, he married his present wife, Miss Mary E. 
Baldwin, who has borne him two children, Mary 
A. and Mable P. His eldest child is Emma. Mr. 
Mr. Hoyt came to Albert Lea in 1875, and until 
the present year conducted services at Northwood 
and in the Baptist Church here, but now confines 
his labor to his congregation in this city. 

G. A. Hauge was born in Christiania, Norway, 
on the 19th of December, 1840. When he was 
ten years old his parents came to America, and 
located on a farm in Winneshiek county, Iowa. 
Since the age of sixteen years he has maintained 
himself, and on the 16th of October, 1861, enlisted 
in Company G, of the Twelfth Iowa Volunteer 
Infantry; was in several heavy engagements, the 
battles of Shiloh, Nashville, etc., and remained in 
service until the close of the war, when he was 
honorably discharged. He returned to his home 
in Iowa, and in 1869, married Miss Nellie Lagon, 
a native of Norway. In 1870, they came to this 
county, first settling in Bancroft, but since 1875, 
have been residents of this city. Mr. Hauge, with 
Mr. Christopherson as partner, conducts the larg- 
est blacksmith shop in Albert Lea. Mr. and Mrs 
Hauge have two children. 

Major Frank Hall, one of the early settlers, 
and the first Mayor of Albert Lea, was born in 
Lewis county. New York, on the 28th of July, 
1834. In 1854, his parents moved to a farm near 
Beaver Dam, in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and a 
few years later to Ripon. There Frank attended 
college for a few years. In 1858, he married 



Mi.ss Maggie Foster, and the same year came to 
Albert Lea, and opened one of the first stores in 
the place. In the spring of 1862, he raised a 
company in the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer In- 
fantry, of which he was Captain. He remained 
in service until the spring of 1863, when he 
received an honorable discharge and returned 
home. He is landlord of the Hall House, the 
leading hotel in the city. He is the father of two 
children, Ida and Joseph W. 

C. P. Hedbnstad is a native of Norway, born 
in Kongsberg, on the 3d of March, 1853. Jn 
1864, he came with his parents to America, and 
located in Waseca county, Minnesota, where his 
mother still lives, his father having died there in 
1872. C. P. learned the jeweler's trade when 
quite young, and in 1875, came to Albert Lea 
and opened a store in which he keeps jewelry, 
musical instruments, and sewing machines. In 
1880, he was married to Miss Sina Wangsnes,who 
was bom in Bergen, Norway. They have one 
child, a girl. 

C. M. Hewitt, one of the early settlers and en- 
terprising merchants of this place, is a native of 
of New York, born in Oneida county on the 27th 
of December, 1837. When young his parents 
moved to Columbus, Warren county, Pennylvania, 
where he grew to manhood. In 1859 he came to 
Minnesota, and located a farm iu Bancroft, where 
he remained eighteen months and, then came to 
Albert Lea. He was married in 1867, to Bliss 
Lura E. Ash, and they have one daiighter. May 
A. For ten years after coming here Mr. Hewitt 
clerked for Frank Hall; and in June, 1869, en- 
gaged in business for himself on Broadway, at 
present having a $12,000 stock. 

Hans E. Knatvold was born in Drammen. Nor- 
way, on the 3d of September, 1848. When he 
was about fourteen years old his parents came to 
America and directly to this county, locating in 
Oakland. In 1862, his father enlisted in Com- 
pany M, of the First Minnesota Mounted Bangers, 
and after receiving his discharge moved his family 
to the town of Hayward, where they still reside. 
In 1867, Hans came to Albert Lea and clerked iu 
a general mercantile store until 1877, when he, in 
company with his brother, T. V. Knatvold, started 
in the hardware biisiness, and they carry the 
largest stock in the city, their store being located 
on the west side of Broadway, Mr. Knatvold, 
the suliject of our sketch, also owns a fine resi- 



394 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



dence. He was married in 1879, to Miss Clara 
McArthur, a native of Port Huron, Michigan. 
Tbey have one child, Bertha May, born in August, 
1880. 

William G. Kell.ir i.s a native of Grant 
county, Wisconsin, born on the 17th of August, 
1849. His parents are pioneers of this township, 
coming iu ISSfi, and locating on a farm near the 
city. William attended the common schools, and 
in 186.") entered the Oberlin College in Ohio, and 
since his return has been engaged in surveying 
t >r several years, in the employ of the Southern 
Minnesota railroad. He has been County Sur- 
veyor since 1870. In 1874, he was joined in mar- 
riage with Miss Ada Green, who was born in 
Zanesville, Ohio. They hare one child, Ira A., 
born on the 22nd of March, 1878. C. B. Kellar, a 
brother of the above, was also born in Grant 
county, Wisconsin, on the 19th of May, 1845. He 
came with his parents to this place and in 1862, 
enlisted in Company C, of the Fifth Minne- 
sota Volunteer Infantry, under Major Hall, and 
after his discharge attended 01)erliu College a few 
years. He has a wife and two children. He is at 
present iu the employ of H. D. Brown as cashier. 

Prof. Charles W. Levens was born in Wind- 
sor, Windsor county, Vermont, on the 7th of 
February, 1840. When he was three years old 
his parents moved to Racine county, Wisconsin. 
Charles attended the State University, teaching 
during the vacations, until 1860. In the latter 
year he married Misa Rebecca B. Teacbout, a 
native of Lorain county, Ohio, and the same year 
moved to California, remaining one year engaged 
in school teaching. He returned to Wisconsin, 
and for two years was (bounty Superintendent of 
the schools of Racine county ; then for four years 
was Superintendant of the public schools of the 
city of Racine. In 1870, he moved to Minnesota, 
and after a residence of two years in Olmsted 
county, came to Albert Lea, and was employed as 
Principal of the public schools here, afterwards 
was elected Superintendent of the same and held 
both positions until resigning to till the office of 
County Superintendant, to which he was elected 
in 1882. Mr. Levens has been instrumental in 
building up and giving to the public schools of 
this city their high reputation for solid worth. He 
has a family of six children, four daughters and 
two sons. 

William Clifford McAdam, a native of New 



York, was born near Utica, in Oneida county. 
He grew to manhood in his native State, prepar- 
ing for college in the Utica Free Academy, and in 
1873, entered the Hamilton College, graduating 
in the classical course in 1877, and from the law 
department one year later. He then came to 
Chicago and continued his legal studies in the 
office of Higgins and Swett. In 1880, he moved 
to Albert Lea; was with Judge Whytock for a 
time, and is now of the firm of Palmer and Mc- 
Adam. 

M. T. Maoelssen. A. M., M. D., one of the 
more recent settlers of Albert Lea, is a native of 
Norway, born in Christiania on the 5th of April, 
1852. His father was Chief of Police of that city 
until 1859, when the family moved to Bergen, 
where the latter was made Magistrate, and still 
holds the position. The subject of this sketch 
spent his early days at school, attending the 
Learned Latin College in Bergen, and in 1869 en- 
tered the Royal University of Norway, from which 
he received a dijiloma as jihysiciau and surgeon 
in 1876. He continued his medical studies in the 
Royal University at Vienna, Austria, graduating 
in 1879, and completed his education in France. 
He then located in London, England, where he 
had a good practice, still continuing to study. 
In the fall of 1881, he came to America, to Min- 
nesota, and in January, 1882, located in this city, 
where he has established a good practice. 

E. W. Murphy was born in county Armagh, 
Ireland, near the seaport village of Dundalk, on 
the 1st of May, 1832. At an early age he began 
life ;or himself, coming to America, and at the 
age of sixteen jears located in Illinois. He came 
to Albert Lea in November, 1855, but did not re- 
main more than three years; going south he spent 
three years traveling. In 1861 he returned to this 
city, and engaged iu the milling business, but iu 
1878 opened a general mercantile store, to which 
he has since devoted his time. He was joined in 
marriage on the 20th of November, 1870, to Miss 
Ann Hoffman, a native of Vermont. They have 
been blessed with one son, William Henry, born 
on the 18th of July, 1875. 

C. D. Marlett is a native of Cass county, 
Michigan, where he was born on the 19th of May, 
1845. He came with his parents to Albert Lea in 
1857; attended school, and in 1863 enlisted in 
Company H, of the Fir.st Minnesota Cavidry, 
serving two years. After returning fnnu the army 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



395 



he learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and 
is now engaged in building and repairing boats. 
He was married on the 22d of February, 1861, to 
Miss Alice Killiner, and the union has been blessed 
with three children, two of whom are living. 

Samuel Marsh, a native of England, was born 
in Northampton on the 16th of October, 1836. 
After rsaching maturity he -was employed as a 
book-keeper in his native town, and in 1855 came 
to America. He first located in Iowa, and engaged 
in buying and selling grain. While there he mar- 
ried, in 1864, Miss Michal Bradtield, who was born 
in La Crosse, WLsconsin. They moved to Albert 
Lea in 1870, and for about seven years Mr. Marsh 
continued the business of buying and selling 
grain, since which time he has been employed as 
car accountant at the depot. He has four chil- 
dren; William N., Robert S., John B., and Ida M. 

William Morin was educated in New York as a 
civil engineer, and followed the profession for five 
years in the eastern States. He then came to Min- 
nesota and acquired extensive tracts of land, being 
at present the largest land holder in Freeborn 
county. He was married in 1862, to Miss M. E. 
Wedge, and they have two children at home. Mr. 
Morin is one of the townsite proprietors, his in- 
terest being on the west side of Broadway, and is 
also largely interested in building enterprises in 
the city. He is a half owner of the finest business 
block, and is now erecting a fine residence in the 
western jDart of the city, on the site he selected 
twenty years ago. 

Richard Mills, a native of Pennsylvania, was 
born near the village of Brownsville, in Fayette 
county, on the 14th of April, 1834. He learned 
the trade of a saddler and harnessmaker in the 
latter village, and in 1861 enlisted at New Castle 
for one year, with the One Hundredth Pennsyl- 
vania Roundheads; in 1862, re-enlisted in the 
United States Navy, and served under Commodore 
Farragut. After his discharge, in the autumn of 
of 1865, he came west to Peoria, Illinois, and in 
1870, to Albert Lea. Mr. Mills has a wife and 
three children. His father, Richard Mills, now 
eighty-seven years old, makes his home with him. 
He draws a pension for injuries received in the 
war of 1812. 

N. O. Naeveson was born near Christiania, 
Norway, on the 2d of January, 1850. In 1853, 
his parents came to America, locating in Winne- 
shiek county, Iowa, and in 1858, came to this 



county, where they were pioneers in the town ot 
Bancroft. N. O. came to Albert Lea in 1871, and 
was employed as clerk tor Hazelton & Johnson, 
afterward for Andrew Palmer, Jr., and finally for 
A. E. Johnson for four years. In 1879, he was 
married to Miss Anna C. Hanson, a native of 
Denmark. They have one child, Orine, born on 
the 15th of June, 1880. In May, 1882, Mr. 
Narveson commenced business for himself, having 
a stock of groceries, crockery, glassware, etc. 

Oscar N. Olberg was born in Christiania, Nor 
way, on the 13th of November, 1848. He at- 
tended the Christiania University, and graduated 
in 1868. The same year be came to America, 
and, in 1869, to Madison, Wisconsin. In the 
tall of 1870, he moved to Minnesota, and was 
engaged in a foreign ticket office, located in Aus- 
tin, Mower county; also was cashier of the Mower 
County Bank for several years. In the fall of 
1873, he opened a general mercantile store in 
Adams, Mower county, and two years later built 
and carried on a double store in Taopi, in the 
same county. He was married in 1876, to Miss 
Henrietta Dahl, a native of Waupun, Wisconsin. 
They have one child, Clara Mable, born on the 
7ch of November, 1878. In 1881, Mr. Olberg 
was connected with a wholesale notion house in 
Chicago, from which place he moved to Albert 
Lea on the 1st of October, 1882. At present he 
owns three mercantile stores, located, one in 
Albert Lea, one in Taopi, and one at Forest City, 
Iowa, the one here having been started in 1881. 
He is also still in the foreign ticket business, 
being general agent tor the "Monarch" line of 
steamers. 

Martin W. O'Connbr, a native of Ireland, was 
born in Tipperary on the 7th of October, 1846. 
When he was an infant his parents came to 
America, and located in Burlington, Vermont, 
where his father died a few years later. When he 
was seven years old his mother moved with her 
children to Philadelphia, and in 1861, to St. 
Louis, where he learned the machinist trade. He 
enlisted at Cincinnati, Ohio, in the One Hundred 
and Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Com- 
pany E, but was soon discharged on account of 
sickness. In 1868, he came to Albert Lea, and 
worked at his trade for a time, but now has a 
saloon and billiard hall, located on the corner of 
Railroad and College avenues. He was married 
iu 1869, to Miss Hannah Melder, a native of 



396 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY 



Sweden. Tlie issue of the union is two children 
Mary and Ellen. 

Robert Mulford P.vLMF.n was born on the 
22d of October, 185.5, near Janesville, in Rock 
county, Wisconsin, where he received a first-class 
academical education. In October, 1876, he en- 
tered the law oflice of Winans A' McElroy, and 
was duly admitted to the bar of that State in No- 
vembcT, 1877. In January of the following year 
he came to Albert Lea, and in June was admitted 
to practice law in Minnesota. In June, 1881, he 
formed a law partnership with William C. McAdam, 
Es(|., under the firm name of Palmer k McAdam. 
In 1880, he was nominated for County Attorney 
on the Democratic ticket, but, though running 
several hundred votes ahead of his ticket at the 
polls, he was defeated by John A. Lovely, Esq., a 
regular Hepublicau nominee, and a lawyer of 
marked ability. In 1879, he was elected City At- 
torney, and in 1882, received the regular nomina- 
tion for City Attorney in theRepul)licau convention 
over John A. Lovely and John Whytock. 

Daniel G Parker, late editor and proprietor of 
the "Standard," and a son of Luther and Ann 
(Gott) Parker, was born in Mount Desert, Han- 
cock county, Maine, on the 2nd of April, 1831. 
His branch of the Parker family were very early 
settlers in the Pine Tree State, his father, a 
mechanic, serving as a waiter boy for the contin- 
ental troops in the war of 1812, and '15. Daniel 
received only a comm<in school education, and at 
the age of fourteen years went to sea, and for seven 
years served on a number of merchant vessels, 
either as seaman or mate, sailing the latter part 
of the time from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 
In 1851, he went to Boston and worked one year 
in a locomotive machine shop, and in 1854, came 
as far west as Chicago, where he spent three 
years, at first as a merchant's clerk and afterward 
in trade for himself. In 1857, he removed to Red 
Wing, Minnesota; read law with Judge Charles 
McClure, and the next year was admitted to the 
bar at Albert Lea. Here he practiced until the 
commencement of the rebellion, then resigned the 
office of County Attorney in 18(52, to enter the army 
as Corjioral of Company F, of the First Minne- 
sota Engineers, and served a little more that three 
years, passing through the various grades of pro- 
motion, being First Lieutenant when discharged, 
mo.st of the time he was on detached duty, acting 
as Provost Marshal. Judge Advocate in military 



courts and in other capacities. On returning to 
Albert Lea, Mr. Parker purchased the "Standard," 
which had been suspended, and conducted it until 
May, 1878, when, in consequence of declining 
health, he sold to W. W. Williams, formerly 
editor of the "Stillwater Lumberman." During 
his period of jouraalism, in 18GG, and '67, he filled 
the ofSce of County Treastirer, and for the last 
five years has been a director in the public school 
board. Since 1878, he has been engaged in the 
real estate and grain trade. On the 2l8t of Janu- 
ary, 1861, Mrs. Eliza W. Pickett, daughter of 
Nathan P. Smith, of New York, became the wife 
of Mr. Parker, and they have a plea.sant home in 
western part of the city and, a liberal share of the 
comforts of life. 

August Peterson, one of the early settlers and 
influential men of this county, was bom in Chris- 
tiansand, Norway, on the 20th of September, 1843. 
His father was policeman and warden of the jail 
of that city until 1854, when he brought his 
family to America. They came to Wisconsin and 
first located in Janesville, then in Kilbourn City. 
In 1858, they came to Freeborn county, and set- 
tled on a farm in Hartland township. In 18()1. 
the father enlisted in the Third Minnesota Volun- 
teer Infantry, and a few days later, August ran 
away from home and joined Company F, of the 
Fourth Minnesota Regiment. On arriving at 
Fort Snelling he met his father, who had him 
transferred to his company. In 1862, he (August) 
was taken prisoner at Murfreesboro; was afterward 
paroled and took part in the Indian massacre, re- 
maining in service until the close of the war. 
After his return he farmed in Manchester until 
1872, when he was elected County Register of 
Deeds and held the office three years. He was 
appointed by Gov. Pillsbury a member of the 
State board of immigration for 1879 and 1880. 
Mr. Peterson is the compiler and owner of a set 
Freeborn county, "Abstract of Titles;" is also en- 
gaged in the real estate and insurance business. 
His wife was Miss Sarah Peterson, daughter of an 
early resident of Manchester. 

J. H. Pakker, one of the successful attorneys 
of tlie city, was born in Orland, Maine, on the 2df 
of December, 1835. When ([uite young, he moved 
with his parents to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
where he attended school, and in 1851, engaged 
in clerking, soon after entering the United Stales 
postal service. In 1855, he came to Chicago and 



CIT7 OF A !.BBRT LEA. 



397 



clerked about a year; theu to Red Wing, and was 
in the County Register's office one year, after 
which he studied law in the office of Judge Charles 
McClure. He was admitted to the bar and taken 
in partnership with Mr. McCluer, and, in 1859, 
was appointed County Attorney, and afterward 
elected, holding the office six years. In 1860, he 
purchased the "Red Wing Sentinel," changed its 
name to the "Goodhue Volunteer," and conducted 
it till 1804, when he sold it, and became connected 
with the "Red Wing Republican." He was joined 
in wedlock in 1862, with Miss Clarinda H. Sterns, 
who bore him three children, only one of whom is 
now living. Mrs. Parker died in 1870, and the 
following year he moved to this city and opened 
a law office. He was again married in April, 
1874, to Mary J. Lytle, and of five children born 
to the union, only one is living. Mr. Parker was 
elected Judge of Probate in 1878, and held the 
office two years. He has lately given some atten- 
tion to farming, owning a good farm in this 
county. 

Captain George S. Ruble was born in Mifflin 
county, Penusylvaaia, on the 31st of August, 
1822, and is a grandson of Petre Ruble, who emi- 
grated from Germany in 1738, and settled in 
Codorus township, York county, Pennsylvania, in 
1750. He had four sons. Christian, Petre, Abra- 
ham, and Mathias. The latter settled in the east 
end of Kishacoquillas valley several years previous 
to the Revolution, and he also had four sons; 
Petre, Michel, John, and Henry. The latter mar- 
ried Mary E. Simons, of Little York, York county, 
and they also had four sons; Simon, George S., 
Henry, and John, all born in the above named 
valley. The family moved to Wayne county, 
Ohio, in 1829, settling in Green township, where 
they lived for nearly twenty years. George S., 
the subject of this sketch, married on the 1st of 
h ebruary, 1849, Elethear Humphrey, and removed 
to Rock county, Wisconsin, settling on a farm 
three miles west of the city of Beloit. He engaged 
in stock raising and the sale of agricultural 
implements. In 1855, he came to Freeborn 
county, and laid out the village (now city) of 
Albert Lea, buikling and operating both a steam 
and water saw and grist mill. When the Indian 
war broke oat, in the fall of 1862, he raised and 
became Captain of Company H, of the First Min- 
nesota Mounted Rangers, and after serving his 
time and being mustered out, he re-enlisted in the 



autumn of 1864. He went South as Sen. First 
Lieutenant of Company C, First Minnesota Heavy 
Artillery; was stationed at Chattanooga, Tenn.; 
afterward placed in command of Fort Rishop, at 
Charleston, East Tennessee. After tlie close of 
the war, he located at Chattanooga, and was 
engaged in the sale of farm implements. He 
bought property on Lookout Mountain; built, and 
for twelve years run, the house famous all over 
the South for good fare and genial hospitality, 
known as Ruble's Cottage House. Selling out in 
the spring of 1881, he returned to Albert Lea, 
and now devotes his time to cultivating the lands 
he located in 1855. The Captain comes from a 
hale and vigorous family, the combined weight of 
the four brothers being, previous to the war, 1265 
pounds, and the height of each, exactly six feet 
two and a half inches. He fiads himself able to 
do his share of the work, although his sixtieth 
birthday is passed. 

Soben p. Sobenson was born in Port Washing- 
ton, Wisconsin, on the 12th of January, 1855. He 
removed with his parents to Door county, and 
resided on a farm there twelve years; thence to 
Green Bay, Brown county, where he attended the 
Green Bay Business College. For three years 
Mr. Sorenson was engaged in an auction store in 
company with D. M. Whitney, and, in 1876, 
moved to Northwood, Iowa. On the 13th of Jan- 
uary, 1878, he was married to Miss Alice Gunder- 
son, of the town of Freeborn, and the union has 
been blessed with two children. The following 
year they came to Albert Lea, and in a few 
months went to Blue Earth City and opened a 
sample room and billiard hall, which he conductel 
until May, 1881, when he rrfturasd to this place 
and opened his present billiard hall and sample 
room. 

Timothy J. Sheehan, Sheriff of Freeborn 
county since January, 1872, is a native of Ireland, 
a son of Jeremiah and Ann ( McCarthy ) Sheehan, 
and was born on the 21st of December, 1836. He 
was educated in the national schools of his native 
country, being kept to his studies most of his 
time till he was fourteen, at which age he came t o 
this country. He learned a mechanics trade at 
Glens Falls, New York; worked there till 1855, 
when he went to Dixon, Illinois; was employed 
one season there in a saw-mill, and in the autumn 
of 1856, settled in Albert Lea and engaged in 
farming till the civil war broke out. In (he 



398 



HISTORY OF FliEEBORN COUNTY. 



autumn of 1861. Mr Sheehan enlisted as a private 
in the fourth Minnesota Infantry, his company 
being stationed at Fort Snelling. On the 18th 
of the following February he was commissioned, 
by Governor Ramsey, First Lieutenant of Com- 
pany C, Fifth Minnesota Infantry, and on the 
18th of Jnm', 1862, was ordered with a detach- 
ment of fifty men, to report at Yellow Medicine 
Agency, for the purpose of preserving order dur- 
ing the time of annuity payments. On the 4th 
of Augtist, fifteen hundred Sioux broke into tlie 
warehouse and seized the goods which were 
awaiting distribution. Lieutenant Sheehan, with 
twenty-five men, ordered the Indians to "fall 
back," under the jjenalty of ineitaut death if they 
failed to obey. His good judgment, coupled with 
decision and courage, thus prevented an immedi- 
ate outbreak — an outbreak, however, delayed 
only two weeks. Captain Marsh being killed at 
Redwood agency, the command of the company 
devolved on Lieutenant Sheehan; Fort Ridgely 
being threatened, he marched to that point from 
(llencoe, a distance of forty miles, in nine hours, 
many of the meu trotting with boots ofT, while 
such as could not keep up on foot were put on 
wiigons drawn by mules. Fort Eidgely was then 
filled with five hundred refugees, — men. women 
and children, — and with one hundred and one 
meu, for ten days from the 18th of August, the 
Lieutenant gallantly defended them from the sav- 
ages. On the 18th and 21st his men fought all 
day and all night. It was a desperate siege and 
a period of awful suspense on the jjart of the in- 
mates of the fort, until relief came, at the end of 
ten days. For his bravery on this occasion Lieu- 
tenant Sheehan received a captain's commission. 
After being in other severe engagements with the 
murderous Sioux, in November, 1862, Captain 
Sheehan accompanied his regiment to the South, 
and joined General Sherman's Corps. They 
engaged in the siege of Vicksburg; was in Gen- 
eral A. J. Smitli's division, under General Thomas, 
at Nashville; was subsequently at Spanish Fort 
and Mobile, and Captain Sheehan participated in 
these sieges and battles, being in fifteen or sixteen 
engagemeuts with liis regiment, and strange to say, 
never received a scar. At Nashville he command- 
ed the ct)lor company, and received from the Col- 
onel of the regiment, William B. Gere, in his 
report, the following commendation: "Captain T. 
.7. Shecliaii, commanding Company C, color com- 



pany, gallantly stood by the colors, and in the 
last charge on the 16th inst. I December) two 
color-bearers having been shot, he placed the 
colors in the hands of the third, a non-commis- 
sioned officer of his company, who planted them 
on the rebel intrenchments." Such intrepidity 
characterized Captain Sheehan all through the 
war. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 
the 1st of September, 1S6.J, having made a mili- 
tary record of which the State may bo proud. 
Colonel Houston and others presented him with a 
gold badge, engraved as follows: "Presented to 
Lieutenant-Colonel T. J. Sheehan, for services 
during the Rebellion, from October i:{, 1861, to 
September .5, 1865." On the badge is a list of the 
engagements in which he participated. It was a 
well-merited tribute to his bravery and daring. 

On returning to Albert Lea Colonel Sheehan 
was appointed Deputy United States Marshal by 
United States Marshal .\ugustus Armstrong, and 
in 1871, was elected to the office of SheritT. In 
this position he has shown great activity, adroit- 
ness, and exjsedition in arresting criminals of vari- 
ous kinds, and is a very popular county official. 
In politics, he was a Douglas democrat before the 
war, but he has since acted with the republican 
party, being an influential and efficient worker in 
its character. The wife of Colonel Sheehan was 
Miss Jennie Judge, a native of Ireland. They 
were married in November, 1866, and have three 
boys, Jeremiah, George, and Edward. Colonel 
Sheehan lost both parents when he was two years 
old; was early thrown upon his own resources, 
and is emphatically a self-made man. His suc- 
cess in life is owing wholly to his self-reliance, 
energy, and perseverance. 

William Henht Smith, a physician for nearly 
forty years, and an army surgeon, was born in 
Denmark, Lewis county. New York, on the 9lh of 
March, 1815. His parents, Selah and Catherine 
(Tisdaiel .Smith, were classed among the agricul- 
turalists, the father being one of the first settlers 
in that part of the Black River country, and died 
when William was thirteen years old. From that 
date the son took care of himself. He was educa- 
ted at common and select schools; commenced 
teaching winter terms at the age of nineteen 
years, receiving eight dollars a month and board 
for the first seaton, and taught six winteis, work- 
ing on a farm and attending select tchools the rest 
of the time. At twenty-four years of age Mr. 



CITT OF ALBERT LEA. 



399 



Smith commenced reading medicine with Dr. 
Elkanes French, of his native town, attending th 
last course of lectures held at Fairfield, Herkimer 
county, before the medical college was moved to 
Geneva. He received from the authorities of 
Jefferson connty a certificate permitting him to 
practice, and followed his profession four years at 
Pamelia Four Corners, in that county; in 1846, 
removed to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and was there 
in practice twenty years, except when in the army. 
In 1856 he took a course of lectures at Rush Med- 
ical College, Chicago, from which he received his 
diploma. 

In 1862 Dr. Smith went south as surgeon of a 
Wisconsin artillery regiment; at the end of one 
year was transferred to the same position in the 
Twenty-eighth Wisconsin Infantry, and served 
three more years. During nine months of this 
time he was post surgeon at Pine Blutf, Arkansas. 
He is a kind-hearted man, and was very attentive 
to the wants of the sick and wounded. 

While at the south the doctor contracted a dis- 
ease, from which he has suffered more or less for 
a long time; and in 1866, thinking a change of 
climate might be beneficial, he went to Fulton, 
Missouri, practicing when he had sufficient 
strength; and in 1873, much improved, returned 
to the north and settled at Albert Lea. Here he 
has a good rnn of business, and an excellent 
standing. He holds the office of County Cor- 
oner. 

While in Beaver Dam, during the administra- 
tions of Presidents Taylor and Fillmore, he held 
the office of Postmaster. A whig ia early life, 
wiih free-soil tendencies, he naturally drifted into 
republican ranks, where be is still found. 

For the last twenty-five years he has paid very 
little attention to politics, except to vote. His 
leisure time is given mainly to medical studies. 

On the 22nd of February, 1843, he received the 
hand of Miss Louisa M. Stevens, of West Mar- 
tinsburgh, Lewis county. New York. They have 
three children living; a son, Selah H., was acci- 
dentally killed on the railroad at Cherokee, Kan- 
sas, in January, 1874; Mary is the wife of Jasper 
J. Bond, of Albert Lea; Frances E. and Charles 
Henry both reside in Albert Lea. 

Edwin Claek Stacy is a native of Madison 
county. New York, born in the town of Hamilton, 
on the 6th of September, 1815. His parents were 
Nathaniel and Susan (Clark | Stacy. His grand- 



father, Rufus Stacy, a native of Gloucester, Mas- 
sachusetts, was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and 
at Cherry Valley, when it was ravaged and burned 
by the combined forces of the Tory, Butler, and 
the savage. Brant. Nathaniel Stacy, a Univer- 
salist minister, was Chaplain ot a regiment in 
1814, and stationed at Sacket's Harbor. He wrote 
the memoirs of his own life — a work of more than 
five hundred pages, published in 1850 — and in it 
gives a pretty full account of the rise and progress 
of Universalism in the State of New York, a move- 
ment in which he was very prominent. The vol- 
ume is written in an easy, familiar style, veined 
with humor, and is decidedly readable. The au- 
thor died ten years ago. Edwin received an 
academic education at Hamilton, New Y'ork, and 
Erie, Pennsylvania, the family moving to Warren 
county, Pennsylvania, when he was fourteen years 
old. He farmed more or less till he was of age; 
teaching winter schools, and securing his educa- 
tion entirely with his own means. In 1836, he 
came westward to Ann Arbor, Michigan; read law 
a while with Miles & Wilson, of that place, and 
finished with a cousin. Consider A. Stacy, at Te- 
cumseh, Lenawee county. He was admitted to 
the bar at Adrian, in 1840, and in the autumn of 
that year returned to Warren county, Pennsyl- 
vania, practicing at Columbus and at Erie till 
1856. He then came to Minnesota, and located 
at Geneva, where he was engaged in farming for 
four years. The year Mr. Stacy settled in this 
State he was appointed by Governor Gorman one 
of the commissioners to organize Freeborn county, 
and was made its first Judge of Probate. He was 
a member of the Constitutional Convention. In 
1860, Mr. Stacy removed to Albert Lea, the county 
seat, and when not in some county office, has been 
engaged in the practice ot his profession and the 
real estate business. He does a good deal of col- 
lecting for commercial, agricultural, and other 
houses, being a prompt and reliable man. Sev- 
eral years ago he served as County Auditor three 
terms, and County Superintendent of Schools one 
term. No man in Freeborn county is better known 
than Judge Stacy, the title he has had since Judge 
of Probate. He is among the leading men ot the 
older class in the county, and greatly esteemed by 
all who know him. He has always affiliated with 
the Democratic party; has been quite active and 
prominent in county and district politics, and 
was the candidate of his party for Congress in 



400 



HISTORY OF FHEEBOHN COUNTY. 



1876. He is iiii OJa-Fellow; holds the office of 
Noble (rraiul in the Albert Lea Lodge, and is a 
member of the Universalist Society. Judge Stacy 
was married on the 22d of Febrnary. 18-12, to Miss 
Elizabeth D. Heath, of Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
and of four children, tlie fruit of this union, two 
sons are living. Both are married, and reside in 
Albert Lea. Dorr is a member of the city police, 
and Day F. is a printer and surveyor. 

J. W. Smith, one of the oldest and most suc- 
cessful merchants of this city, is a native of Con- 
necticut, born in Sharon. Litchfield county, on the 
14th of .January, 1838. When he was seventeen 
years old his parents moved to Rock county, Wis- 
consin, and settled on a farm. J. W. attended the 
Hamlin University in Red Wing, Minnesota, two 
years, then returned to Wisconsin and resided .sev- 
eral years. On the 2:5d of April, 181)3, lie married 
Olive M. Clifford, and the following year moved 
to Albert Lea and engaged in the insurance busi- 
ness. In 186(), he opened a general mercantile 
store at Shell Rjck, in company with K. B. Skin- 
ner, and in 1867, they removed their stock to this 
.place. Mr. Smith has since been in the business, 
but has changed jiartners twice. The firm is now 
Smith & Garrett, and they keep the largest stock 
of dry goods in the city. 

G. O. SuNDBY, a native of Norway, was born 
near the city of Christiania, on the 2.jth of July, 
1845. He was brought up on a farm, and when 
about fifteen years old went to Ihe city and clerked 
for one year. In 1861, he came with his parents 
to America and located on a farm near Winona, in 
this State, G. O. soon went to the latter city and 
found employment in a store, where he remained 
three years, during which time he also attended 
Eastman's Business College. In 1865, lie moved 
to Owatoiina and engaged in business for himself 
about a year, then sold out, and two months later 
visited Norway. On his return he opened another 
store in Owatonna, and in 1869, came to this city, 
where he has since successfully continued in the 
mercantile business, building a store in 1870, and 
in 1879, erected his present fine brick block. He 
was united in wedlock on the 14th of July, 1873, 
with Miss Laura Abbott, and they have one child, 
Cle.jn, born in A])ril, 1874. 

W. P. SnuiiEANT, one of the active business men 
of the city, was burn in Oneida county. New York, 
on the 24th of May, 1839, His great-grandfather 
came to that county as a missionary to tlie Indians 



about one hundred years ago. and secured Gov- 
ernment land, upon which his son, grandson, and 
the subject of this sketch were all born. Mr. Ser- 
geant's father died when W. P. was (juite a small 
boy, and he lived with an uncle, and assisted liiiu 
on his farm. He afterward clerked in stores, and, 
in 1861, enlisted in Company I, of the Eigth New 
York Cavalry, serving three years. He then was 
employed in a wholesale fancy dry goods house 
in Uiiea, New York, until 1868, when he opened a 
store in Penn Yan. On the 13th of March, 1807, 
Mr. Sergeant was united in marriage with Miss 
Harriet I. Stebens. In 1871, they moved to 
Cresco, Iowa, l)ut the same year came to Alliert 
Lea and bought out a lumber firm, to which busi- 
ness he has since given his attention, also carrying 
on a farm. He is a strong Republican, and has 
been Alderman four years, acting as President of 
the Council the two latter years. On the 7th of 
November, 1882, he was elected to the State Sen- 
ate by 397 majority over Ex-Lientenant Governor 
Armstrong. 

Rev. O. H. Smebv was born in Rock Prairie, 
Wisconsin, on the Slst of January, 1851. When 
he was an infant his parents moved to Allamakee 
county, Iowa, where he attended school, and later 
entered the college at Decorah, graduating in 
1871, after which he attended the Theological 
Seminary at St. Louis. After completing his 
studies in the latter institution, he came to Albert 
Lea, and has since had charge of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in this place. He was married 
in 1876, to Miss Marie Carlson, a native of Skien, 
Norway, her birtli dating tlie 12th of August, 
1854. They have had three children, two girls 
and a boy, the oldest girl being dead. 

D. K. Stacy, whose parents were among the 
early settlers of this county, ■nas born in Colum- 
bus, Warren county, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of 
November, 1842. The family moved to Minnesota 
when he was fourteen years old; located first in 
Geneva, and in 1860, came to Albert Lea. In 
February, 1862, D. K. enlisted in the Fifth Min- 
nesota Volunteer Infantry, Company C. He was 
on the frontier, and fought against Hole in the 
Day at the Crow Wing Agency, and was in sev- 
eral of the heavy engagements in the South, 
remaining in service until after the close of the 
war. He was jiromoted to the office of Cajitain, 
and received his discharge in October, 1865. Soon 
alter, he was married to Miss Lelia (i. Moon, a 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



401 



native of Koek county, Wisconsin. Tliis union 
has been blessed with three children. It was Mr. 
Stacy who carried the first mail into the town of 
Geneva, taking it on his back. 

Simon Strauss was born in Kirch Brombach, 
Germany, on the 22d of March, 1850. He 
attended the Commercial College at Frankfort on 
the Main for five years, and after graduating was 
employed as Assistant Tellei- in a bank at the 
same place. In 1876, he emigrated to America, 
directly to Iowa, where he clerked for his brother, 
and in September, 1878, came to Albert Lea, and 
started in business under the firm name of Strauss 
& Jacol>y- His present partner is Mr. Schlesinger, 
and they keep the largest stock of clothing, gents' 
furnishing goods, boots, shoes, etc., in the city. 

G. O. Slooum was born in Bock county, Wis- 
consin, on the 29th of August, 1840. His early 
life was devoted to agricultural pursuits and in 
1850, the family removed to Menasha, where the 
father of our subject built the first mill in that 
place. In 1856, they removed to Sttphenson 
county, Illinois, and in 1858, G. O. attended 
school at Oberlin, Ohio, remaining there two years. 
He then returned to Illinois, engaged at farm 
labor in the summer and taught school during the 
winter seasons. In 1862, he enlisted in the Seven- 
ty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, served eigh- 
teen months in Company H, and was then dis- 
charged for disability. During the winter of 
1864-65 he attended a business college in Chicago, 
re-enlisted the next spring, and served till the 
close of the war in the Twenty-third Illinois Vol- 
unteer Infantry, Company K. He was married 
on the 7th of March, 1865, to Miss Mary A. Car- 
ter, and in 1868, they came to Oakland township , 
going, a year later, to Hay ward, where Mr. Slocum 
purchased a farm, to which he gave his attention 
in the summer, and taught school in the winter, 
also filled some local offices. In 1875, they 
removed to Albert Lea, and he clerked in the 
Auditor's office until 1878, when he was elected to 
his present office of County Auditor. Mr. and 
Mrs. Slocum have been blessed with five children, 
two of whom are living, both daughters. 

Ira a. Town was born in Franklin, Franklin 
county. New York, on the 2d of April, 1848. In 
1864, the family removed to Shell Eock in this 
county, and in .1869 our subject attended the 
Cedar Valley Seminary in Iowa, graduating as 
Bachelor of tht Sciences in 1873. He then 
26 



returned home, but a year later entered the law 
department of the Iowa State University, gradu- 
ating in 1875, as Bachelor of the Law, and soon 
after entered a law office in Albert Lea. In 1878, 
he began practice by himself and after the organi- 
zation of the city of Albert Lea, was one of its 
first City Justices. He was defeated by a small 
majority as an independent candidate for the 
office of Judge of Probate in 1877, but was elected 
two years later, and is now serving his second 
term. On the 22d of November, 1879, he was 
married to Mrs. Fannie V. Steele, of Frederick- 
town, Ohio. They have one child, a daughter. 

Leandek J. Thomas, an old settler of this 
State, was born in Springfield, Bradford county, 
Pennsylvania, on the 24th of October, 1841. 
When he was an infant his parents moved to Wis- 
consin and located in Janesville, Rock county, 
and in 1857, came to Minnesota. Leander attend- 
ed select school at Owatonna for two years, and 
afterward learned the printer's trade. In 1862, he 
enlisted in Company E, of the Tenth Minnesota 
Volunteer Infantry; was in General Sibley's ex- 
pedition across the plains, and, in the fall of 1863, 
sent south, and remained in service until the close 
of the war, when he was honorably discharged- 
He was united in marriage on the 25th of Decem- 
ber, 1868, to Miss Clara M. Colby, a native of 
Wisconsin. They have one son, Edwin D., born 
on the 29th of October, 1871. Mr. Thomas has 
been practicing veterinary surgery for the past 
twelve years. He came to this place in 1873, and 
located just outside the city limits, but is now liv- 
ing in the city, running a feed stable in connection 
with veterinary business. Mr. Thomas is an hon- 
orable man, and respected by all who know him. 

ToRGEK L. Torgerson was born near the capi- 
tal of Norway on the 6th of August, 1848. His 
parents came to America when he was about five 
years old, and first located in Iowa. In 1861, 
they came to this county and settled in Manches- 
ter, where his mother still lives, his father having 
died after coming there. In 1867, Mr. Torgerson 
was married to Miss Anna M. Fossom, also a na- 
tive of Norway. They have four children : Anna 
M., Louis P., Aase E., and George A. Mr. Tor- 
gerson located on a farm of his owcn after his mar- 
riage, and in 1877 came to Albert Lea, where he is 
engaged in the sale of agricultural implements. 

Andrew L. Toukle is a native of Norway, 
born in Trondhjem on the 16th of December, 



402 



HlSTOnr OF FlifliBOKN COUNT y 



1835. He there learned the tailor tiaile, and, in 
1869, came to America, and directly to All)ert 
Lea. Previous to leaving his native country he 
waa married to Miss Marrette Eunbo. They have 
one child, Anna M., born on the 23d of October, 
1866, who now attends the St. Olaf s school in 
Northtield. Mr. Tockle ojiened a merchant tailor 
establishment on the corner of Broadway, and 
also deals in agents' furnishing goods and sewing 
machines. 

Dr. Fred A. Twichell is a native of ^'er- 
mont, bom in Stockbridge on the 29th of July, 
1854. After attending the common schools he 
entered the Black River Academy, and was subse- 
quently employed as book-keeper at Lawrence, 
Massachusetts. Returning to his home in Ver- 
mont he began the study of his profession in the 
office of Dr. R. M. Chase, one of the prominent 
dentists and physicians of the place, and remained 
with him three years. He came to Albert Lea in 
April, 1881, and began the practice of dentistry in 
company with Dr. Street. 

Walter Thompson, one the oldest business men 
of Albert Lea, was born in Buckingham county, 
England, on the 5th of April, 1840. His parents 
came to America in 1854, but he remained in his 
native country until 1859, and there learned the 
boot and shoe business. He came to this place in 
■ 1863, and opened a boot and shoe store in which 
he has a good trade. Mrs. Thompson was form- 
erly Martha Slater and they have a family of five 
children, four sons and one daughter. 

John Whttock is a native of Buffalo, New 
York, born of Scotch parentage on the 14th of 
November, 1835. He attended the public schools, 
afterward the Aurora Academy, and when twenty - 
two years old commenced the study of law which 
he continued three years. In about 1860, he came 
to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and the following year 
ei'listed in the Second Wisconsin Cavalry, was en- 
rolled as First Lieutenant and soon promoted 



Captain of Company B; in 1865, was made Major 
of the regiment, which position he filled until the 
close of the war. He then located in Little Kock, 
.\rkansas, and remained ten years, being private 
secretary of the Governor, and also United States 
District Attorney two years. He was joined in 
matrimony on the 6th of August, 1872, with Miss 
Taylor. In 1875, they came north to Minneapolis, 
where Mr. Whytock practiced law until 1878, and 
then came to Albert Lea which has since been his 
home, doing a successful business in his profes- 
sion. 

W. W. Williams, a son of Rev. John L. and 
Priscilla D. Williams, was born on the 1st of De- 
cember, 1840, in Blairsville, Indiana county, 
Pennsylvania. His father was a noted divine of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and an early 
abolitionist. He was an agent of the "Under- 
ground Railroad" and in 1849, removed to Wis- 
consin. W. W. received a common school educa- 
tion supplemented by several terms at the Monroe 
(Wisconsin ) Institute. He commenced to learn 
the printer's trade in 1858, and has since been in 
the newspaper and printing business, except 
two years spent in the drug business at 
Spring Valley, Minnesota; two years of which he 
served as Deputy Warden of the Min- 
nesota State Prison, and a year in the em- 
ploy of Seymour, Sabin & Co., of Stillwater. In 
1864, he came to Minnesota, and the following 
year purchased the "Preston Republican," which 
he sold in 1866, and in 1869, started the "Blue Earth 
City Post." During most of his residence iu the 
latter place he was Postmaster; sold his paper in 
1874, and removed to Stillwater. In 1878, he 
purchased the interest of D. G. Parker in the 
"Freeborn County Standard" to which he has 
since devoted his time. Mr. Williams is a clear 
and fearless writer and has opinions of his own 
which he does not hesitate to avow and since he 
has been iu this county has exercised a powerful 
influence in political circles. 



ALBEIiT LISA TOWNSHIP. 



403 



ALBERT LEA TOWNSHIP. 



CHAPTEK LIV. 

TOPOGKAPHY AND PHYSICAL FeATUBES — EaRLY 

Settlers — Town Government — Educational 
— The First Marriage. 

The township bearing this name is the southern 
of the two center towns of the county, Bancroft 
being its comrade on the north, with Kiceland im- 
pinging on the northeast, Hayward on the east, 
Shell Rook to the southeast, Freeman on the south, 
Nunda to the southwest. Pickerel Lake on the 
west, and Manchester to the northwest. It coin- 
cides with the original government survey, having 
thirty-sis sections. 

It may be said to be a prairie town, with numer- 
ous oak groves; and when first visited presented 
a most inviting prospect, which will be described 
further on. 

The principal river is the Shell Eock, which 
flows in an average direction toward the south- 
east, diagonally through the township. Lake 
Albert Lea is the largest body of water in town, 
and is a magnificent sheet, with its irregular but 
gently curving outline and undulating surround- 
ing meadows and hillside. Most of it lays in the 
town, but its length is about eight miles. Pick- 
erel Lake also laps over into its territory, as does 
White's Lake, which Col. Lea at first called Lake 
Ohapeau. Goose Lake, a compact little body of 
water, may be found in section three. Fountain 
Lake is an artificial pond created by the mill dam 
erected by Mr. Kuble on his first coming here. It 
hugs around the northern side of the city in a 
curviUnear way, and with its graceful foliage, at 
various points coming down to the water's edge, 
presents one of the most pleasing views to be 
found in all Southern Minnesota. 

The interest in this town, as well as the whole 
county, centers in the city which has sprung up 
here, and retains the same name. 



The early settlement of this township has, of 
necessity, been given in the history of Albert Lea 
City, so that very little remains to be said here. 
A few pioneer notes, however, will be given. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blaekmer were early settlers, but 
both are dead. Two sons, Loren and Heman, 
live on the homestead, and other sons reside in 
Albert Lea and vicinity. Dr. F. Blaekmer, resid- 
ing in the city, is a son. 

John G. Godley is an old settler, and still lives 
in the township. 

The Nelsons are among the very first settlers in 
the south-eastern part of the towE, and still live 
there. 

The old town of St. Nicholas, which, at one 
time, had lofty aspirations, was located in this 
township, but as its history is fully depicted in 
the sketch of the city, no further reference to it 
will be made here. 

TOWN CiOVERNMENT. 

It would be monotonous to furnish the names 
of the various town officers from year to year, as 
many of them have been re-elected from time to 
time. But it will be sufficient to name the vari- 
ous gentlemen who have been prominent in the 
town government up to the time of the organiza- 
tion of the city government. Among the men 
who have been town officers we notice: A. C. 
Wedge, D. G. Parker, John Brownsill, Bernard 
McCarthy, Luther Parker, H. T. Smith, T. J. 
Sheehan, F. Blakely, Chauncy Conley, Thomas 
Smith, Eeuben Williams, H. D. Brown, A. B. 
Webber, Joseph France, E. C. Stacy, F. D. Dud- 
ley, John Kuble, L. Eaton, George Thompson, 
Francis Hall, John Wood, A. Armstrong, Charles 
T. Knapp, James E. Smith, William Morin, Reu- 
ben C. Cady, Reuben Williams, O. P. Kenfield, 
J. G. Godley, H. M. Manley, W. J. Martin, A. W. 
St. John, George Whitman, D. K. Stacy, A. M. 



404 



HISTORY OF FliKEBOHN COUNTY. 



Tyrer, John Ross, F. B. Frost, Charles Kittleson, 
William Hazelton, Ole J. EUiugsoii, Joseph Green, 
G. D. Ball,' Lewis Hager, M. M. Luce, A. E. 
Johnson, W. C. Lincoln, M. W. Greene, D. N. 
Gates, C. G. Jonsrud, and 1). IJ. P. Hibbs. As 
to the business of the officers of the town, it was 
of course mostly of an executive character, but 
legislative within certain limits. 

In 18(il, a pound was ordered to be built. In 
18G3, a petition was considered in relation to a 
bridge at Ruble's. In 1868, the Southern Minne- 
sota railroad made a proposition to several towns 
in the county to vote aid to the company. Albert 
Lea was requested to vote $40,000, while six of 
the towns were asked for S15,000 each, and seven 
of them were invited to contribute SI 0,000 each. 

At one time in the hi.story of the town; tlie 
powers of the town board were enlarged by the 
legislature, and numerous ordinances were adopted 
to be in force in the village. 

The government has been iu accordance with 
the wishes of the town, the powers delegated to 
the Supervisors and other officers never having 
been abused iu any notable instance. 

On the 8th of October, 1864, the town vot^d 
t;25 to each volunteer duly credited, and S225 
was paid on that account. During that year 
thirteen enlistments were credited on the quota 
of tlie town. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

There are five schoolhouses iu the township, 
as follows: 

District No. 37 has a house located uu the 
northwest quarter of section twelve. 

District No. 14. The juveniles of this district 
meet for instruction in a neat schoolliouse on the 
northeast cjuarter of section fourteen. 

District No. 54. The sehoolhouse of this dis- 
trict is situated on the northwest (piarter of 
section thirty-five. 

District No. 68. This house is on the south- 
west corner of section twenty-nine. 

District No. 110 is the next to the last organ- 
ized in the county, and has its sehoolhouse on the 
northwest quarter of section twenty-eight. 

School is kept in these buildings a great por- 
tion of the year, and the standard of both 
teachers and scholars is up to that of any other 
portion of Freeborn county. 



THE FIRST MARRIAGE. 

January 13th, 1857, was an eventful day in 
Albert Lea. for then occun-ed the first marriage in 
the townsliip, and it was none of your time affairs; 
it was a double wedding, and the people began to 
feel that the semi-civilization of pioneer life was 
fast giving way to a condition of enlightment. 
C. C. Colby and Ellen Frost, David Hard and 
Mary A. Colby were the especially interested and 
interesting parties. The event happened at the 
house of John Colby. Squire Clark was employ- 
ed to secure the nuptial knot. 

Tlie old settlers will remember that the squire 
was not noted for his literary genius, for his deli- 
cacy or polish, but he was the only available 
authority vested Ijy the infantile commonwealth 
of Minnesota, to declare the banns indissolubly 
fixed, and so he consented to do the best he could 
under the circumstances. 

The guests were assembled and the parties stood 
up in the magisterial presence, to be legally uni- 
ted, as they already were heart to heart, with a 
single ceremony for both couples. 

Here was a perspiration ]jrovoking predicament 
for this lugubrious limb of the law. In his per- 
plexity ho glanced over a marriage ceremony he 
had picked up somewhere, but there was no double 
attachment, either "back action"' or otherwise, and 
he was totally lacking iu the ability to improvise 
the requisite amendment, or to modify the docu- 
ment to meet the present emergency. So, after 
reading it over to himself, and seeing no possible 
way to make the ceremony appear ritualistic, in 
his desperation he blurted out, '•! pronounce you 
husbands and wives, and yon may now go where 
you please, by Gosh!" 

This constituted the nuptial ceremony, no one 
gave the brides away, no questions were asked, no 
rings were presented, no prayers were offered, and 
it may be added, no expensive bridal trosseau was 
provided in either case. 

Of course whatever else was dispensed with, the 
bridal tour could not be omitted, and so the only 
pair of horses in town was called into requisition, 
and tlie outfit went to Shell Rock where an im- 
])rom])tu dance was got up at George Gardner's, 
and "they chased the hours with flying feet" until 
morning, when the jaded party started for home; 
but a snow storm had so blocked the road that 
when three miles away, the team had to be aban- 
doned, and the rest of the way was made on foot. 



ALBERT LEA TOWNSHIP. 



405 



They were a jolly party, ami all enjoyed them- 
selves except 'Mrs. B,' whoever she was, whose 
prodigious weight carried her down through the 
snow at every step. 

Notwithstanding the informality ot the techni- 
cal joining, the marriage "took" as they say about 
vaccination, and twenty -five years afterwards the 
silver wedding of one of the couples was celebra- 
ted here, as is recorded in the proper place. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

John Buegland, one of the ^jrominent men of 
this county, is a native of Sweden, born on the 
29th of November, 1834. He remained at his 
birth place until 1854, when he married Miss 
Anna M. Johnson and the same year bought a 
farm which he carried on until 186^, then engag- 
ed in the lumber business. In 1868, they emi- 
grated to America, came directly to Albert Lea 
and bought a farm in section twenty -seven, which 
now contains over two hundred acres. He has a 
family of nine children. 

Martin Caret was born in Jefferson county, 
Wisconsin, on the 28th of August, 1850. When 
fifteen years old he commenced going to the 
pineries during winter seasons, and in 1871, came 
with his parents to this county and settled on a 
farm ici this township. In 1874, he bought land 
for himself and has since made it his home. He 
was married on the 30th of June, 1875, to Miss 
Mary Tracy, who has borne him five children, 
four of whom are living. Mr. Carey has held 
several local offices. 

Owen Doyle, one of the early settlers of Free- 
born county, was born in Carlow county, Michi- 
gan, on the 1st of March, 1820. His father died 
when he was eight years old, and when fifteen 
he emigrated to America, settling near Kingston, 
in Canada, where he was engaged in farming for 
eight years. In 1850, he married Miss Bridget 
Murphy. Prom 1843 to 1853, he had no settled 
home, but in the latter year located in Columbus, 
Ohio, and resided there three years. He then 
came to Burlington, Iowa, and three years later 
to this township, having since made his home in 
section eleven. Mr. and Mrs. Doyle have had 
eight children, three of whom died in infancy, and 
five are living. 

Ogden Edwards was bom in Jefferson county, 
New York, on the 5th of May, 1826. He assisted 
his father on the farm until 1854, when he bought 
land of his own. On the 28tli of February, in the 



latter year, he was married to Miss Prudence 
Doughkuse. In 1859, Mr. Edwards _went to Cal- 
ifornia and engaged in mining two years, then 
returned to his native State and again carried on 
a farm. In 1866, he came to this place and 
bought a farm in section one, where he now lives. 
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have had four children; 
Charles D., John, Fi'ederick J., and Ada. John 
died at the age of two years and six months. 

Ole J. Ellingson is a native of Norway, 
born on the 26th of January, 1825. When twenty- 
three years of age he enlisted in the Norwegian 
army; spent one year in Germany, and remained 
in the service until the 16th of April, 1853. The 
following day he started fur America, having the 
year before married Miss Engel C. Erickson. 
They first located in Allamakee county, Iowa, but 
in 1856, became pioneers of this county, settling 
in Bancroft. In 1859, Mr. Ellingson was elected 
County Treasurer and moved to Albert Lea; held 
the office two years and in 1861, enlisted in the 
Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Comj:)any 
F, serving till 1864. He then returned to this 
place, and has since devoted his time to agricul- 
tural pursuits. He is the father of eight children. 

Andrew O. Feosager is a native of Norway, 
and dates his birth on the 26th of October, 1846. 
He resided with his parents until the spring of 
1871, when he came to America and settled in 
Lafayette county, Wisconsin. In 1874, he 
removed to Marquette county, Michigan, where 
he engaged in mining and railroading one year; 
thence to Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and in 1876, 
came to this county. He bought a farm in Albert 
Lea two years later, and has since devoted his 
time to its cultivation. He was married on the 
24th of December, 1877, to Miss Ellen Torgen- 
son. 

John G. Godlbt, one of the early settlers of 
Freeborn county, was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- 
land, in 1837. He was engaged as book-keeper 
for two and a half years in his native place, and 
in 1854 came to America, settling on Long Island. 
He moved from there to Chemung county. New 
York, and a year later came to Richland City, 
Wisconsin. In 1857, he moved to this township, 
and claimed land in section eighteen, where he 
'•batched" it six months and returned to Wiscon- 
sin. In 1860, he came again to his claim, and in 
February, 1862, enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota 
Volunteer Infantry; was Chief Clerk in the Quar- 



406 



HISTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



termaster's departmeat tor two years and sis 
months, and returned homo in 1866. The same 
year he sold his former farm and bought his 
present, which contains two hundred and forty 
acres. On the 15th of April, 1868, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Maggie Slater, who has borne him 
one child, Anna M. 

S. C. .T.i^spEKSON was born in Denmark on the 
18th of April, 1838. When he was twenty-one 
years old he enlisted in the Danish army and 
served three years, then returned home and 
engaged in farming. He was married on the 7th 
of April, 1860, to Miss Johanna M. Jostenson 
The result of the union is seven children. Mr 
Jasperson came to America in 1867, settled in 
Chicago, where he learned the carpenter trade and 
worked at the same tour years. He then went to 
Tennessee and engaged in the construction of rail- 
roads one winter, and in the spring of 1871, came 
to this county and bought a farm in Bath town- 
ship. Since 1875, he has been a resident of Albert 
Lea, his farm being in section ten. He is the fa- 
ther of seven children. 

Ole A. Johnson is a native of Norway, born on 
the 17th of December, 1831. He was married be- 
fore leaving his birthplace, to Miss Elizabeth 
Goegerson. They emigrated to America in 1859, 
and settled in Waupaca county, Wisconsin; three 
years later moved to a farm in Winnebago coianty, 
and in 1868, came to this township. They have a 
family of eight children. 

William Kellab, one of the pioneers of this 
county, was bom in Jefferson county, Kentucky, 
on the 24th of December, 1820. At the age of 
ten years he removed with his parents to Edgar 
county, Illinois, where he resided until 1842, 
when, through public excitement, he was attract- 
ed to the lead mines of Wisconsin. In 1844, he 
, returned to his old home in Illinois, where, on the 
15th of February, he was married to Miss Eliza- 
beth C. Kies, which union has been blessed with 
three children. He immediately took up his resi- 
dence in Grant county, where he remained until 
the spring of 1856, when he took a claim in sec- 
tion seventeen in this township, erecting a log 
dwelling. The first religious meeting ever held in 
this vicinity took place in his house in May, 1857, 
conducted by Rev. Mr. Phelps, a Methodist. In 
1864, Mr. Kellar enlisted in Company C, of the 



First Minnesota Heavy Artillery, serving until the 
close of the war. 

W. H. Lowe, one of the early settlers of this 
county, is a native of the Empire State, bom in the 
city of New York on the 16th of October, 1832. 
When he was tour years old he moved with his 
parents to Huron county, Ohio, and in 1851 went 
to Lawrence, Kansas. He soon returned to his 
home, and in a short time came to Ha8ting8,where 
he learned the carpenter's trade and resided two 
years. In 1854 he settled in this place and work- 
at his trade. He was united in marraige on the 
4th of November, 1860, to Miss Rhoda A. Baker, 
and the result of the union is five children. Mr. 
Lowe enlisted in 1862, in the Tenth Minnesota 
Volunteer Infantry, Company E, and served three 
years, the two latter as First Sergeant. After his 
discharge he returned to Albert Lea, and worked 
at his trade until 1867, then bought a farm and 
has since devoted his time to its cultivation. 

Isaac W. McKbynolds, one of the pioneers of 
the county, is a native of North Carolina, born on 
the 4th of February, 1806. In 1816 he moved 
with his parents to Jefferson county, Indiana, 
where they resided on a farm three j'ears, then 
went to Bond county, Illinois. In 1827 Isaac 
came to Grant county, Wisconsin, and was engaged 
in farming and mining there until coming to this 
place in 1856. He took a claim in section seven, 
and has since made it his home. The maiden 
name of his wife was Nancy Sparks, who has 
borne him seven children, four of whom are 
living. 

Ole O. Stive was born in Norway on the 7th of 
May, 1842. He came with his parents to America 
in 1850, settled in Dane County, Wisconsin, until 
1853, then moved to Winineshiek county, Iowa. 
They came to this county in 1857, and located in 
Bancroft, where Ole resided with his parents until 
1859, when he returned to Wisconsin and worked 
in the pineries. On the 13th of May, 1861, he 
enlisted in the Fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry 
and served four years and three months. He 
then returned to his home and lived with his par- 
ents until 1868, when he married Miss Ingeborg 
G. Bottolfson on the 20th of December. They 
have had seven children, gix of whom are living. 
In 1873 they bought a farm in Albert Lea town- 
ship, and have since made it their home 



ALDEN TOWNSHIP. 



407 



ALDEN. 



CHAPTER LV. 

General Descbiption— ^Earlt Settlement — 
Township Government — Statistical — Post- 
offices — Educational — Alden village — Bio- 
graphical. 

This lies in the western tier ot Freeborn coun- 
ty's towns, and is separated from Iowa by one 
town. Its contiguous stirronndings are, Carlston 
on the north; Pickerel Lake on the east; Mans- 
field on the south, and Faribault county on the 
webt. It is constituted as originally surveyed by 
the United States officers, of thirty-six square 
miles, and contains 23,040 acres, of which the 
greater portion is under a high state of cultiva- 
tion, being one of the richest farming towns in this 
part of the State, and containing as much real 
value. 

It is a prairie town, containing little if any 
timber of any kind within its borders. In the 
central and southeastern part we find some marsh 
land, but this is all valuable, if not for tillage 
purposes, for hay and grazing, while it is all most 
valuable meadow land. The farmers are so ad- 
vanced in their modes and procedures of agricul- 
ture that those lands, formerly too wet for raising 
grain, has, by the use of drains and ditches, all 
been brought under the plow, and is now among 
the best of farming laud. There are but few 
streams in the town, and no lakes. 

The soil, as a rule, and in fact almost through- 
out the entire town, is a rich dark loam, of from 
three to tour feet deep, which is underlaid with a 
subsoil of clay. It is very rich and well adapted 
to the crops of this latitude, such as wheat, corn, 
oats, barley, and all cereals. The abundant 
growth ot indigneous grasses which covers the 
broad expanse of prairie, makes stock raising not 
only an inexpensive but very profitable business, 
and already many of the farmers are turning their 
attention from grain, and making stock their prin- 



cipal industry. The creameries, which are spring 
ing into existence all through this part of the 
State, serve to encourage and make this change 
more universal. It has already been demonstrat- 
ed, as an article published elsewhere will show, 
that the hopes and expectations of those who thus 
change from grain to stock are not unfounded; 
but that there is a great deal more money made 
with less risk of capital, and one-half the work in 
taking care of stock, (ban is required to raise 
grain at customary price?. 

early settlement. 

The early development of this sub-division of 
Freeborn county commenced a little later than the 
average of towns in this part of Minnesota, but 
the changes wrought have been equal to any and 
surpassed by none; for, we find the township, by a 
glance at the statistical returns, as productive and 
rich, agriculturally, as the best. 

As to who the first settlers were, there is some 
dispute here, and the means are not easy of access 
with which to prove any of the statements. A 
short sketch, purporting to be the history of the 
township, was published in 1877, which we here- 
with present. It is as follows : 

"John Hauek entered this town in the spring of 
1858, and is supposed to have been the first set- 
tler. He also erected the first house in the sum- 
mer of that year. John Tirrel was the first mer- 
chant, and commenced business in the winter of 
1869-70. Mr. Miller, a blacksmith, was the first 
mechanic; M. W. Green, the first lawyer, and a 
Mr. Barber, the first doctor. The first school was 
taught in the Russell district, but when, or by 
whom, I have been unable to ascertain. The first 
religious service is said to have been held at the 
house of William Humes, but authorities differ 
regarding the officiating clergyman; the conflict 
laying between Rev. D. P. Curtis and Rev. A. P. 
Wolcott. The first schoolhouse was erected in 



408 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



1867, and in the same year the Free Will Baptists 
effected tlie first church organization. A. G. Hall 
served as Chairman of the first board of Super- 
visors, and E. P. Clark acted as Clerk." 

The above, it is said, was gathered by corres- 
pondence, and as stated, errors are liable to creep 
in, so we do not vouch for it, but give it just as 
received by us through the newspapers. 

It is pretty certain that the first farm settled 
upon in the town was in section two, by Walter 
Scott Russell, in the spring of 1858. HewasTi 
young man, coming from Wisconsin with a yoke 
of oxen, and the same summer broke three acres of 
land and "erected" a dug-out in the side of a hill, 
in which he took up his abode. In a short time 
he returned to Wisconsin for his father and fam- 
ily, whom he had left there, and brought them 
back with him. He remained upon his second 
trip only a short time, when he sold his claim and 
removed to parts unknown. 

John Hauek (or Houck | was the next arrival, 
making his appearance in the summer of the same 
year, and taking a farm in the northern part of 
the township, in section one, where, it is said, he 
erected the first house, and opened a farm. He 
remained a few years and then removed, his where- 
abouts at present being a mystery, to us at least. 
Mr. A. G. Hall purchased and still owns the farm. 

With this the settlement of the town remained 
rather quiescent for a time, and the next pioneer to 
make a claim was James Rundel, in October, 1860, 
in section two, but we cannot find where he came 
from, as he died not long after his arrival. The 
place he took is now owned by a Mr. Dunning, of 
Chicago, 111. 

Elisha Davis came by team from Wisconsin, 
and arrived here in 1862, building a sod house on 
the claim which he selected in section five. He 
remained here until the year 1877, when he sold 
out and went to Valley county, Nebraska. 

Joseph W. Harrington, a native of lUinois, 
came to Alden in 186.3, and in the spring of that 
year took a homestead in section twelve, where he 
remained until 1873, when he removed to the vil- 
lage and remained there until the time of his 
death, which occurred in 1875. He was among 
the prominent men of this locality. 

Moses Cheesebrough, late of Wisconsin, made his 
appearance in this township in the fall of 1864. 
He came with teams, driving several head of 
stock, and went to the big woods, thirty miles 



away, to get lumber with which to erect a frame 
dwelling. He remained on the homestead, which 
he took in section seven, for a number of years, 
but finally went to Nebraska. 

William B. Humes came to Minnesota in 1864, 
locating first in Pleasant Grove, where he remain- 
ed for five years; then came to Alden to^vn8hip 
and homesteaded a place in section one. He was 
the first Justice of the Peace elected in the town- 
ship. 

James Whitehead was another arrival in 1864, 
coming from Wisconsin with a yoke of oxen and 
locating in section three, whore, m the spring of 
that year he erected a sod habitation. He 
remained until 1866, when he left the county. 

George W. Sanders also came in the sjjring of 
1864, from Wisconsin, with a team of horses, and 
settling in section nine erected a house of two 
logs and a pile of sod. He remained here for 
about seventeen years, when he removed to other 
fields. 

A. G. Hall arrived in 1865, in the spring, com- 
ing from McGregor, Iowa, to Alden, with horse 
teams, and being twenty -four days on the road. 
Shortly after his arrival he bought out the claim 
of John Houck, in section one, where he remained 
until the village of Alden was projected, and then 
went to that jjlaoe and erected the first building 
there. He was the first chairman of Suj)(Tvisors 
of the to\\-n, and is now a prominent man in pub- 
lie affairs. 

In 1865, the Rev. O. P. Hull made his arrival 
from Wisconsin, and secured a home in sections 
eight and seventeen, where he erected a house and 
barn and remained a number of years, then 
returned to Wisconsin, where he lived until within 
a few years, when the grim messenger of death 
called him hence. 

Russell Maxson, a native of New York, who had 
for a time been stopping in Wisconsin, came in 
about 1863, and secured a claim, which he held 
for several years, when he left. 

OEFIOIAIi BEOOKD. 

Til earlier days the township of Alden was con- 
nected with adjoining townships for local govern- 
mental purposes, and therefore, as a separate 
organization, its era does not commence until late 
in the sixties. 

The records show that the first town meeting 
was held at the house of E. P. Clark, in section 
four, on the 3d of April, 1866. The meeting 



ALDBN TOWNSHIP. 



409 



came to order by the selection o£ A. G. Hall, 
chairman, and proceeded to business. It was then 
resolved, by unanimous consent, that $100 be 
raised by tax to defray town expenses for the 
ensuing year. It was also resolved that the sum 
of $30 be appropriated for the purpose of build- 
ing a pound, and George W. Sanders was elected 
poundmaster. 

Balloting for town officers came next in the 
program, and the following officers were declared 
elected: Supervisors, Albert G. Hall, Chairman, 
Nathan L. Bassett, and Washington Sanders; 
Clerk, Edwin P. Clark; Assessor, Russell Maxson; 
Treasurer, Charles H. Clark ; Justices of the Peace, 
Elisha R. Davis and William B. Humes; Consta- 
bles, Ebenezer Brown and Henry S. Davis. The 
number of votes cast was twenty-two. 

The official business of the township has been 
conducted in a frugal and business-like manner, 
with no jars to disturb the usual tranquility of 
snch matters, and uo useless waste or expenditure 
of public funds. The officers elected and serving 
_in 1882 are as follows: Supervisors, Thomas 
Dunn, chairman, S. S. Skiff, and A. H. Stevens; 
Clerk, J. T. Johnson; Assessor, J. W. Peck; 
Treasurer, T. W.Wilson; Justices of the Peace, 
H. Babbitt and A. G. Hall; Constables, O. M. 
Woodruff and W. A. Hart. 

STATISTICAL. 

We have here grouped together, from various 
sources, a complete crop cultivation and produc- 
tion report of Alden, together with various other 
items that will be of interest and value to those 
who wish to know the extent to which the rich 
and productive soil of the prairies is utilized; and 
while it will be undoubtedly dry to those who are 
reading for pastime rather than information, we 
hope it will interest a majority sufficient to repay 
us for the labor incident to collecting such mat- 
ter. 

For the year 1881. — Giving the acreage and 
the amount produced, of the various crops in the 
township of Alden: 

Wheat— 3,659 acres, yielding 38,791 bushels. 

Oats — 959 acres, yielding 26,497 bushels. 

Corn — 1,226 acres, yielding 34,530 bushels. 

Barley — 210 acres, yielding 4,095 bushels. 

Eye — 3 acres, yielding 35 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 10 acres, yielding 102 acres. 

Potatoes — 35 acres, yielding 4,381 bushels. 

Beans — i}^ acres, yielding 14 bushels. 



Sugar cane— 6^ acres, yielding 699 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 32 acres, yielding 29 tons. 

Flax — 259 acres, yielding 2,359 bushels. 

Total acreage cultivated in the town in the 
year 1881, 6,401. 

Wild hay gathered — 2,359 tons. 

Bushels of timothy seeded, 70. 

Apple trees — growing, 1,368; bearing 81, 
yielding 11 bushels. 

Grape vines — 3, yielding 40 pounds. 

Sheep — 205 sheared, yielding 1,198 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy— 259 cows, yielding (about) 23,000 
pounds of butter and 4,000 pounds'of cheese. 

For the tear 1882. — It being at this writing 
too early to get returns as to the amount of pro- 
ductions, we are only able to give the acreage for 
1882, with other information, as follows: 

Wheat, 2,732 acres; Oats, 1,183; Corn, 2,059; 
Barley, 298; Buckwheat, 16; Potatoes, 85i; 
Beans, 2i; Sugar cane, 5%; Cultivated hay, 81 ; 
Flax, 306. Total acreage cultivated in 1882, 
6,768|. 

Apple trees — growing, 1,521, bearing, 96. 

Grape vines bearing, 3. 

Milch cows — 296. 

Sheep — 242 head, yielding 1,261 pounds of 
wool. 

Whole number of farms reported for 1881, 
102. 

Forest trees — planted in 1882. 10| acres; num- 
ber of acres planted and growing, 202J^. 

Population. — The census taken in 1870 gives 
the township a population of 381. At the last 
census, taken in 1880, the village of Alden is re- 
ported as having a population of 235, and the 
town 475; total 710. 

POST-OFFICES. 

The first Post-office established in the township 
was called Buckeye. It was originally in the 
township of Manchester, with James E. Smith as 
Postmaster, and named in honor of the pet cogno- 
men of the native State of the Postmaster, at 
whose house, in section thirty, in Manchester, the 
office was kept. In 1860, S. B. Smith was ap- 
pointed Postmaster, and the mail came by way of 
the Maukato and Otronto, Iowa, route, under the 
supervision of A. L. Davis, who carried the mail 
by team. In 1866, the office was removed from 
Manchester to Alden towushij], and A. G. Hall 
was made mail handler. In 1870 the office was 



410 



UISTOIiY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



discontinued, having been removed to the village 
while Mr. Hall was awaiting the action of the de- 
pHrtment upon his resignation. 

In 1867 Ahlen Post-ofiice was established with 
E. P. Clark as Postmaster, and office upon his 
farm. When the village of Alden commenced 
building up it was removed to that point, and in 
1870, A. G. Hall, who had removed from his farm 
to the village, was ajjpoiuted to handle the mails, 
and continued in this capacity for about four 
years, when L. S. Crandall was commissioned and 
held it until 1877, when L. T. Walkrr received 
the appointment and is still the incumbent, with 
the office at -'Walker's Store." 

EDl'CATIONAL. 

DisTBicT No. 40. — Effected an organization in 
1867, and in 1868 erected a schoolhouse in the 
southeastern corner of section ten. The first offi- 
cers were : William Townsend, Clerk ; George Lar- 
man, Treasurer; and Harrington Austin, Director. 
The first school was taught by Miss Maxson, for 
$15 per month, and boarding "round," with eleven 
scholars present. The last term of school was 
taught by Miss Lena Patrick, with about twenty- 
three scholars to answer the roll call; her com- 
pensation was $2.5 per month, and board, the lat- 
ter to be received among the scholars" parents. 

District No. 70. — A meeting was held on the 
28th of March, 1865, at the house of O. T. Hull, 
at which the organization of the district was 
effected by the election of the following officers: 
Director, N. L. Bassett; Treasurer, O. T. Hull; 
Clerk, E. F. Clark. The first school in the neigh- 
borhood was taught at the house of Mr. Kuasell 
Maxson in the fall of 1868, by Ada Bassett, with 
nine scholars present. The first instruction given 
in the schoolhouse was by Angelia Langdon, in 
the spring of 1869, with eighteen scholars pres- 
ent, and for SI 2 per month. The house was 
erected in the winter of 1868-69, size 18x26, at a 
cost of 8600, in the northwest corner of section 
seventeen. The last term of school was taught 
by Isabella Bickford; attendance, twenty-three 
pupils. 

District No. 80. — Embraces as its territory the 
northeastern part of Alden, and extends over the 
town line into Carlaton. The first and organizing 
meeting was held at the residence of Ira Russell, 
on the 24th of August, 1866, and the following 
were the first officers elected: Director, Ira Rus- 
gell; Treasurer, William B. Humes; Clerk, James 



H. Whitehead. In 1869 their schoolhouse was 
erected at a cost of S600, in the northeastern 
corner of section two, being a neat frame build- 
ing, 16x24, with patent seats. The first school in 
this house was taught by E. J. Russell, with nine 
scholars present; the last was taught by Emma 
Allen to an enrollment of twenty-three pupils, for 
$25 per month. 

District No. 81. — The first meeting was held 
at the house of S. T. Brown, on the 26th of March, 
1869, at which the district was organized and the 
following officers elected: A. H. Stevens. Direct- 
or; I. A. Blackman, Clerk; F. F. Blackman, Treas- 
urer. The sum of .|400 was voted for the purjjose 
of constructing a schoolhouse, and the following 
summer it was erected at a cost of .$500, size 22x28 
feet, in the Bouthweatern part of section twenty- 
seven, being etjuipped with patent seats and all 
necessary apparatus. The first school was taught 
in a sod hou.'<e in section twenty seven, in the 
summer of 1869, by Olivia Burdick, and after this 
there were three terms taught in the same primi- 
tive structure. 

Di.sTKicT No. 89. — Embraces the territory in the 
southeastern part of the town, with its school- 
house in the southwestern part of section twenty - 
five. The district effected an organization at a 
meeting held at the residence of H. Babbitt, in the 
winter of 1869-70. In the following spring a 
house was erected, size 16x20 feet, in which Dette 
Stillman taught the first term of school as soon 
as completed, to an attendance of twelve pupils, 
for .fl2 per month. In 1874, the school structure 
now in use was built, at a cost of S250. The last 
term was taught by Chester Maywood, for $2'd 
per month, and an average attendance of twenty- 
three juveniles. 

DiSTiuf'T No. 93. — This district embraces the 
territory known as the Alden District, with a 
schoolhouse in the village of Alden. The school- 
house was ei'ected in the summer of 1875, size 
20x40 feet, two stories high, with two rooms, and 
cost about $2,300. The first school was taught by 
George Miller in 1876, for .$45 per month, with 
fifty-seven scholars in attendance. The last term 
was taught by L. W. Bassett, with forty-one 
scholars present, and the teacher received !t!50 per 
month as compensation for his services. 

VILLAGE OF ALDEN. 

This is the only village in the town, and is 
among the prosperous "villas" in the county. It 



ALDEN TOWNSHIP. 



411 



is located in the northern part of the town whose 
name it bears, on the southern Minnesota branch 
of the C, M. & St. Paul railroad, about ten miles 
from Albert Lea, the county seat, and is surround- 
ed by the most valuable farming land in the coun- 
ty. A small body of water covering about five 
acres of laud lies adjoining the town, but there is 
no stream or, in fact, any water, near the village, 
as the water mentioned is merely a pond. 

Early Settlement. — In this line the village 
has not a history like the other villages in the 
county; no fighting or jobbery for the county seat; 
nor any squabbling for railway connection with 
the outer world, as it came into existence after the 
railroad had passed through. 

It was laid out and platted by William Blorin 
and H. W. Holley; the former of Albert Lea and 
the latter of Winnebago City. After a short time 
Mr. Moriu purchased the interest of Mr. Holley, 
and still retains the greater part of the property. 
The firist business of any kind opened on the vil- 
lage site was the Post-office, which A. G. Hall moved 
from his place in section one. This was only con- 
tinued for a short time, while the Post-master was 
waiting for his resignation to be acted upon by the 
department. 

The first actual business establishment was 
started about the time of the arrival of the rail- 
road, in 1869, by a Mr. Terrill, who opened a stock 
of general merchandise, together with hot drinks, 
beer, etc. He shortly after took into partnership 
J. H. Sherwood, who, in a few mouths, purchased 
the entire establishment, and continued it until he 
failed, about two years later. 

A. G. Hall erected the first residence in the vil- 
lage, just prior to the opening of this store. 

The station was commenced by the railroad 
company, and by the first of January, 1870, the 
track was completed to the village. 

Next came the business house of George Whit- 
man. Holley & Morin erected a store building, 
which was rented to Mr. Whitman, and he moved 
a stock of general merchandise in the building 
and placed the same in charge of Joseph Green 
and Victor Gilrup. This store was finally moved 
to Delavau and succumbed to financial difficulties. 
Dell Miller fell into the line of progress, and 
erecting a suitable shop, commenced blowing the 
bellows and hammering the anvil. He ran the shop 
for about a year, when he was called away to the 
eternal shore. The shop has been used for vari- 



ous purposes, but is now in use as a dwelling 
house. 

Arthur Grigg came about the same time and 
opened a blacksmith shop, which he continued for 
some time, and finally it became the property of 
the present manipulator of the iron, N. S. Cromett. 

Soon afterward, L. T. Walker and a Mr. Ken- 
yon started a general merchandise store under the 
firm name of Walker & Co. Mr. Kenyon died a 
few years afterward, and Mr. Walker for a time 
was in partnership with a Mr. Paulson, under the 
same firm name; but, financial difficulties, in the 
hard times, involved the firm, and business was 
finally discontinued. It was, however, afterwards 
re-opened, and now carries a light stock, with the 
Post-office in connection. 

About the time that the above establishment 
originated, A. G. Hall, who is mentioned as really 
having been the first resident of tlie village, erect- 
ed a store building in connection with his dwell- 
ing house, and opened up a large stock of general 
merchandise, which he still continues, with a large 
and increasing trade. A few years after this es- 
tablishment was started, Mr. Hall took into part- 
nership with him, his son, and in this manner the 
firm continued until 1877, when the sad death of 
the young man occurred, and the father continues 
it alone. 

Shortly afterward, H. N. Burnham purchased 
the old Whitman building and opened a general 
merchandise store, which he run for two years and 
then closed out. Later on Charles Pfefl'er started 
a store in the same building which he still con- 
tinues. 

Armstrong & Wheelock opened a store here, 
but were finally closed out and they disappeared. 

H. B. Collins was the first lawayer in the village 
and about one year ago opened a general mer- 
chandise store, which he still continues with a 
good trade add heavy stock. 

At an early day a man named E. D. Barber, 
calling him.self a doctor, located in the village and 
commenced "peddling pills." He remained less 
than a year, as he was very unpopular, and then 
left, locating at some point in the southwestern 
part of the State, where he again made himself 
odious by transporting an own brother, whom he 
insisted was crazy, to the Insane Asylum, and 
then charged an enormous bill for the labor of 
so doing. The bill was paid but gave him the 
reputation he deserves. His whereabouts at pres- 



412 



HISTORY OP FREEBORN COUNTY. 



ent is a mystery, to the satisfaction of all who 
knew him. 

Alden Flouring Mill. — This enterprise origi- 
nated in 187.i, having been erected that year by 
Wm Wilson. The building is 28x50 feet,a story and 
half high, containing four sets of burrs, which are 
driven by sufficient force, by steam power, to 
grind lifty-five barrels of flour per day. The mill 
is located near the lake and cost about S12,000. 
The present proprietor is William Wilson, Jr., son 
of the original owner. 

A large grain elevator has been put up at this 
point by a LaCrosse firm. 

Patrons of Husbandry. — This Grange was in- 
stituted on the 28th of March, 1873. The initial 
officers were : A. H. Stearns, M. O. ; F. Peck, Tr. ; 
E. H. Clark, Sec; Mrs. S. P. Dromer, Ch.; Mrs. 
A. W. Clark, G. K.; Mrs. J. A. Burdick, Ceres; 
Mrs. O. 8. Peck, Flora; Mrs. E. A. Hall, Pomona; 
Mrs. A. W. Clark, L. S. 

This is said to have been the first grange in this 
coimty. 

BIOGRAPniCAL. 

Eli B. Claek is a native of New York, born on 
the 12th of April, 1818. He resided at home 
until the age of twenty-one years, then carried on 
a fanu for two years. In 1840, he married Miss 
Joan A. Strope and in the autumn of that year 
they went to Ohio, where Mr. Clark was engaged at 
the blacksmith trade. In 1848, he moved to 
Portage county, Wisconsin, and in the fall of 1849, 
was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court; resigned 
the follomng year and engaged in the mercantile 
business at Plover in the same county. In 1858, 
he sold out and was chosen under Sheriff. In the 
fall of 1860, he moved to Ohio and engaged in 
mercantile j>ursuits until 1864, when he returned 
to Portage county. Mr. Clark came to Canton, 
in Fillmore county, in 1865, and while there estab- 
lished a Post-office called Prosper; was appointed 
its first Postmaster and also dealt in real estate. 
He subsequently bought and conducted a hotel in 
Hokah, Houston county, until 1869. In the latter 
year his wife died. He then sold his hotel 
and was traveling salesman for three years. 
In 1872, he married a second time and 
then purchased a hotel in Freeborn. He 
also owns an interest in the coal and gypsum 
mines and is secretary of the company. He has 
three daughters; Rosaline, the eldest, married L. 
Rossiter, a Captain in the late war: the second 



married W. S. Prentiss, now a passenger conduc- 
tor on the C. K. I. & P. railroad; the youngest 
married H. L. MaGee, now train master on the 
central branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad in 
Kansas. 

Seymour F. Gary was born in Michigan in 
1850. In 1860, he removed to Vernon, Wau- 
shara county, Wisconsin, and remained ten years. 
He then came to Manchester, in this county, stak- 
ed out a claim in section nineteen but soon moved 
; to Alden, erected a wagon shop on Main street, 
and is now of the firm of Gary Bros. He was 
married in 1875, the ceremony taking place on 
the 24th of June. His younger brother, Frank 
R., was born on the 21st of April, 1860, and learn- 
ed the wheelwright trade in 1879. The older 
brother has run a thresher in this State for many 
years. 

Henry B. Collins was born in New York, on 
the 30th of March, 1832, and grew to manhood 
on a farm, He finished his education at Milton 
College, and after leaving school taught during 
the winter seasons. In 1843, the family removed 
to Kock county, Wisconsin, where our subject 
continued to teach school. In 1854, he was 
joined in matrimony with Miss Almeda L. Main, 
and in 1859, removed to Garlston, Freeborn 
county, pre-empting land m sections twenty-two 
and twenty -seven, and buying in section twenty- 
eight. He commenced the study of law; was 
admitted to the bar in 1862, and has followed the 
practice of his profession ever since. He has been 
-Justice of the Peace for eighteen years; Town 
Clerk twelve years, and District Attorney in 1864, 
'66, and '68. He is now located in Alden, has a 
law office and conducts a dry goods store, in 
which he formerly kept drugs. He is a Notary 
Public and collection agent; has two hundred 
acres of laud in this State and four hundred in 
Nebraska. He was appointed Chairman of the 
Congressional convention held at Rochester in 
July, 1882. 

N. S. Cromett was born in Sebec, Maine, on 
the Ist of January, 1823, and when nineteen 
years old learned the blacksmith trade of .John 
J. Lovejoy, with whom he worked four years. He 
then purchased the stock, and conducted the busi- 
ness twenty-five years. He was joined in marriage 
in 1845, with Miss Emily F. Gliden, who has 
borne him three children. In March, 1865, he 
removed to Davis, and in a short tinie to Bangor 



ALDEN TOWNSHIP. 



4J3 



where lie conducted a music store; remaining in 
his native State until 1866, when he came to Iowa, 
and engaged at his trade. In 1870, he came to 
this State, located on a homestead of three hun- 
dred acres in Mansfield township, where he was a 
member of the board of Supervisors during his 
residence there. After farming there five years, 
he removed to this place, engaged at his trade on 
Main street, and in 1875, purchased a house and 
lot on Washington street, and now has a large 
shop connected with his business. He also owns 
a farm of one hundred end sixty acres in section 
six, the greater part of which is improved. He 
has been Chairman of the board of Supervisors, 
and is at present a prominent member of the 
village council. 

Mbs. Floretta Davis was born in New York 
in 1845. She moved with her father to Illinois, 
where the family resided seven years, and in 1862, 
came to Carlston, in this county. Mrs. Davis 
married her husband, Elmer E. Davis, in 1864, 
and moved to his farm in section six, Alden town- 
ship. He came to Wisconsin in an early day, and 
moved from there to this place in 1863. He died 
in 1873, of consumption, leaving a family of four 
small children, the youngest of whom died soon 
after. Mr. Davis was a member of the Baj^tist 
Church, to which she also belongs. 

W. S. FosT was born in Germany on the 12th 
of April, 1852, and learned the blacksmith trade 
when sixteen years old. In 1870, he emigrated 
to America, came directly to Albert Lea, and in a 
short time removed to Mansfield. After working 
at his trade in that place one year, he went to 
Winnebago City, engaged' in farming and the 
next fall removed to Wells, working in the rail- 
road sho]:)S one year. He then was employed at 
his trade in difl'erent jjarts of the State until 1874, 
coming to this village in that year. He has a 
blacksmith shop on Main street. Miss Mary E. 
Jonky became his wife on the 18th of May, 1877, 
and they have three children. 

Henry C. Fkielt is a native of Germany, born 
in 1841, and when sixteen years old emigrated to 
America. He came directly to Chicago, Illinois; 
was conductor on a street car until 1862, when he 
enlisted in the One hundred and thirteenth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry, being Orderly Sergeant two 
years, then was promoted to First Lieutenant; 
served till the close of the war and returned to 
Chicago. He clerked in the retail store of Field, 



Leiter k Co. eight years, an 1 later took charge 
of Mandell Bros', dry goods store one year, at 
the end of which time he went into business for 
himself, selling out in 1875 and coming to Alden. 
In 1876, Mr. Friely removed to Albert Lea, where 
he clerked for C. M. Hewitt; afterward rented a 
farm near Pickerel Lake, which he conducted 
three years and returned to this place. He was 
married in 1879, to Miss Clara Bethker, and built 
his present house, in connection with which he 
has a billiard hall. 

A. G. Halt, was born in Clinton county. New 
York, on the 16th of August, 1824, and made his 
home in that county until 1865, when he came to 
this place; locating in section one. He was mar- 
in his native State in 1849 to Miss Susan A. Good- 
sell, and they have three children. In the autumn 
of 1869 they removed to what is now the village 
of Alden, building the first house in that vicinity, 
and two years after, an addition to it, which he 
uses for store purposes, having a stock of dry 
goods and groceries on Main street. He was 
chairman of the board of Supervisors three suc- 
cessive terms, and kept the first Post-oiBce in town, 
known as the Buckeye Post-office. 

John A. Hazle was born in Canada on the 22d 
of February, 1847. His father was a merchant 
tailor, and John remained at home until 1859, 
when he came to Michigan. He was Captain of a 
boat on the lake for some time, then learned 
tha carpenter trade and moved to Missouri, return- 
ing to Michgan in four years. He was married in 
1873 to Miss Ella M. Wilbur, and the next year they 
came to Alden, Mr. Hazle purchasing the Alden 
House, a large hotel on the corner of Main and 
Broadway streets, near the depot. He has been a 
member of the board of Supervisors two years and 
is at present village marshal. He has a livery 
stable near his hotel. 

William B. Humes wasborj in New Jersey, on 
the 25th of May, 1839, and while young removed 
witii his parents to Illinois, and to Minnesota in the 
fall of 1854. In 1862 he enlisted in the Sixth Minne- 
sota Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged the 
next year for disability. In 1864 he was joined 
in marriage with Miss Rachel M. Harrington, a na- 
tive of Illinois, and they have two children. On 
the 25th of May, 1864, he removed from Pleasant 
Grove, where they had first located, to Alden, and 
erected a log house 14x16 feet. The next spring 
he assisted in the organization of the town, and 



414 



BISTORT OF P HE E BORN COUNTY. 



was appointoil first Town Treasurer; has been 
Justice o£ the Peace, auJ a member of the board 
of Supervisors one year. He has a farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres in section one, seventy 
acres of which is improved, and a three acre 
grove. 

Rev. F. M. Kristensen is a native of Denmark, 
born on the 31st of March, 1846, and graduated 
from Yelling Seminary, having been a student 
there three years. After teaching school seven 
years he attended a high school two years, then, 
in 1877, came to America. He remained in Mich- 
igan two years, and on the 5th of June, 1879, was 
married to Jliss .T. Nelson. They removed to 
Iowa and in the fall he came to Alden, and he 
preaches for the Danish Lutherans here and in 
Carlston, having about fifty followers. Mr. and 
Mrs. Kristensen have two children. 

Mks. Clarisa Norton, deceased, the wife of 
Nelson R. Norton, and mother of Charles, William, 
and Adrian Norton, of this county, a lady who 
Wiis universally beloved and respected. Her 
maiden name was Derling, and she was born in 
Woodstock, Vermont. She afterwards lived in 
Hampton, New York, and there was married, re- 
maining six years. In 1833, they got west as far 
as Chicago, and remained there six years, and then 
located in Burlington, Racine county, Wisconsin. 
In 1872, came to Minnesota and located near 
Alden, where the remainder of her life of varied 
ex[)eriences was passed. She had been married 
fifty-four years and had nine children. She was 
a woman of many virtues. After an experience of 
seventy- three years in this world, on the 17th of 
September, 1881, she quietly passed to the other 
shore. 

Cornelius N. Ostbandeb was born in Clinton 



county, New York, on the 26th of September, 
1849. He moved with his parents to Fond du 
Lac county, Wisconsin, and in 1859, came to Min- 
nesota, where he learned the carpenter trade, and 
for eleven years was engaged in farming and at 
his trade. In 1870, he removed to Wells, where 
he was engaged in a machine shop, thence to 
Minneapolis, returning, in a short time, to Albert 
Lea, and was employed at his trade and wagcm- 
making. He next located in Alden, where he has 
a wagon and paint shop in the business portion of 
the village and also a jewelry store. He was mar- 
ried in 1870, to Miss .Tennie Comstock. They 
have two children. 

GrsTAV A. St'HWAUDKK was born in Prus- 
sia in 1854. His father kept a hotel and con- 
ducted a farm, and when fourteen years old our 
subject learned the butcher business. In 187(1, he 
came to America and directly to Owatonna, Min- 
nesota, where for sixteen months he was engaged 
in a meat market, then removed to Minneapolis and 
eight months later to Alden. In 1879, he opened 
a meat market and packing house on Broadway, 
and is doing an excellent business. He was joined 
in marriage on the 26th of May, 1879, with Miss 
Matilda Hammell. 

John N. Wiesner is a native of (Termany, born 
on the 25th of July, 1854, and when fifteen years 
old emigrated to America. In 1869, he came to 
New Ulm, Minnesota, worked on a farm eight 
years, then came to Alden and opened a saloon on 
Main Street. In 1881, he left his business in 
charge of a clerk and was agent for the John Gund 
brewery company one year. He now has a billiard 
hall and is doing a prosperous business. He was 
married on the 7th of January, 1880, to Miss 
Barbara Hoffman. 



BANCUOVT TOWNSHIP. 



415 



BANCROFT. 



CHAPTER LVI. 

Descriptive — Early Settlement — Beligious 
Services — Oak Hill Grange- -Official Eec- 
OBD — Bancroft Village — Itasca Village — 
Educational — Biographical. 

This township is one of the center subdivisions 
of Freeborn county, being separated by one tier 
from the north, and an equal distance from east 
and west county lines. Its contiguous neighbors 
are, Bath township on the north: Riceland on the 
east; Albert Lea on the south, and Manchester 
on the west, embracing the territory of town 
103, range 21, containing thirty-six sections, or 
23,040 acres, of which there are very few unsuita- 
ble for agricultural purposes, and the greater part 
is already under a high state of cultivation. 

The town has no lakes, and no streams of im- 
portance. Bancroft Creek is the principal one; 
rising in the northwestern part of the town it takes 
a southerly course, and finally enters Fountain 
Lake. A small body of water, dignified with the 
appellation of Ttaska Lake, covers a few acres of 
land in the southwestern portion of section thirty- 
one. 

The general make-up of the locality wc^uld be 
called prairie and oak openings. The early set- 
tlers say that originally, at least three-fourths of 
the area of the town was covered with a growth 
of burr and jack oak and other timber of the 
smaller varieties, interspersed with natural mead- 
ows and prairie. The greater part of the former 
growth of timber has been removed, and the rich 
country transformed into beautiful and productive 
farms. There are, however, a number of groves 
left, one upon section nineteen, another in section 
five, and in a number of other localities small 
groves mark the remains of former miniature 
forests. A strip of valuable prairie. kn<iwn as the 
Paradise Prairie, enters the town in the southwest-, 
ern comer and extends northeasterly almost across 



the entire town, gradually disappearing towards 
Clark's Grove, in the northeast corner. 

The locality known as Oak Hill is the most ele- 
vated tract of land in the township, taking its 
name from the variety of timber with which it was 
formerly covered. It makes itself visible on the 
surface in the northwestern extremity of the town, 
and extends easterly across the entire township, 
embracing the northern tier of sections. 

The farmers here, as a rule, are in comfortable 
circumstances, and the average appearance of the 
farm buildings indicate their thrift and energy, 
the town having the reputation of being one of 
the most valuable farming localities in the county. 

The willow hedge is used to a considerable ex- 
tent for fencing purposes, and is an excellent me- 
dium for giving the prairie a picturesque and 
pleasant appearance. J. C. Frost has four miles 
of this hedge, and has also cultivated fruit with 
success, having at this writing an orchard of 400 
bearing and thrifty apple trees, of nearly twenty 
years growth. His brother, M. L. Frost, also has 
about three miles of this beautiful and useful 
hedge. 

The soil on the prairie is mostly a rich dark 
loam, underlain with a rich sub-soil of clay ; while 
in the timber, or oak opening, it is of a lighter 
nature, with a marked tendency, in places, to 
clayeyness and a sub-soil of sand and gravel. 

The township has no railroad through it, and 
therefore has not been the scene of the usual rail- 
road assistance bond issue. It has had two vil- 
lages, or hamlets, the rise and decline of each of 
which will be treated under proper heads. 

EARLY settlement. 

Early in the spring of 18.55, a party of Eastern 
people left Wisconsin, where they had stopped for 
some time, and headed toward the prairie and 
timber land of Southern Minnesota. They con- 
sisted of Mr. Bethuel Lilly and wife, and the 



■ik; 



IIISrORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Colby family, Jobn and his wife Hannah and six 
children. They arrived at Caledonia, Houston 
'county, on the 18th of May, 1855. and here part 
of the little colony decided to remain, while the 
balance should push on toward the West in search 
of future homes. The lotg fell upon Charles C. 
and Sarah Jane Colby, a son and daughter of 
John, mentioned above, and Bethuel Lilly and 
wife. They took the ox teams, and in July 
pushed on toward the setting sun. They made 
their way direct to Bancroft, and selected farms 
in the southwestern part of the town, about the 
future site of Itasca village. C. C. Colby took 
the place on which the village was afterwards 
platted, and also selected a farm for his father, 
John Colby, who was yet in Caledonia. He 
remained until after the war, and finally found 
his way to New York City, where he is agent for 
the Musical Art Journal. Mr. Lilly remained 
upon his place for about one year; finally went to 
Kansas, enlisted and sacrificed his life for his 
country during the rebellion. 

The following spring, in March, of 1856, the 
balance of the party made their appearance, and 
settled ujjon the place which the son had selected, 
jnst over the line in Albert Lea township, now 
occupied by Daniel Gibson. The party consisted 
of John Colby, his wife, and several children. 
The old gentleman lived Upon his place until 
June, 1876, when he peacefully yielded uj] the 
burdens of life to enter upon eternity, and his 
widow still lives with her son-in-law, Mr. Leander 
J. Thomas, of Albert Lea. 

Guttorm Bottelson, a native of Norway, who 
had remained for a time in Wisconsin, arrived a 
few weeks after John Colby, in 1856, and com- 
menced a sojourn which he still continues, upon 
a place near Itasca. He came with ox teams, 
bringing his family and considerable stock. 

The Frost family were also among the most 
prominent and active pioneers, and still remain 
in the town; but they are treated at length under 
the head of "Biographical." 

Others who were also early pioneers in this 
part of the town, were Andrew Bottelson, who 
is yet living upon his place in the southwestern 
part of the town; John and Andrew Hermanson, 
Dr. Burnham, and others whose names have 
been forgotten. 

In the meantime the northern part of the 
town began to receive the attention of the early 



comers; but ere this claims were getting to be 
scarce, except second hand, and in the same 
ratio that they were scarce, so they became 
valuable. The settlement north of the center of 
the town is more universally known as the "Oak 
Hill neighborhood." 

A. C. Hall, a native of Maine, was the first 
to make his appearance, and he selected his 
domain in sections five and eight, in the middle 
of September, 1856, where he put up a shanty 
and made some improvements; but was . not 
really an actual settler, as he soon sold out and 
removed to Iowa. 

Andrew Barlow was the next to arrive, mak- 
ing his appearance in September. He "footed 
it" all the way from McGregor, leaving his 
family, and after taking a claim, left for Iowa 
in search of work. While gone, the weather 
seemed to be antagonistic to his best interests, 
as the snow was very deep, and he was conse- 
quently unable to return to his proposed home, 
so his place was jumped; and when he finally 
returned in the spring of 1859, he purchased 
the farm back for if'H). He still lives ujion the 
place in comfortable circumstances. 

H. K. Loomis, from Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
came by stage from Dubutpie to near Merry's 
Ford, on the Cedar River, Iowa, which is near the 
southeastern corner of the county, and from there 
walked to Bancroft, arriving and selecting his 
place on the first day of November, 1856. He 
erected a small t-hanty and made some improve- 
ments, and, as it was a lonely sojourn, bought a 
yoke of oxen, as he says, "to talk to." 

At one time during the winter he went four miles 
for a load of hay, a job which engaged him from 
early morn till late at night, and upon his return 
could take the object and fruits of his entire day's 
labor in his arms and feed it ere another day 
.shoTild dawn. On the 2Gth of December, he 
started with his oxen to Delaware county, Iowa, 
and remained there until February, 1857. when 
he returned, bringing with him his sister, Louisa 
Loomis, and Oscar and Fannie Ward, the latter is 
now Mrs. George H. Prescott. The last two 
named were aged twenty and fifteen years, respect- 
ively. The entire party came in a sleigh, camp- 
ing out on the way, finally arriving at Benjamin 
Frost's house, in the southeastern part of the 
town, where the, manager of the party, Mr. Loom- 
is, left them and proceeded to his selected home in 



BANCROFT TOWNSHIP. 



417 



section eight; prepared a fire and set matters in 
shape for his gneats. The balance of the party, 
whom he had left at Frost's, followed on foot, on 
the top of the snow, there being a heavy crust. 

They arrived and got settled m safety, and 
William Oscar Ward selected a farm for his father. 
Louisa Loomis is now Mrs. Caswell, living in 
Iowa. H. R. Loomis still lives upon the farm he 
first selected, a mo.st prominent and popular man. 

Early in the fall of 1857, Jeremiah Ward, anative 
of New York, father of Oscar and Fannie, arrived 
and located upon the place selected for him, and 
lived upon it until 1879, when he was called upon to 
cross the dark river from earthly to eternal e.xist- 
ence, and his loss was severely felt by the many 
friends who honored him. His widow still lives 
in the town. 

Early in the spring of 1857, Albert Loomis, 
from Erie county, Pennsylvania, came to the "Hole- 
in-the-ground" of H. K. Loomis, and immediately 
took a claim adjoining, in section nine, where he 
made his home for about ten years, when he went 
back to Pennsylvania. 

About a week later, Cyrus Prescott, a native of 
Maine, who had made his home from childhood in 
Ohio, made his appearance in the town, coming 
by way of Hastings; and making a claim in sec- 
tion five took up his abode with 11. R. Loomis' 
people, while he made improvements sufficient to 
live upon his place. He resided here until 1876, 
when he moved to Albert Lea, and now lives in 
Dakota Territory. 

Later in the season Cyrus' father, Daniel, 
joined his son, and made him a habitation and a 
home in section four, where he remained until a 
few years ago, and now, at the ripe old age of 
eighty, lives upon the farm of H. R. Loomis. 

In June, 1857, the next pioneer drifted in, in 
the person of William H. Long, a native of New- 
ark, New Jersey, and commenced a sojourn upon 
a farm in sections five and eight, which he still 
owns; but in the spring of 1882, he removed to 
city of Albert Lea. 

In the spring of- 1858, Charles Dills, a native 
of the Empire State, came and purchased a place 
in section nine, of Charles E. Teneyoke, who had 
previously secured it. Mr. Dills still lives there. 

Ere this time nearly two-thirds of the land in 

this locality was taken up by actual settlers, and 

already a stride in the advance of civilization was 

perceptible. Among those who had arrived, 

27 



whose names and actions have not been dotted 
upon the pages of memory, a few more will be 
chronicled. George H. Prescott, who still lives in 
section four. G. Thompson, who took land in 
section eight and is now in the West. Andrew 
Knudson took land in section nine, and is also in 
the West. Messrs. Wells and Clark took land, but 
soon left. 

Jeremiah Ward is mentioned elsewhere. He 
was a carpenter and stone mason by trade; but 
could do a good job at almost anything, and his 
famous old "turn keys" are yet remembered as 
ferocious instruments in his hands, with a shud- 
der, by many of the old pioneers; as they were the 
means of extracting all the poor teeth in the 
neighborhood. It is said in the winter of 1857-58, 
he pulled a tooth for David Blakely, and after the 
"turnkeys" were set, either head or tooth had to 
come, and for a time it was doubtful which. 

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEKEST. 

The first marriage of parties from this jjlace, 
occurred on the 13th of January, 1857, and united 
the destinies of two couples, fit the residence of 
John Colby, just over the line in Albert Lea. An 
account of this is found in the article on the 
town of Albert Lea, to which we refer the reader. 

The first marriage within the boundaries of 

Bancroft took place the spring of 1858, the high 

contracting parties being Mr. John Raiser and 

Miss Margaret Baker. The event took place in 

the "old-time" village of Bancroft, where the Poor 

Farm now is, the ceremony being performed by 

Rev. S. G. Lowrv, a Presbyterian minister. The 
I 
parties now reside in Austin. 

The first death in the township occurred in the 
spring of 1857, and was a one day old child of 
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Mickleson. 

The first death of a matured person was the de- 
mise of Margaret Horning, in April, 1859. Her 
remains were deposited in the graveyard at Al- 
bert Lea. 

Oak Hh/L Religious Services. — Meetings of 
various denominations have been held in this lo- 
cality ever since its early settlement, in private 
houses and the schoolhouse. In 1858, services 
were held by an itinerant preacher. Rev. Mr. 
Adams. Rev. Mr. Lowry, or, as he was usually 
called. Father Lowry, held services here at an early 
day also. 

Itasca Cemetery. — This burial ground is locat- 
ed in the southwestern part of section thirty-one. 



418 



HTI^TOnr OF VUEKDOUN COUNTY. 



on the farm of A. M. Burnham. In 1861, Samuel 
Henderson, a resident of Pickerel Lake, died, and 
was the first person buried here. Others" remains 
were also deposited here, and about tlie yeiir 1870, 
the grounds were regularly arranged, platted, and 
set aside tor the purpose. This location was 
selected by Mrs. Burnham, and the site does jus- 
tice to her taste, as it is a beautiful spot. She 
also selected the last resting place that her re- 
mains now occupy. 

Oak HitjL (trancie. — This society was instituted 
on the 7th of ,July, 1873, with the following char- 
ter members: 

Messrs. Geo. H. Prescott, M. Frost, J. C. Frost, 
Asa Ward, William H. Long, D. Prescott, H. R. 
Loomis, Hans Nelson, J. Ward, Clark H. Dills, 
Peter Peterson, Charles Peterson; Mesdames Fan- 
nie M. Prescott, Nancy Frost, H. E. Prescott, .Jen- 
ny M. Frost, Helen E. Ward, Eliza Long, E. H. 
Prescott, Nancy Loomis, Emma Ward, and Maria 
Dills. 

The first officers elected were as follows : Henry 
Loomis, Master; George H. Prescott, Overseer; 
William H. Long, Lecturer; Charles Dills, Stew- 
ard; J. C. Frost, Assistant Steward; Asa Ward, 
Chaplain; Clark H. Dills, Secretary; Hans Nelson, 
Treasurer; Harriet E. Prescott, Ceres; Nancy ! 
Frost, Flora; Emma Ward, Pomona: C. S. Pres- 
cott, Gate Keeper. 

The order is now in a flourishing condition, 
having about twenty-seven members. During the 
summer months meetings are held the first Satur- 
day in each month, and in the winter once every 
two weeks, in Frost's hall in section eight. 

On the 7th of March, 187(j, a corporation was 
formed and shares of stock issued at .f 5 each, for 
the purpose of establishing a grange store. The 
undertaking was a success, and a store was started 
with about $500 capital, and continued under the 
management of directors until 1881, when Daniel 
Prescott purchased the establishment and still 
runs it. The dividends declared, while under the 
managemant of the grange, amounted to 10 per 
cent, upon the capital invested. 

The present officers of the order are as follows: 
Clark H. Dills, Master; J. C. Frost, Overseer; H. 
E. Nielson, Lecturer; H. Ward, Steward; Daniel 
Prescott, Assistant Steward; Fannie Prescott,Chap- 
lain; Charles Dills, Treasurer; George H. Prescott, 
Secretary; H. Frost, Gate Keeper; Mary Dills, 



Ceres; Nancy Frost, Pomona; Anna Nielsen, 
Flora; AdeUa Dills, — . 

OFFICIAL RECOHD. 

The first meeting in the township for the pur- 
pose of effecting the organization of Bancroft, 
was held on the 11th of May, 1858, at the house 
of ( )lo OLsou. The meeting came to order l)y the 
appointment of N. H. Elliekson, Ohairniiiu; W. 
N. Oliver. Moderator, and ,T. M. Clark, Clerk. E. 
D. Porter and Gardner Frost were elected over- 
seers of roads, and a resolntion was then adopted 
declaring that all cattle, mules, and horses, except 
stallions over two years of age, could run at 
large. 

The election of officers was next taken up, and 
the following gentlemen for the various positions 
of trust, were declared elected: Supervisors, D. 
Blakely, Chairman, .L M. Clark, and 0. C. Colby; 
Clerk, G. M. Frost; As.iessor, Daniel Prescott; 
Treasurer, OleEllingsou; Overseer of Poor, Henry 
Loomis; Justices of the Peace, S. Hanson and S. 
S. Watson; Constables, H. Bedells and R. G. 
Franklin. 

For several years the annual meetings were held 
at the store in Bancroft (now the county Poor 
Farm ) ; at present they are held in the residence 
of Ole Gulbrandson, in section sixteen. 

The present officers of the township are as fol- 
lows: Supervisors, M. E. Hewett, Chairman, Ole 
Narveson, and Andrtw Barlow; Clerk, Erick 
.Tohnsrud; Treasurer, N. Sandburg; Assessor, A. 
O. Moeu; Justices of the Peace, E. K. Pickett 
and C. Nelsen; Constables, C. H. Dills and T. B. 
Enghsh. 

EMBBYOTIO VILLAGES. 

Bancboft Village. — In the fall of 1856, a vil- 
lage was platted under this name in sections 
twenty-eight and twenty-nine, which figured high 
in the contest for the county seat, as narrated 
elsewhere. 

Thomas Edgar erected the first store, in the 
spring of 18.57, and put in a stock of goods. This 
buildiug was removed to Austin in 1859. 

The first building put up on the village site was 
a shanty erected just previous to the store, in 
1857, by W. N. Oleson. He had first lived in a 
"dug-out," to which he brought his wife, but 
finally gave up this mode of life and became civ- 
ilized. Oleson brought his wife from Shell Bock 
on a hand sled, as the snow was so deep. 



BANCROFT TOWNSIITP. 



419 



A steam saw mill was moved to the village from 
Hastiugs by the Town Site Company, which was 
set up and operated by B. F. Ross and Addison 
Caswell. The cost of the mill was about $2,500, 
it occupying a building 20x40, and for two years 
the mill kept piling up the sawdust of hard wood; 
but, alas! the entire concern was finally, in 1859, 
sold for taxes. 

The Town Site Company commenced, soon 
after, the erection of a hotel, by digging a cellar; 
but this was a failure and was given up. 

A saloon was started by a Swede named Peter- 
son, which had a brief existence. 

A newspaper was next started by David Blake- 
ly, under the flaming banner of the "Bancroft 
Pioneer," which, for a few short months, distribu- 
ted its newsy wares among its limited number of 
subscribers. Mr. Blakely is a native of Vermont, 
and is now the Minneapolis editor of the "Pioneer 
Press." 

A Post-office was also established, which has 
since been removed to Itasca, although it still 
bears the name of Bancroft. 

When the county seat matter was settled, all 
hopes of the village amounting to anything van- 
ished, and the lots which were purchased were 
afterward sold for taxes, and in 1870, Freeborn 
county bought the entire property, and it is now 
used as the County Poor Farm. 

Itasoa ViiiiiAGB. — The land where this village 
had its rise and decline was taken under the gov- 
ernment laws, in 1855, by C. C. Colby and Samuel 
Batchelder. In the winter following the idea of a 
village was conceived and carried out by the 
platting and recording of Itasca, C. C. Colby be- 
ing the surveyor. The scene was laid in section 
thirty-one of Bancroft, about the little body of 
water called by the same name as the village. 

A newspaper was started here by Dr. Burhnam, 
with a finely equipped office, and the doctor en- 
gaged a man to run it for him. 

Soon after the preliminary steps were taken, a 
man named Dunbar, started a store by putting in 
a very limited stock of goods. A Post-office was 
established with C. C. Corljy as Postmaster, and 
mail wss received regularly. The name of this 
office was "Freeborn Springs" and prior to its es- 
tablishment the citizens were obliged to go as far 
as Osage, Iowa, for mail matter. After a time 
the office was changed to Bancroft, and Mr. Josh. 



Dunbar was made Postmaster. The store was 
continued for many years. 

In 1857 Pres. Hall and .James Longworth star- 
ted a store which they ran for a few years, making 
a profit, such as buying calico for 11 cents and 
selling it for 60 cents per yard. 

Dr. Burnham arrived at an early day, got a 
large fai'm and erected thereon a .17,500 house, 
hauling the lumber by water from Shell Bock; 
coming up the Shell Rock river and thence 
by way of the lake. The energetic doctor had a 
little brig, called "Itasca," built, which continued 
to ply up and down the water for a number 
of years. Through him a number of 
buildings were erected, and his energy enbued 
life into the whole locality; but all was of no 
aval 1. 

As soon as the county seat was settled the inter- 
est in the village began to wane, the stores pulled 
out one by one, for pastures green, and the village 
now lives only in the memories of those who were 
connected with it in its brief career. 

eddcationaij mediums. 

DisTKiOT No. 20. — Was originally organized in 
1857, as a part of District No. 9, and a log house 
was soon afterwards erected in which Mary Pres- 
cott taught the first school to an attendance of 
about twenty- five pnpils. The first officers were 
Messrs. Ole Stuga, Daniel Prescott, and A. 
Loomis. In 1859, it wis made a part of District 
No. 2, and three years later, in 1862, it was reor- 
ganized under its present number. The school- 
house now in use was erected in 1875, in the south- 
east corner of section five, size 24x30, furnished 
with patent seats, and cost about $1,000. The 
present officers are: Director, Asa Ward; Treas- 
urer, G. H. Prescott; Clerk, W. H. Long; the lat- 
ter officer having held that position for twenty 
years. The last term of school was taught by 
Miss Eva Loomis, with an an attendance of forty- 
four scholars. 

District No. 24 —Effected an organization in 
1862, the first meeting being held at the residence 
of Knute Tollottson, on the 19th of April of that 
year, and the following officers were elected: Direc- 
tor, Lars .Johnson ; Treasurer, G. J. Johnson; Clerk, 
Knute ToUoftson. A log house was at once erec- 
ted, 16x16 feet, at a coat of $150, which lasted 
until the year 1881 when the present school struc- 
ture was built, occupying a place in the porth- 
western part of section twenty -six, size 2Qs26 feet, 



420 



insTour or fmkebobn county. 



at a cost of .*()00, being supplied witli patent 
seats and improved furniture. The first school 
was taught in 1863, by Lida Hewitt, it is claimed 
with thirty pupils in attendance, and she received 
the sum of .$45 for her services for two months. 

District No. 58 was organized in 18f)3, and on 
10th of April, that year, the first meeting was held, 
at which officers were elected as follows: Clerk, 
Andrew Bottelson; Director, B. Frost; Treasurer, 
John Hermanson. This meeting was held at the 
residence of Benjamin Frost in section nineteen. 
The first school commenced on the 9th day of 
May, 18G3, with sixteen scholars present, in the 
back room of A. Bottelson's house, with Miss 
Mary Frost teacher, she receiving S1.50 per week. 
The log shoo) house was finished in 1864. The 
pi'esent officers are: Director, Erick Attleson; 
Treasurer, O. G. Bottelson; Clerk, A. Bottelson. 
The schoolhouse is located in section twenty. 

District No. 22 — The first school in this dis- 
trict was taught by Mrs. Margaret Fitzgerald, in 
her husband's house in section twenty-six in the 
summer of 1860, for .$1.50 per week. The dis- 
trict was organized at a meeting held in the spring 
of the year at the same place. The first officers 
were Ole Narveson, J. Fitzgerald, and D. N. 
• Ostrander. A log schoolhouse was rolled to- 
gether by subscription, which lasted until 1872, 
when the present schoolhouse was erected in the 
northwestern comer of section twenty-six, being a 
frame building. 20x30 feet, and cost about $700. 

District No. 23. — ES'ected an organization in 
1861, the first meeting being held at the house of 
William English, in the fall of 1860. The same 
gentleman donated a site, and a schoolhouse was 
secured and moved upon it in 1862. The present 
schoolhouse was erected in 1874, on the southeast 
quarter of section two, at a cost of about $1,200, 
size 18x26 ftet, equipped with patent seats for 
sixty pupils. The last term of school was taught 
by Anna English for .§25 per month, with thirty- 
five scholars present. The officers at the present 
writing are Thomas D. English, H. L. Oleson. and 
O. Nelson. 

District No. 107. — Is one of the younger dis- 
tricts of the county, having efl'ected an organiza- 
tion in 1878. The first meeting was held at the 
residence of Daniel Peterson, and officers elected 
as follows: John Slater, Director; I. Hammer, 
Clerk; and O. O. Styve, Treasurer. A school- 
house was soon afterward erected in the southern 



part of section thirty-three, at a cost of 8770. 
The first school was taught in the winter of 1879, 
by Ella Slater. The last terra was instructed by 
Grace Slater, with thirty -one scholars present, auvl 
her compensation was §25 per month. 

BXOCTRAPniCAL. 

Andrew Bottelson, one of the first settlers in 
this place, was born in Norway on the 22d of 
May, 1833. At the age of twenty he emigrated 
to -America, residing in Illinois for one year, and 
in November, 1855, came to Bancroft, pre-empting 
one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty- 
nine. He devotes his entire time to the cultiva- 
tion of his farm; has been a member of the board 
of Supervisors four years, and is a member of the 
Freeborn church. He was united in marriage on 
the 22d of March, 1860, to IMiss Irene Iverson, 
and they have four children. 

Eugene Chamberlain is a native of New York, 
born on the 25th of December, 1857. He came 
west with his parents when seven years old, and 
they located in Manchester, where Eugene run a 
ditching machine for some time after reaching 
maturity. He was married in 1880, to Miss Fan- 
nie Reynolds, and the following spring came to 
Bancroft, having since devoted his time to agricul- 
tural pursuits. 

J.4COB C. Frost was born in Ohio on the 9th of 
April, 1841. He removed with his parents to 
Walworth county, Wisconsin, when six years old, 
and in 1856, came to Itasca, in this township. 
.Jacob resided with his parents until 1861, when 
he enlisted in the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer In- 
fantry under Captain White; was with Sherman 
in his march to the sea, and participated in twenty 
battles, receiving his discharge after a service of 
three years ami ten months. After liis return to 
this place he purchased a farm in section nine, 
which contains two hundred and eighteen acres; 
built a residence, and has since made it his home. 
He was married on the 17th of March, 1864, to 
Miss Jennie (-ribson, and the issue of the union is 
five children. 

MAHL.'iN L. Frost, one of the early settlers of 
this place, is a native of Ohio, born on the 2Uth of 
September, 183P. He came with his )wrents to 
Bancroft in 1856, and took a claim in section 
thirty, but resided with his parents iintil enlisting 
on the 9th of October, 1861, in Company F, of 
the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He 
was in the array three years and three months, 



BANCROFT TOWNSHIP. 



421 



coming homeou furlough in 1862, and then mariied 
Miss Naocy E. Ward, daughter of J. Ward, one 
of the pioneers of the place, and formerly from 
Pennsylvania. After Mr. Frost's return from the 
army he bought land in section eight, and now 
has a well unproved farm of three hundred acres, 
with good house, barn, etc. He has three chil- 
dren. 

Peter Finton is a native of Ohio, born on the 
23d of March, 1830. When young he learned 
the carpenter trade, and at the age of sixteen 
years moved with his parents to Indiana, where 
he was employed at his trade. He was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary B. Shaul in 1856. She 
was formerly from Logan county, Ohio. They 
moved to Olmsted county, Minnesota, in 1861. 
and in 1874, sold their farm there and went to 
Nebraska, but after a re.><idence of nine months 
returned to Minnesota. He is the father of 
seven children. Mr. Finton was elected to the 
Legislature from Olmsted county in 1871 and '72; 
was Justice of the Peace fourteeu years, and also 
a member of the board of Supervisors. 

Ekiok Johnsrud was born in Norway on the 27th 
of March, 1850, and emigrated with his father to 
America, locating in Green county, Wisconsin, m 
1857. They resided in New Albany township 
three years and then came to this county, being 
pioneers of Hay ward, where they lived three years 
and then removed to this township, locating in 
section thirteen. Erick boiight the old homestead 
in 1879, and his parents live with him. He has 
held the office of Town Clerk since 1876. His 
brother, G. Johnsrud, was born on the 31st of 
March, 1841, and lived with his parents until 
enlisting in Company H, of the Sixteenth Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Infantry. He served until receiving 
his discharge on the 3rd of March, 1865, after 
which he located a farm near his father's. He was 
married in 1866, to Miss Anna Johnson, who has 
borne him tiv^ children. He was appointed Post- 
master at Albert Lea in 1877, and held the office 
until 1880, since which time he has given his 
time to agricultural pursuits. 

H. P. Jensen was born in Denmark on the 31st 
of December, 1828. His father died when H. P. 
was six years old, and at an early age he assisted 
in the support of the family. He was converted, 
and in 1840 joined the Baptist Church. He was 
married in the faU of 1852, to Miss Christina 
Olson, w'ao had joined the church in 1847. They 



have a family of five children. In the autumn of 
1862, they came to America, located in Wisconsin 
and remained until the spring of 1864, when they 
removed to Freeborn county. Mr. Jensen owns a 
farm of four hundred and twenty acres, all of 
which is improved, containing a grove of orna- 
mental trees, and he also owns some very fine 
cattle and sheep. When the Farmers' Mutual 
Insurance Company was organized, in 1878, Mr. 
Jensen was appointed President, and still fills the 
office. 

H. K. LooMis, one of the first settlers in tlie 
northern part of the township, is a native of Erie 
county, Pennsylvania, born on the 12th of Octo- 
ber, 1828. He attended the district school, after 
which he was engaged in chopping wood in the 
Southern Statas for eight winters, returning home 
and assisting on the farm summers. In 1854, 
he visited California and worked in the mines two 
years with moderate success. In 1856, he came 
to Bancroft and took a claim of one hundred and 
sixty acres, which has since been his home, having 
now a good frame residence and well improved 
ground. He was married on the 4th of April, 
1860, to Miss Mary Prescott. In 1861, he enlisted 
in the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Com- 
pany F, and at the expiration of his term, three 
years, re-enlisted in the same regiment and served 
till the close of the war, being promoted to the 
rank of brevet Second Lieutenant. He participated 
in nineteen engagements, although in the siege of 
Vicksburg, on the 22d of May, 1863, he was shot, 
a ball passing through his body. He is the father 
of five children. 

Henby N. Osteander, one of the early settlers 
of this county, is a native of New York, born in 
Plattsburg on the 15th of October, 1824. When 
he was an infant his parents moved to Upper Can- 
ada, and in 1828, his mother died. His father 
soon after returned to New York, and Henry 
resided with him until the age of twenty-one 
years. He then went to Beekmantown and 
engaged in the coal and lumber business for three 
years. On the 22d of November, 1846, he was 
joined in matrimony with Miss Sarah A. Smith, 
also a native of New York. In June, 1849, they 
moved to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin; resided 
in town about four months and then moved on a 
farm in the western part of the county. On the 
12th of June, 1859, Mr. Ostrander staked out a 
I claim in section twenty-six, Bancroft, and has 



422 



HTSTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



since made it his liome. He came here with four 
yolce of oxen, meeting with many diificultiee. He 
has been a member of the school board most of 
the time since his residence liere. and was Chair- 
man of the board of Supervisors five years, also 
was County Commissioner five years. He lias had 
a family of eight children, six of whom are living; 
Hannah B., the eldest, was born on the 6th of 
June, 1852, and died on the 3r<l of May, 18o(); and 
the second, Eva E., was born on tlie 9th of Mav, 
1854, and died on the 20th of March, 1878. 

To.M Oleson was born in Norway in 1859, and 
resided in his native country until the age of 
eighteen years. He then emigrated to America, 
and came directly to Minnesota; made his home 
in Houston county two yiars, ami in the sjjriug of 
1879, found employment on the railroad in this 
county. He afterward lived in Albert Lea until 
the spring of 1882, when he came to this township 
and has since been engaged in farming. 

E. K. PioKBTT, one of the respected and old 
settlers of this place, was born in Alexander, Gene- 
see county. New York, on the 27tli of September, 
1828. When he was four years old his parents 
movsd to Cattaraugus county, where he was 
brought up on a farm and received his education. 
He was married on the 4th of March, 1849, to 
Miss Phileua A. Skiff. In 1850, he came to Wis- 
consin and settled in Sheboygan county, two i 
years later moved to Waukesha county, where our I 
subject worked at the carpenter trade three years. 
In 1855, he moved to Walwortli county and in 
1860, came to this township, settling in sec- 
tion thirty-two, having driven the entire distance, 
bringing two span of horses and two wagons. In 
1862, he enlisted in the Tentli Minnesota Volun- 
teer Infantry, Company E; was .soon after 
promoted Second Lieutenant and assigned to 
Company C, of the Tenth Regiment and served 
three years, until the close of the war, Ijeiug with 
the comjjany in every march and battle. Since 
coming here Mr. Pickett has worked at his trade 
a portion of the time. Of five children born to 
him, three are^living. 

GEtutGE H. PuEscoTT Was born in Maine on the 
20th of January, 1829. He resided with his par- 
ents until the ago of twenty-one years, then en- 
gaged in the milling business on the Ohio river, 
owning a saw and grist mill which he conducted 
five years. In 1851, he was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Poor, of Utopia, Clermont county, Ohio. 



In 1856, they came to this township and was one 
of the first to open a farm in the place. After a 
residence of one year here he returned to Hast- 
ings, and two years later moved to Stearns coun- 
ty where he took a homestead and engaged in 
farming seven years. In October 1864, his wife died 
leaving four children, two daughters and two sons. 
He then returned to Bancroft end bought the farm 
his father pre-empted. Mr. Prescott was again 
married, on the 25th of December, 1870, to Mrs 
Fannie Ward Frost, widow of the late G. M. 
Frost, and the mother of two children, Emma and 
Edward. This latter union has been blessed with 
one son, Gerald, born in April, 1875. Their farm 
is well improved, having a good orchard, and Mr. 
Prescott is also interested in a sorghum factory at 
Albert Lea. He was elected Justice of the Peace 
in 1871, and held the office two terms. 

B. F. Ross is a native of Pennsylvania, born on 
27th of June, 1835. When he was tliree years 
old his parents moved to New York where he 
grew to manhood and at the age of twenty mar- 
ried Miss .Jane Starks. Immediately after their 
marriage they came west, resided one year in Iowa, 
and then, in 185(1, moved to Riceland, where they 
were the third family to locate, and made it their 
home several years. They have a family of five 
children. In 1862, Mr. Ross enlisted in Company 
C, of the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry and 
remained in service till the 29th of August, 1865. 
After his discharge he returned ta his farm and in 
1870 came to Albert Lea, remaining six years. 
In 1877, he rented the county poor farm which 
has since been his home. 

Ai Rice was born in New York on the 18th of 
March, 1840. When he was but six years old his 
father died and he has since maintained himself, 
working at different occupations. When he was 
nineteen years old he enlisted iu the Eleventh 
Wisconsin Regiment, Company K, was under Gen. 
Grant and participated in fifteen battles, receiv- 
ing an honorable discharge on the 4th of Septem- 
ber, 1865. He returned to Wisconsin and engaged 
iu the lumber business four years, then came to 
Rochester, Minnesota, and in 1877, married Mar- 
garet Knapp. The same year he came to Ban- 
croft and has since devoted his time to farming. 

Asa Wakd was born in Plainsville, Ashtabula 
county, Ohio, on tlie 4th of November, 1844. In 
1855, the family moved to Iowa, and two years 
ater to Bancroft, his father taking a claim in sec- 



BATU TOWNSHIP. 



423 



tion seventeen. Asa enlisted in the Tenth Min- 
nesota Volunteer Infantry, Company I, in 1862, 
and served three years. After his discharge he 
returned to his home and remained one year, then 
spent three years traveling. He returned to this 
place and on the 9th of April, 1868, married Miss 
Helen Dills. The same year he purchased his 
present farm in section four and has it well im- 
proved. 

Bev. Johan T. Ylvisakeb, a native of Norway, 
was born on the 10th of November, 1858. His 
father was a minister and came to America, locat- 



ing at Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1868. He died 
in 1877, at the age of forty-four years, Johan 
attended the Norwegian College in Decorah, 
Iowa, for six and a half years, graduating in the 
summer of 1877, and then entered the Concordia 
Theological Seminary at St. Louis, from which 
he graduated three years later. He returned to 
his home and in March,1881, came to Bancroft; was 
ordained on the last day of the same month, Eev. 
Bishop Koren performing the ceremony. He as- 
sists the Eev. E. Hulfsbury, having charge of the 
Norwegian Lutharian Congregation in this place. 



BATH. 



CHAPTER LVII. 

General Desobiption — Early Settlement — 
War Record — Official Record — St-wistical 
— A.ssociATioNS — Religiods — Educational — 

BlOaRAPHICAL, 

The township with this name is the center of 
the northern tier of towns in Freeborn county. 
Its contiguous surroundings are as follows: 
Waseca county on the north; Geneva township on 
the east; Bancroft township on the south; and 
Harthind township on the west. It contains 
thirty-six sections or square miles, comprising the 
territory of Town 104, Range 21. 

In early days the most of the township was 
covered with a growth of burr oak, much of it 
large and heavy, enough so to have earned the 
name of "forest." This was interspersed with 
meadow or small patches of prairie land. There 
is a prairie of about 2,560 acres, located in the 
southwestern part of the township. The timber 
has now, to a great extent, been removed, and the 
rich land been converted into valuable farms. The 
surface is rolling, and in places the undulation is 
so abriipt as to be called ridges, which are not 



subject to cultivation. The soil is a dark sandy 
loam, underlain with a subsoil of clay. 

The town is not so well watered as its neigh- 
bors, has no stream, and only one lake wholly 
within its borders. An arm of Geneva Lake ex- 
tends from the town bearing its name into section 
twenty-five of Bath, and covers a few acres of land. 
Lake George is the only body of water wholly 
within the boundaries, lying in the southern part 
of section twenty-two. It was named in honor of 
George Skinner, Jr. 

The town has a large portion of its area under 
a high state of cultivation, and its broad rich 
looking fields yield a substantial income to the 
thrifty inhabitants, which are, in majority, Danes, 
with a scattering of Norwegians, Irish, and 
Americans. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

The earliest infringement by settlers, upon the 
territory of this town, commenced in the spring of 
1856. The first parties to arrive and secure per- 
manent homes were the Brooks brothers. The 
party consisted of Edward D., Dwight E., and 
Henry L. Brooks, with their sister Augusta, and 



424 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



mother. They were oiigiually from Massachus- 
etts, coming by way of Pennsylvania, and arriv- 
ing in the spring of 1856, with teams, and all 
settled in and about section twenty-four, where 
the brothers joined interests and erected a log 
cabin 14x26 feet. Edward took a claim just over 
the line into Geneva township, and remained until 
186<;, when he went to Faribault cotinty, where he 
yet lives. Dwight E. remained until 1808, when 
he followed bis brother, and they were subse- 
quently joined by the other brother, Henry L. 

These were about all that came and settled this 
year; of course, a few travelers passed through, 
and many of them staked out claims, but they 
were never improved or occupied. 

In May of the following year, 1857, John Keily, 
a native of the old Emerald Isle who had stopped 
fpr a time in Iowa, came with his family, in an ox 
cart, and settled in section eleven or fourteen, 
where he yet remains. He, soon after his arrival, 
erected a 14x18 foot log house, which he covered 
with sod and slabs. 

Soon afterward John Harty and Martin Shee- 
han, of the same nationabty, drifted in and se- 
cured places. Harty became satisfied with a farm 
in section four, where he remained until the time 
of his death, which occurred in the latter part of 
the sixties, and his family still occupy the old 
homestead. Sheehan secured a farm in the north- 
eastern part of the town, where he remained until 
he died in 1875, and his family stiU remain on the 
place. 

In the summer of 1857, a party of Norwegians, 
consisting of Hans Peterson, Ingebret Erickson, 
and Nels Nelson, came with teams, bringing their 
families, and settled upon claims. The first is 
still in the town. The second left in 1880 for the 
Red River country; and the third died during the 
war, in defense of his country. 

About the same time Richard Fitzgerald, a na- 
tive of Ireland, came and first located at St. Nich- 
olas, where he put in a crop; but soon after made 
his way to Bath, and yet resides in the town. 

George W. Skinner left Corning. New York, on 
the 24th of .\ugust, 1858, and arrived in Bath 
township on the 7th of September, having spent 
the preceding night in (ieneva, where he found 
quite an important little settlement. On the lOtli 
of the same month he selected the southeastern 
quarter of section twenty-two for his future home, 
and still occiipies it. Mr. Skinner has lieen prom- 



inent in all public movements, and has done much 
to prevent the robbery of the public purse by rail- 
road corporations and political fiends, and stands 
high in the estimation of his fellow citizens. 

Shortly after Mr. Skinner's arrival, John and 
George Blessing, natives of Germany, made their 
appearance and selected claims in section twenty- 
three, where they remained for several years. 
Joseph Blessing came with his family and located 
in section thirty-five, remaining four or five years. 

Horace Green came about the same time from 
Wisconsin, and located in section fourteen. From 
tlie last advice he now lives in Moscow. 

Fred. W. Calkins, a native of New York State, 
who had for a time sojourned in Iowa, made his 
appearance in June, 1857, and located in section 
sixteen, where he remained until he died in 1863. 

Jacob Bower, a German, came in the fall of 
1858 and planted his stakes in section twenty-seven; 
but his stay was abruptly terminated by the gov- 
ernment officers, as he was discovered selling 
whisky to the Indians, and he made himself 
"abundantly scarce." 

Mons Grinager came in 1859 and settled. He 
is at present Register of the U. S. Land office at 
Worthingtou, Minnesota. 

Elland Ellingson, a Norwegian, came in 1859, 
and still remains in Bath. 

James M. Drake, a native of Maeaachusetts, 
came in 1856, and located in Geneva: but has 
since moved his residence over the line into Bath. 

Others came in rapidly and soon all the govern- 
ment land was taken. A few of the most promi- 
nent arrivals are treated under the head of "Bio- 
graphical." 

EVENTS AND MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

The first birth in the township took place on 
the Ist of June, 1859, and ushered John Shoalt 
(or Schad), a son of Mr. and Mrs. Bernhart 
Schad, living in section fourteen, into existence. 
The 'Second birth was a child of Mr. and Mrs. 
George W. Skinner, and occurred two weeks later 
than the above. 

Triple Marriage. — One of these rare events 
occurred in Bath on the 22d of December, 1864, 
at the residence of the Brooks brothers, the cere- 
mony being performed by George W. Skinner, 
Esquire. The parties most interested were joined 
as follows: Edward D. Brooks to Miss Mary Bliss; 
Dwight E. Brooks to Mrs. Savanah Calkins, widow 
of Edward Calkins; Lieut. Loren Meeker, of Com- 



BATH TOWNSHIP. 



425 



pany C, Tenth Minnesota Infantry, to Awgusta T. 
Brooks. All of the parties are alive, in various 
parts of the Northwest. 

First Death. — This sad affair occurred late in 
November, 1858, and carried away Edward Cal- 
kins, son of F. W. Calkios, aged 21 years. 

Wab Record. — On the 6th of December, 1864, 
the sum of $1,000 was voted for the purpose of 
securing vohinteers to fill the quota assigned the 
town, and to prevent the necessity of a draft. Of 
this amount S600 was used. The town was some- 
what embarrassed in this regard, as Capt. Mons 
Grinager had taken forty men from this locality, 
six of them being from this town, and enlisted 
them in Wisconsin, thus cheating the town and 
State out of able-bodied men who should have 
gone to the war under the banner of a Minnesota 
regiment. The names of the participants in the 
war from Bath are as foUows, fourteen in all: F. 
Drake, Dwight E. Brooks, Edward D. Brooks, 
O. Iverson, Ingebret Eriekson, Mr. Jaoobson, 
Michael Sheehan, E. Johnson, John Peterson, C 
Johnson, Capt. Grinager, Nels Nelson. Tim Keily, 
and Peter Nason. Of these, Nels Nelson, Ole 
Iverson, and Mr. Jacobson never returned, finding 
the graves of martyrs in southern soil. 

OFFICIAL KECOBD. 

When the county of Freeborn came into exist- 
ence, the present area of the township of Bath was 
merged into territory taken from Geneva and 
Hartland, and was known as "Porter Township." 
What the name originated from, or what suggested 
it, we are unable to imagine; but we can simply 
state that all through its early settlement it was 
known under that caption. Therefore, the town- 
ship of Bath proper did not come into existence 
as a separate organization until some time after a 
majority of Freeborn county's sub-divisions. 

Porter township was organized for local govern- 
ment at a meeting held on the 15th of April, 1859, 
at the residence of Frederick W. Calkins. The meet- 
ing came to order and James M. Drake was chosen 
chairman; F. W. Calkins, moderator; and Harris 
Green, clerk pro tmn. The nest matter taken up 
was that of the town name, and finally, a short 
one being desired, some one suggested "Bath," 
after the name of the county seat of Steuben 
county, Ohio, and the name was adopted. It was 
next voted that the lake near the center of the 
township should be known as "Lake George," in 
honor of the oldest son of G. W. Skinner. 



The matter of election next came up, and the 
judges of election were appointed as follows: 
George W. Skinner, Andrew Black, and B. Een- 
wgiler. The judges were duly sworn before F. W. 
Calkins, Escj., and the election of officers for the 
ensuing year began, resulting as follows : Super- 
visors, Harris Green, Chairman, Joseph Blessing, 
and E. Eriekson ; Clerk, Horace Green ; Assessor, 
Joseph Loreman ; Collector, E. Eriekson ; Justices 
of the Peace, George W. Skinner and Horace 
Green; Constable, Jack Bower. The elections 
were held in early days at the residence of John 
Munsen; and as time went by they were held at 
various places as the annual meeting directed. 

The present condition of town affairs is above 
criticism; as public trusts have always been in 
honest and efficient hands, with nothing occurring 
out of the usual line of such business to disturb 
the tranquility. The present officers are as fol- 
lows: Supervisors, A. Eriekson, Chairman, Patrick 
Farry, and J. P. Larson; Clerk, M. P. Peter- 
son; Treasurer, Hans Basmusson; Assessor, An- 
drew Jensen; Constables, Mike Sheehan and E. C. 
Johnson; Justice of the Peace, George W. Skin- 
ner. 

STATISTICAL. 

For the Yeae 1881. — The area included in the 
following report, takes in the whole town, as fol- 
lows : 

Wheat— 3,987 acres; yielding 69,737 bushels. 

Oats — 794 acres; yielding 25,482 bushels. 

Corn — 859 acres; yielding 19,646 bushels. 

Barley — 46 acres; yielding 2,530 bushels. 

Rye — 2 acres; yielding 53 bushels. 

Potatoes — 55% acres; yielding 4,080 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 10 acres, yielding 237 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 17 acres; yielding 30 tons. 

Other products — 101 acres. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881 — 5,854% acres. 

Wild hay — 2,515 acres. 

Timothy seed — 2 bushels. 

Clover seed — 32 bushels. 

Apples: number of trees growing, 1,128; num- 
ber bearing, 65. 

Grapes — 10 vines; yielding 100 pounds. 

Sheep — 152 sheared; yielding 531 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 375 cows; yielding 32,550 pounds of 
butter, and 550 pounds of cheese. 

For the Year 1882. — It being too early in the 
season, at this writing, to procure the returns of 



426 



IITSTORY OF FREKnORN GOUNTT. 



threshing, we can only give the acreage sown this 
year: 

Wheat, 3,541 acres; onts, ."jSH; corn, 801; bar- 
ley, 155; potatoes, 52; sugar cane, 3; ciiUiva^d 
hay, 83; other products, 27; total acreage culti- 
Tated in 1882, 5,515. 

Apple trees: growing. 1,132; beariug, 24. 

Milk cows, 416. 

Sheep, 644; yielding 2,880 pounds of wool. 

Whole nnmljer of farms cultivated in 1882, 101. 

lorest trees planted and growing, 209. 

Population — The census of 187(1 gave Bath a 
population of 404. The last census, taken in 
1880, reports 919 for the town; showing an in- 
crease of 515. 

ASSOCIATIONS. 

Fakmers' MrTUAL FiKE Insurance As.socia- 
TioN of Bath.- — This was organized at a meeting 
held at the Danish Bai>tist Church on the first of 
.January, 1878. On the 14th of the same month 
it was incorporated under the State law, and seven 
directors were elected, as follows: H. P. Jensen, 
N. P. Peterson, John Henderson, Peter Johnson, J. 
P. Larson, C. F. Peterson, and C. Nelson. They 
met and elected officers of the association as fol- 
lows: President, H. P. Jensen; Secretary, N. P. 
Peterson; Treasurer, C. T. Peterson. 

The association has license to do business in the 
townships of Kiceland, Bath, Albert Lea, Ban- 
croft, and Geneva. 

In the past the corporation has been exceeding- 
ly fortunate, having had but two losses, which 
were small, one .'iffi.("i{! and the other ^69.15, both 
of which were promptly paid. According to the 
report of January 1st, 1882, there was $73,150 of 
insurance in force in the above towns. The same 
executive officers are yet in the same positions as 
mentioned above. 

Gbange. — A society nnder this name was or- 
ganized in Bath township in 1875, at a meeting 
called at the old log 15ai)tist church, and the fol- 
lowing officers were elected ; Master, James Law- 
son; Treasurer, Peter Jensen; Lecturer, Lewis 
Jorgerson; Secretary, G. W. Skinner; Gatekeeper, 
E. Nelson; Pomona, Mrs. N. P. Nelson; Flora, 
Hattie E. Skinner; Ceres, Mrs. L. Jorgerson. 
Meetings were held once each month. 

bath post-office. 

This office was established in 1876, on section 
thirtv six, at the residence of the Postmaster, L. 



P. Carlson, who was appointed and held the ofiBce 
for about two years when a Dane named Lingby 
was commissioned to handle the mails. Tide 
I gentleman ))roved to be a defaulter, and after some 
trouble the matter was settled and the present 
I'ostmaster, A. H. Peterson, was appointed. Mail 
now arrives ft)ur times each week. 

BELiGiora. 

Danish B.aptist CnrRCH. — This society was or- 
ganized in May, 1863, and until 1865, services 
were held in the houses of Nels Larson and Hans 
Christianson, with Lewis Jorgerson as pastor, 
which were the first religious services held in the 
township. In 1865 a log church was rolled 
together by subscription, 20x26 feet, and seated 
to accommodate 100 people, in section thirty-five, 
which was used until 1875, when it was abandoned 
and the present church edifice erected. A build- 
ing committee was appointed, consisting of Peter 
Johnson and Nels Clauson, which raised funds to 
the amount of .S1.200, and the church was at 
once erected in the eastern part of section thirty- 
I five, one and a half stories high, size 28x40 feet, 
and seated to accommodate 200 people. The first 
jireaclier whs Rev. James Henderson, the elders at 
the time being H. P. Jenson and Peter Johnson. 
The present elders are, H. P. Jenson, Peter John- 
son, John Anderson, Nels Otterson, and Lars 
Sorenson. The minister is Rev. J. S. Lunn, as- 
sisted by A. Carlson. The society raises annually 
about .S1,000, for all expenses, including mission- 
ary fund, minister's salary, etc.. — the pastor only 
gets from $200 to S300 of this. The first persons 
married in the church were J. Nelson and Miss 
Mary Christeuson, in 1877. 

In connection with this society, and adjoining 
the church, is a burial ground, containing about 
one acre, which was laid out in 1875, under the 
su])ervi8ion of J. P. Larson and P. C. Christeu- 
son. The first person buicd here was Nels Otter- 
son, who yielded up the spirit in the spring of 
1875. At present there are abovit sixty-five graves 
occupied by the last remains of the tle]jarted. 

Norwegian Lutheran Church. — This society 
was organized years ago in the township of Ban- 
croft, and the membership has continually increas- 
ed, until the denomination emliraces a good share 
of this town. The church edifice wss erected in 
1868, in the southwestern part of section twenty- 
one, at a cost of S2,000. The pastor who first 
officiated here was the Rev. Mr. Koren. 



BATH TOWNSHIP. 



427 



Catholic Chdbch.— The catholic society first 
organized in Bath at the residence of Michael 
Sheehan, as early as 1865, and soon afterward a 
small frame bnikling was erected for worship, in 
ection eight, which was used for the purj;cEe until 
within the last few years, when they commenced 
the erection of a new and very fine edifice, which 
is at present iu process of construction. The soci- 
ety is in good financial condition, liud has a good 
membership. 



EDUCATIONAL. 

DisTBicT No. 5. — Effected an organization in 
October, 1863, at a meeting held at the cabin of 
James M. Drake, in section twenty-five. Several 
terms of school had been held prior to this, and 
the whole town had been partially organized as a 
single district, ao that when this was organized it 
embraced the entire eastern half of the town. 
The first school within the limits of this district 
was held in the summer of 1860, and was taught 
by Miss Lucia Thomas. In 1864, an old log 
house was purchased of Torkel Ludwigson, in the 
northeastern part of section twenty-six, and in it 
school was held for five months of the same year, 
taught by the same teacher as is mentioned above. 
In 1871, the present schoolhouse was erected in the 
eastern part of section twenty-six, at a cost of be- 
tween $1,000 and $1,200. Since its original or- 
ganization the tlistrict has been divided, and now 
consists of about four and one-half sections. The 
last term of school was taught by Miss Julia 
Whalen. 

DisTKioT No. 7. — This was organized on the 
14th of May, 1864, at a meeting held at the resi- 
dence of R. Fitzgerald, and the following were 
the first ofiScers: Director, James Fitzgerald; 
Treasurer, G. Oleson ; Clerk, R. Fitzgerald. Dur- 
ing the summer a small log schoolhouse was 
rolled together in the eastern part of section thirty, 
at a cost of about .f 100, which did service until 
1875, when the present house was completed on 
the same site, size 18x28 feet, at a cost of $600. 
The first teacher in the district was Mrs. Reynolds, 
who received .$20 per month. The last term was 
taught by Miss Anna Oieson to an attendance of 
forty-four scholars, for .$25 per month. 

District No. 64. — This is the educational sub- 
division embracing the territory in the eastern 
part of the township, and is among the most use- 
ful in this locality. The first school held in this , 



neighborhood was at the residence of H. Green, in 
section fourteen, and was taught by Mrs. Mary 
Johnson, for $1.50 per week, to an attendance of 
fifteen pupils. This was in the .summer of 1863, 
and the same teacher instructed the school during 
another term, held in the fall of the same year. The 
location of the schoolhouse is near the center of 
section fourteen, and was erected in 1873, the dis- 
trict having been organized iu 1871. 

Dlstrict No. 82. — This is one of the younger 
districts in the town. It wag formerly a part of 
District No. 5, but in 1874 it was set off, and on 
the 16th of October legally organized at a meet- 
ing held at the Baptist church, at which officers 
were elected as follows: Nels Larson, Director; 
Nels Jensen, Clerk; and J. P. Larson, Treasurer. 
The first school was held in the log church during 
the summer of 1874, with Mias Susan Kinnear 
as teacher. In 1875 the present schoolhouse was 
built near the center of section twenty-five, but it 
has since been remodeled and greatly improved. 
There are now forty-five scholars enrolled. 

District No. 90. — This embraces the territory 
just west of the center of the township, with a 
scoolhouse located on. the eastern line of section 
sixteen. The district, it is claimed, was organized 
in 1859, at a meeting held at the house of John 
Sheehan, at which the following officers were 
elected : Director, M. S. Sheehan ; Treasurer, Hans 
Rasmusson; Clerk, John J. Sheehan. The first 
school was taught in the old Catholic Church by 
Miss B. A. Ryan, aged twelve years. The school- 
house was erected in 1860, size 14x16 feet. 

District No. 103. — The organization of this 
district was effected a number of years ago, at a 
meeting held at the residence of Michael Sheehan 
in section eight, and their schoolhouse was erected 
shortly after in the northwestern corner of the 
same section. The school is in a flourishing con- 
dition and well attended. 

biographical. 

Niels Peter Peterson, a native of Denmark, 
was born on the 28th of April, 1847. His father 
died when our subject was six years old, and in 
1867, his mother sold out and came with her son 
to America, directly to Minnesota, and located iu 
Winona. In 1871, Niels came to this township 
and farmed with his brother for three years, then 
bought land in section twenty-four and has since 
made it his home. He has been a member of the 



428 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTT. 



board of Supervisors, and is serving liis second 
terra as Town Clerk. He has been Secretary of 
tlie Bath Mntiial Fire Inanrauce Company since 
its organization. 

David .\. Peirce was born in Maine on tlie '2d 
of October, 1830. His father was a farmer and 
David lived at home until the age of twenty-one 
years. He was married in 185(5, to Miss Amanda 
M. Bailey, and the following vear moved to Mower 
county, Minnesota. Five years later thev removed 
to Spring Valley, and in March, 1862, Mr. Peirce 
enlisted in Company E, of the Seventh Minnesota 
Vohinleer Infantry, and served two years and ten 
months. After his discharge he returned to 
Spring Valley and removed his family to Bath, 
locating in section eighteen, where he has a good 
home with commodious buildings. His two oldest 
daughters are school teachers in this couutv and 
he has a son editing a Marshall county paper. 

Mitchell Slater is a native of England, born 
on the 29th of April, 18.54. His parents emigra- 
ted to America when be was six weeks old, and 
settled in Smithville, Massachusetts. Four years I 
later they came to Minnesota, and Mitchell 
remained at home until twenty-one years old, then 
worked in different places until buving a farm in 
section twelve, Bath township, and has since made 
it his home. He was united in marriage on the 
9th of January, 1880, with Miss Dora E. Heath, 
and they have two children. 

George W. Skisxer, one of the early residents 
and prominent citizens of this county, was born 
in the city of Warren. Massachusetts, on the 9th 
of August, 181.'). His father was a scythe maker 
and he learned the same trade, after which he 
went to Kentucky as salesman for the firm of 
Blanchard & Co. ( for which his father also worked ), 
and traveled one year, then returned, but soon 
went to St. Louis. While there he met Gen. 
Marcy, with whom, in 1837, he went to Fort Snell- 



ing, thence to the Missouri and up the Yellow- 
stone, and a short time after to Ohio, where he re- 
mained one and a half years. He then returned 
east and entered upon the practice of law until his 
health failed, when he gave up the profession and 
accepted a commission from Gov. Briggs, of Mas- 
sachusetts, as Colonel for the Tenth Massachusetts 
Regiment; went to Mexico and served till the close 
of the war, having participated in the battle of 
the National Bridge, and others. In 1848, he 
again returned to his native State and entered the 
office of the Rhode Island it Massachusetts Tele- 
graph Cr)., and operated the same for one year. 
In 1849, he was joined in wedlock with Miss Eliz- 
abeth A. Brooks, of Oneida county. New York. 
The same year he went to Mexico and erected a 
telegraph line between the cities of Vera Cruz 
and Mexico, after which he returned to Massa- 
chusetts and was employed in an office at Narras- 
burg for the Erie Railroad Company. He subse- 
quently built a line from Elmira, New Y'ork, to 
Philadelphia. Previous to 1857, he had accumu- 
lated railroad bonds to the amount of S100,000, 
all of which he lost in the Ohio Life and Trust 
Company. Then, after settling up business ,he 
came to Minnesota in September, 1858, and pre- 
empted land on section twenty-two, in this town- 
ship. He came by water to Red Wing, where he 
hired a team to bring him here, and the same 
autumn got up a log house. In an early day he 
was sent to Washington by tne settlers of the 
county, for the purpose of importuning President 
Buchanan to withdraw the lands from market for 
the benefit of settlers, and gained an exteusion of 
one year for the settlers to raise money to pay 
back dues on their claims. Mr. Skinner has been 
a prominent official since the organization of the 
town, and served as .Justice of the Peace seventeen 
years. He has four children; Hattie, one of the 
teachers in this county; George W., Henry I)., 
and Maud L. 



CABLSrON TOWNSHIP. 



429 



OARLSTON. 



CHAPTER LVIII. 

Descriptive — Early settlement — Statistical 
- Religious — Educational — Biographical. 

This is a township lying in the western tier of 
Freeborn county towns, and containing an area of 
thirty six sections or square miles, making 23,040 
acres. Its immediate surrowndings are Freeborn 
on the north; Manchester on the east; Alden on 
the south; and the county of Faribault on the 
west. As will of course be imagined, this is a 
prairie town, the only places in which a show of 
timber is found being in the northern part, in the 
vicinity of the lake. The town is watered by a 
lake and several small streams which bisect the 
prairie. 

Freeborn Lake, taking its name after the same 
gentleman in whose honor the county received its 
name, is one of the largest and most beautiful 
bodies of water in the county, and lies mostly 
within the limits of this town, only extending into 
the town north a few rods. It is situated in the 
northeastern part, and covers about 2,240 to 2,400 
acres, or three and a half sections, being about 
three miles long and, (o the utmost, about a mile 
and a half wide, while its depth will not exceed 
twelve feet. The water of the lake is soft and of 
rather a muddj hue. Originally it abounded 
with fish of all local species, but in the winter of 
1868-9, which was very severe, the lake water froze 
very deep, and remained a solid mass of ice for six 
months. After the thaw came, thousands of dead 
fish wa.shed upon the shores, and so thinned the 
supply that to this day the spawning has failed to 
replenish the ranks of the finny tribe. The shores 
are covered with a small growth of timber, mostly 
burr oak, this constituting the timber land of the 
town, the balance being prairie of a rolling 
nature. 

The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul railway 
line traverses the southwestern corner of tlie town, 



entering from the south in section thirty-three 
and taking a northwesterly direction leaves by 
way of section thirty, to enter Faribault county. 
There are uo villages in the town, except to the 
extent to which the village of Alden extends from 
the town bearing the same name into section 
thirty three of this town. This village is located 
wrong upon the map published by Warner & 
Foote, in 1878, it being one mile further west than 
shown on said map. 

The town contains many valuable and well im- 
proved farms and is among the best agricultural 
towns of the county, but then this is unnecessary, 
as its agricultural resources are well shown by the 
article upon statistics, published in another place. 
The inhabitants are mostly Swedes and Danish. 

EAIiLY settlement. 

The following is a sketch of the early matters 
in this town, published several years ago by the 
Old Settlers' Association, in the Albert Lea papers. 
It should be stated that the matter was all gath- 
ered by correspondence, and errors may, and 
probably have crept in. 

"Cablston was first settled in 1855, by Robert 
Miller. Miller built of logs the first house, in 
1855, and opened the first farm in the same year. 
John L. Melder, a blacksmith, was the first 
mechanic. H. B. Collins opened the practice of 
law in 1860. The first school was taught by 
Martha Taylor in 1860, and the first schoolhonse 
was built by District 61, in the fall of the same 
year. The first religious service was held by 
Rev. Mr. Marsh, United Brethren Minister, at the 
schoolhouse in District No. 15 in 1861. The 
Seventh Day Baptists effected the first church or 
ganization, in November, 1863. The first parties 
married, were David Horning and Mary Jane 
Elliott, who were united by H. Melder, Esq., on 
the 24th of December, 1861. In 1856 the first 
child was born to Mr. and Mrs Melder. The 



430 



niSrORY OF FRKKBOUN LOUNTi'. 



first death was that of Elias Btanton, who froze 
his feet, sufTered several araputatious. and finally 
died in the spring of 1858. The first title to land 
was accpiired by Robert H. Miller, on sections 
ten and eleven, on the 2l8t of A)>ril. 185fi." 

But setting this aside wo will turn our atten- 
tion to the earliest comers in the township. The 
first settler in the towiisliip was Kobort Killer, 
who came in the sjmng of 1855, and settled on a 
claim in section fifteen on the banks of Feeeborn 
Lake, where he erected the first house, and did 
the first breakiug He did not remain long, as he 
was discovered selling li(juor to the Indians and 
was obliged to leave to avoid trouble. The land 
he took is now owned by John Larson. 

Shortly after the arrival of the first, the second 
settler put in an appearance in the person of 
Theodore L. Carlston, after whom the town was 
named. He erected a house in the same spring 
that he arrived, and "bachelor's hall" until the 
time of his death in 1858. He was drowned 
while crossing the lake in a boat in company with 
three others, one of whom, Mr. Johnson, also 
found a watery grave. Carlston's body remaioed 
in the lake until the following spring. 

The next to arrive was Elias Stanton, who also 
located on the shore of Freeborn lake, in section 
fourteen; he likewise put up a log house and 
commenced keeping "bachelor's hall." In 185 T, 
during the winter, he was caught in one of the 
noted Minnesota snow storms, and frozen so badly 
thit after several amputaions he lost his life. His 
original place is now occupied by David Horning. 

Thom;is Ford arrived in 1856, and was another 
of the first settlers in the town. He located in 
section fifteen; the laud as yet not being in mar- 
ket, and remained until 1851), when he left for 
parts unknown. 

Elias Stanton, upon his arrival, was accompan- 
ied by a gentleman named Huyck (Houk, ) who 
also settled in section eleven and remained tor a 
number of years. 

L. T. Walker; a native of Vermont, drifted into 
the township in the spring of 1858. and located 
in section tliirteen, where he opened and commen- 
ced cultivating a valuable farm. He remained 
here for a number of years and then moved to the 
village of Alden, where he is now running a store. 
He is Postmaster and a prominent man. 

Mr. Henry Collins came to Carlston in 1859, 
and located in section twenty- seven, where he 



remained cultivating and improving the farm for 
about eleven years, when he removed to the vil- 
lage of Alden and engaged in the pursuit of his 
profession, that of law. He has recently opened 
a tine store, and is a most public spirited man. 

David T. Calvin and family came in the spring 
of 1861, and settled upon one hundred and sixty 
acres in this town. He brought with him horses, 
wagon, and several head of cows, and purchased 
a corn crib of Mr. Howard, in which he and his 
family made their home for some time. He now 
lives on section thirty-six, well located and com- 
fortable. 

Charles Sweet was born in Allegany county, 
New York, in 1828, and in 1863, came to Minne- 
sota, to the township of Carlston, locating in 
section thirty-two. He came to his death in 1880. 
He was i-eturuing home from the village of Alden 
with a neighbor, and while crossing the railroad 
track a train struck the wagon in which they were 
traveling, indicting injuries upon Mr. Sweet from 
which he died shortly after. 

SOME WHO HAVE PAI3SED AW.\Y. 

Hannah Melder, wife of John Melder, was taken 
from this plane of life on the 12th of January, 
1879, at the age of 52. She came to Freeborn 
county with her husband in the year 1857, thus 
being one of the pioneers, who was well known 
and beloved by all as a kind-hearted woman, an 
affectionate wife, and careful mothar. 

Mrs. J. M. Melander went to the great hereaf- 
ter, on the 12th of January, 1879. Her maiden 
name was Christ?nson, and she was born in Stock- 
holm, Sweden, on the 17th of July, 1825. Her 
father was city collector and died wheu she was 
nine years old, and her mother two years later. 
On the 9th of .May, 1850, she was married to John 
8. Melander. She landed in Boston on the 18th 
of October, 1855, an 1 remained there alone until 
joined by her husbind the following spring, who 
had been sick in New Orleans. They left Massa- 
chusetts for Iowa in June of that year, and 
remained in the Hawkeye State until this section 
be^an to be opened up, whea she came here and 
remained up to the time of death. 

Mrs. Mary C. Walkar. She was a Bruce, of 
Scotch descent, born in Towuse id, Vermont, on 
the 13th of October, 1818, and was married to Asa 
Walker in 1839. They rem ivel to Madison, Wis- 
onsin, and to Minnesota in 1859. She was 
dways first at a sick-bed, and Was full of energy 



CAULSTON TOWN till I P. 



431 



and activity; sadly missed and long to be remem- 
bered. She died on the 21st of January, 1879. 

Mrs. S. Twist, a daughter of Mr. Nathan and 
Mrs. Sally Pierce, was born in New York State on 
the 29th of July, 1833. At the age of eleven 
years her parents moved to Waushara county, in 
the same State. Her marriage to Mr, T wist was 
in 1859, when she came with him to Carlston. 
They lived in Albert Lea for three years before 
her death, which was on the 1st of January, 1881. 
Two children preceded her a month. A husband 
and seven children remained. Her remains were 
interred in Alden. She was an exemplary woman. 

STATISTICAL. 

From the report of the County Auditor to the 
commissioner of statistics of the State, and other 
sources, we have compiled a few items to show the 
value and agricultural resources of this township, 
for the benefit of those who are not liable to see 
this report as it comes from the State department. 
The items represent the acreage and yield of the 
various crops sown, together with other matters 
of interest. 

The Year 1881. — The area included in this 
report takes in the whole town, as follows: 

Wheat — 3,.5ii9 acres, yielding 32,91.5 bushels. 

Oats — 814 acres, yielding 21,197 bushels. 

Corn — 769 acres, yielding 26,905 bushels. 

Barley — 110 acres, yielding 2,789 bushels. 

Bye — 3 acres, yielding 50 bushels. 

Potatoes — 31 acres, yielding 3,500 bushels. 

Beans — 1 acre, yielding 43 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 10 acres, yielding 1,031 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 113 acres, yielding 198 tons. 

Pl^x — 129 acres, yielding 1,235 bushels. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881 — 5,558. 

Wild hay— 2,168 tons. Timothy- 269 bushels. 

Apples — number of trees growing, 2,044; nu^a- 
ber bearing, 505, yielding 327 bushels. 

Grapes — 37 vines, yielding 127 pounds. 

Sheep — 278 sheared, yielding 1,749 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 238 cows, yielding 27.450 pounds of 
butter, and 50 pounds of chee.se. 

For the Year 1882. — It being too early in the 
season, at this writing, to procure the returns of 
threshing, we can only give the acreage sown this 
year in Carlston. 

Wheat, 2,933 acres; oats, 923; corn, 1,303; bar- 
ley, 347; rye, one-half acre; potatoes, 70 acres; 
beans, 3)4; sugar cane, 6 •''4; cultivated hay, 186; 



flax, 139; total acreage cultivated in 1882, 
5,95214. 

Apple trees — growing, 2,037; bearing, 476. 

Milk cows— 239. 

Sheep — 67, yielding 297 pounds of wool. 

Wholo number of farms cultivated in 1882 — 82. 

Forest trees planted and growing, 165 acres. 
Five acres planted this year. 

Population. — The census of 1870 gave Carls- 
ton a population of 378. The last census, taken 
in 1880, reports 500 for this town, showing an 
increase of 122. 

KELIGIOUS. 

Tliere is not a church edifice in the township. 
There is one organization, and a number of de- 
nominations which occasionally and irregularly 
hold services in the various schoolhovises. 

Danish Lutheran Church. — This society is 
presumed to have been organized about 1874, as 
one who has been living there for nearly twenty 
years says it was organized in 1864, and another 
who has been there almost as long, says 1874. 
There are now about fifty families in the society, 
and services are held in the schoolhouse of Dis- 
trict No. 61, in the eastern part of section 
twenty-two. Rev. F. M. Kristensen is the officia- 
ting minister of this denomination. 

Alden Union Association Cemetery. — This 
burial ground is located near the .'eutral part of 
section thirty-four. The association was organ- 
ized on the 17th of January, 1877, with the fol- 
lowing as their trustees: John A. Hazle, A. T. 
Briggs, J. E. N. Backus, W. A. Clark, and L. M. 
Hall. The first burial here was of the remains of 
Justin, a son of Henry Ernst, who died on the 
27th of June, 1871. The grounds now contain 
the graves of many departed ones, and has been 
the scene of many sad and sorrowful events of 
parting and farewell. The cematery contains 
three acres. 

Danish Lutheran Cemetery. — This "village of 
the dead" occupies a few acres in the eastern part 
of section twenty-two, adjoining the schoolhouse 
of District No. 61, and it often goes by the 
name of tliis district. The association controll- 
ing it was organized in 1874, the trustees then 
being JohnKismusson, Christ. Johnson, and Peter 
Lirson, and they still hold their positions. The 
first burial here was the interment of the remains 
of Hans Paulson in 1874. 



432 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTT. 



EDrCATIONAL. 

District No. 15. — Thifl ednoationsl subdivision 
came into existence by organization late in 1859. 
and tbe following summer, 1860. tbe first scbool 
was taugbt in a log bouse, by Martba Stane. witb 
nine sobolars in attendance, the teacber receiving 
as compensation tbe sum of ?18 per montb. Tbe 
present scboolbouse was erected in 1877, at a cost 
of S640, equipped with patent seats for forty 
scholars. The last term was taught by Lida L. 
Chester, who instructed tbe twenty scholars pres- 
ent, and receivetl tbe salary of S20 per month. 
The location of the scboolbouse is the western 
part of section ten, and it is a credit to the dis- 
trict. 

DisTRiiT No. 16. — Effected an organization in 
the year 1860, and in the following year the first 
school in tbe district was held at tbe residence of 
James Cook, taught by Mary J. Trigg, witb ten 
scholars present; the teacher received for services 
the sum of $1.50 per week, and "boarded around." 
Tbe school was held here and in other residences 
until the fall of 1865, when a log bouse was erect- 
ed at a cost of S800, size 22x30 feet, equipped 
with patent seats and the necessary apparatus. 
The last term of school was taught by Harte E. 
Jones, with twenty-three scholars present, and 
wages S20 per month. The scboolbouse is located 
in the center of section thirteen. 

District No. 61. — The first school meeting was 
held at tbe residence of William W. Coon on tbe 
27th of March. 1874, at which the organization 
of the district was effected, and on the 30tb of 
the same month again met and elected the follow- 
ing officers: Director, William W. Coon; Clerk, 
John L. Garlack; Treasurer, David Horning; and 
soon after tbe scboolbouse was erected in the east- 
ern part of section twenty-two, at a cost of S600, 
the size of which is 20x30; suppUed with patent 
seats for forty pupils, and all the necessary appa- 
ratus. The first school consisted of eighteen 
scholars, and was instructed by Chandler Sweet, 
who received S30 per month for his services. The 
last term was taught by Miss Walker, with an 
average attendance of twenty-one. 

District No. 67. — Effected an organization in 
1865, by the election of the following officers: 
Director, David Clark; Treasurer, Charles Sweet, 
Clerk, D. T. Clinton. A little shanty was thrown 
together, with no floor and a board roof, in which 



the first school was taught by Adelia Bassett, to 
an attendance of nineteen or twenty, receiving for 
her services S18 per month. The following year, 
1866 .the present school edifice was constructed, a 
short distance from the board shanty, in tbe east- 
ern part of section thirty, at a cost of S500, size 
20x26 feet, e<]uipped with patent seats and the 
necessary apparatus. The last term of school was 
taught by Miss Sadie Pratt, who received 820 per 
montb. 

Advextists" Academy. — A select school under 
this caption was institute^l in tbe village of Alden, 
over the line in Carlttou townshqj, in the upper 
story or ball of Henry Ernsfs house, by the gen- 
tleman in whose house it was kept. Tbe school 
commenced on the 15th of December, 1875. with 
from forty to fifty students in attendance; the 
tuition being from So. 00 to $7.00 per term, in ac- 
cordance with the studies pursued. The teachers 
were Mr. Henry Ernst and his sister, Miss Minnie 
Ernst. Tbe school was continued for several 
vears, but was finally discontinued, as this method 
of education was too advanced to find its entire 
support in tbe local neighlwrhood in which it was 
founded. 

BIOGRAPHIOAI.. 

David T. C.alvis. one of the earliest settlers 
and the one who cast the first vote in this town, is 
a native of New 'i'ork, born on the 29th of April, 
1831. The family moved to Ohio when David 
was three years old, and our subject remained in 
that State engaged in farming pursuits until 1846. 
He then removed with his parents to Wisconsin, 
settling on a farm near Southport, and after a res- 
idence of three years went to Chicago, and was 
employed in a butcher shop until the age of 
twenty-three years. He was married in 1853, to 
Miss Hulda Russell, and they have one daughter. 
Emma Amy, bom in Iowa. In 1858, Mr. Calvin 
came to Freeborn county and settled in the town 
of Pickerel Lake, but the following spring came 
to Carlston and selected land in section twenty- 
five. He enlisted in the First Minnesota Mounted 
Rangers in 1862, went west and fought tbe Imlians 
under Gen. Sibley, participating in two battles, in 
tbe last of which his horse stumbled and he re- 
ceived injuries which necessitated his discharge, 
after a service of fourteen months. He returned 
to his home, and ten years after taking bis first 
land here moved to his present farm in section 
thirty- six. He has converted this wild prairie 



CAULS TON TOWNSHIP. 



433 



into a well cultivated farm, having seven acres 
planted in timber, some of the trees being now 
two feet through. He takes great interest in fine 
stock, having recently sold two of the finest calves 
raised in this part of the country. 

William Clakk was born in Indiana, on the 
the 18th of January, 1833, and bis father, who 
was a cabinet maker, died when William was 
nine years old. When his mother married again 
he left home, and at the age of eighteen years 
learned the carpenter trade. In 1851 he located 
in Iowa, erected the fir.st building in Postville, and 
in three years came to Minnesota He was united 
iu marriage in 1855, with Miss Eunice Lampher, 
a native of New York. They located at Rice 
Lake, built a house and worked at his trade until 
1861, when he enlisted in the Third Minnesota 
Volunteer Infantry; went south and was under 
General Buell, but was discharged for disability 
after a year's service, and now receives a pension. 
In the latter part of 1862 he returned home, 
rented a farm for one season, then removed to 
Carlston, locating in section thirty-one, where he 
has a large farm, well improved, and a new resi- 
dence. Mr. Clark has a family of ten children. 
He has been one of the Supervisors of the town 
for one term. About two years ago his son met 
with a very narrow escape while crossing the 
railroad track, the engine striking the wagon and 
killing one of the neighbors who was with him, 
and also one of the horses. 

Miles W. Dodd was born in New York on the 
10th of October, 1824. He remained at home un- 
til the age of fourteen years, then engaged with 
Frink and Walter in stage driving, and remained 
in the company's employ six years. In 1846 he 
removed to Wisconsin, settling near Oshkosh, and 
was engaged in the Wolf River pineries in the 
winter seasons and on the farm summers for four- 
teen years. He was married in 1851 to Miss Har- 
riet Lse, daughter of Justin Lee, who was the 
brother of Gideon Lee, the Mayor of New York 
City at one time. In 1860 Mr. Dodd came to 
Minnesota and farmed in Fillmore county six 
years, then moved to the town of Chatfleld, and 
brought his family on the 15th of October, 1880, 
to his present farm iu section nineteen, Carlston 
township. He owns over one thousand acres of 
land, with a good brick house and out buildings, 
and has some very fine cattle. 

Chables J. Ghandy, one of the first settlers of 
28 



this place, is a native of Vermont, born on the 20tli 
of July, 1819. When he was quite young he 
moved with his parents to New York, where he 
resided for twenty-five years and in 1846 married 
Miss Huldah Winters. They removed to Wiscon- 
sin in 1854, remained there on a farm for three 
years, and in June, 1857, came to this township, 
locating in section twelve and were the first set- 
tler on the east of Freeborn Lake. In 1862 Mr. 
Grauby enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer 
Infantry where he served three years as Sergeant, 
then re -enlisted and served seven months as veter- 
an. Since his return from the army he has devot- 
ed his entire time to the cultivation of his farm. 

Nath.a^s Jackman was'born in New Hampshire 
in 1829. He left his home at the age of fifteen 
years and was employed by the month until twen- 
ty-five. In 1854, he married Miss Sarah Bumpua, 
and iu July of the following year they came West 
to Laayette county, Wisconsin. Early in 1861, 
they moved to Fillmore county, Minnesota, and 
the following May came to this township and 
pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
section nine. Mr. Jackman drove from Wisconsin 
with a horse team and brought two yoke of oxen. 
Upon his arrival here he built a jjlank shanty 
10x12, in which they lived thirteen years, then 
erected a good house and barn which were destroy- 
ed by fire in 1874. He owns some good stock and 
his farm is well improved. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert 
are members of the Advent Church. They have a 
family of fotir children. 

Dennis H. Oday was born in Ireland on the 
25th of March, 1821. He was iuarried in 1845, to 
Miss Catharine McGrath, and the next year came 
to America; landed in New York and removed 
thence to Fox Lake, Wisconsin. He remained 
there eighteen years, then went to Rochester, 
Minnesota, and in seven years came to Alden; 
thence, in 1880, to a homestead in this plaee in 
section nineteen. Mr. Oday has a family of ten 
children. 

Asa Walker, one of the early settlers of Carls- 
ton and one of the first members of the board of 
Supervisors after the organization of the town, was 
born in Vermont on the 31st of May, 1813. He 
resided at home until his marriage with Miss Mary 
C. Bruce in 1840. For ten years they lived on a 
stock farm at Townsend in his native State, and 
in 1856, removed to Dane county, Wisconsin. In 
the spring of 1859, they came to this township 



434 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



and staked out a claim upon which they still 
reside in sections twenty -four and twenty-five. 
In 1862 and 'G3, Mr. Walker was in the Legis- 
lature, has also held local offices, and during 
the war was enrolling officer. His wife died on 
the 21st of January, 1878, leaving two children. 



The daughter, S. Emegene, lives at home and 
keeps liouse for her father. She taught several 
of the first schools in difTerent towns in 
this countv, with which money she bought one 
hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining her 
father's. 



FREEBORN 



CHAPTER LIX. 

DESCRIPTIVE FIRST SETTLEMENT NECROLOGY — 

MATTERS OP INTEREST — RELIGIOUS GOVERN- 
MENTAL STATISTICS FREEBORN VILLAGE 

SCHOOLS BIOGRAPHICAL. 

This town, with a name identical with that of 
the county, occupies one of the four most promi- 
nent planes — the northwestern corner. Its im- 
mediate surroundings are, Waseca county on the 
north; Faribault county on the west; Carlston 
township on the south, and Hartland on the east. 
It is constituted, as are all the towni^hips iu this 
county, of a full congressional townshijJ, containing 
23,040 acres, known in legal parlance as Township 
104, Range 23. 

Freeborn is principally a prairie town, not so 
much inclined to be rolling as most of the towns, 
but level, and in places marshy. The lakes are 
surrounded by a small growth of the shrubby 
varieties of timber, which is all in the northwest- 
ern and southeastern parts of the town. The soil 
is a dark and sandy loam, with a sub-soil of clay 
and gravel, and almost the entire area is well 
adapted to agricultural purposes, and has a large 
cultivated acreage, yielding good crops of the 
cereals and other products of the latitude; and in 
the low lands hay is a most valuable crop. Fruit 
culture is more of less successful, although, as 



yet, but little attention has been paid to this de- 
partment of agriculture. 

The soil and climate is remarkably well adap- 
ted to the cultivation of Amber cane, and consid- 
erable attention has been paid to this crop, sever- 
al mills being now in active operation. This in- 
dustry, being new to most of the settlers, but 
gradually receives attention, but this very fact 
ensures its permanency, and with the large and 
ever increasing demaud for •'sweetening" this 
must in time take its place in the front rank of 
crops raised here. 

The township is well watered by numerous lakes 
and streams, which diversify the scenery and help 
make the land valuable for agricultural purposes. 
First in order should be mentioned the lake bear- 
ing the name of Freeborn, which extends f ro n 
Carlston township, in which a greater part of the 
lake lies, northward, and covers a few acres of 
laud in section thirty -five, just south of the village 
of Freeborn. Lake George lies about one mile 
to the north, iu sections twenty -six and twenty - 
seven. Still further north, iu sections eleven and 
fourteen, is located another small body of water, 
known as Spioer Lake. Trenton Lake covers 
quitj an ari^a in s.>ctioas two and three, and ex- 
tends northward into Waseca county. Another 
body of water known as Prairie Lake, is located 
in the extreme southwestern part of the town. 



FREEBORN TOWNSHIP. 



435 



Two rivers known as the Big and Little Cobb 
Rivers, traverse the town from tlie soiitlieast to tlie 
northwest, almost parallel, within about two miles 
of each other, and enter Faribault eounty. 

The population of the town is mostly American, 
with a scattering of foreign element, less in num- 
ber than almost any town in Freeborn county. 

EAKLT SETTLEMENT. 

There is a preponderance of testimony that the 
first settlers in this township were T. K. Page and 
William Montgomery, who came from Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, and in July, 1856, located in 
section twenty-six and commenced improvements; 
the former erecting the first house, of logs. They 
remained several years, when they returned to 
their former homes. 

About the_ same time, or possibly a little later 
in 185(5, the next settlers, John W. Ayers and E. 
S. Dunn, made their appearance and secured farms 
in the northern part of the township, in sections 
two, three, and four. Mr. Ayers still resides upon 
his place, in prosperous circumstances, and Mr. 
Dunn remained upon his until 1857, when he re- 
moved to the southern part of the town, and in 
June took 320 acres of land in sections thirty- 
four and thirtv-flve, under the provisions of the 
law allowing it for town site purposes. He lived 
here until within the last year, when he removed 
to Missouri. 

A little later in 1856, came Charles Giddings, 
Parker Page, and L. T. Scott, from Dodge county, 
Wisconsin, who all settled upon sections twenty- 
five and twenty-six. Mr. Giddings remained 
about six years, when he removed to Faribault, 
and from there to Blooming Prairie, Steele county, 
where he now lives. Mr. Page remained about 
eight years, when he went to his present home in 
Saline county, Nebraska, via Wisconsin. Mr. 
Scott still lives in the township, and is one of the 
most successful, as well as most prominent men. 
This party came with ox teams, bringing also a 
few cows. 

Early in the summer of 1856, H. T. Sims and 
D. C. Davis had made their way into the town and 
secured homes. Sims located upon a tract of land 
in section ten, and lived there for a number of 
years; finally, in 1881, he quietly passed away, in 
the city of Albert Lea. Davis located upon a 
place in section two, which he improved and occu- 
pied for a time, and then removed to Waseca 
county. 



October of 1856 witnessed the ingress of .John 
Bostwick and William Purdie, from La Crosse 
county, Wisconsin, who took claims and settled to 
pioneer life. But two weeks of it, however, seemed 
to be sufficient, as they sold their provisions to 
the other settlers and left in disgust, for Wis- 
consin. 

These are about all the pioneer.'^ who arrived 
and wintered this year. A few others had come, 
but they were merely transient, who staked a 
cldiim, now and then, and moved on to find their 
ideal spot elsewhere. The winter following, 
1856-57, was very severe, and the settlers, not 
having had sufficient time to prepare for it, even 
had they imagined what they should have to pass 
through, necessarily fared badly. They were 
obliged to haul their provisions on hand sleds 
from Wilton, eighteen miles distant, through the 
deep snow and piercing cold, many of them not 
more than half clad, and slim shelter when the , 
trip was over. 

The year, or spring and summer following, wit- 
nessed many accessions to the meagerly settled 
township, and the greater part of the government 
land was claimed and settled by actual residents. 

The winter of 1857-58 was not so severe as the 
preceding one, and the residents fared very well. 
Mr. L. T. Scott, on one occasion, about this time, 
made a trip to St. Nicholas, where he purchased 
a sack of flour for $5, of the hotel keeper. This 
season there had been no crops raised, and settlers 
depended mainly upon people coming in for sup 
plies. 

THE HONOKED DEAD. 

Ezra Stearns. —A settler who came in 1861, 
and converted a wild waste prairie into a bloom- 
ing, cultivated, and prolific farm. He was in- 
jured two years before his death, which was on 
the 7th of February, 1879, at the age of 79 years. 
Mr. Stearns was from the old New England .stock, 
his ancestors having come to Boston on the ship 
Arbella, with Gov. Winthrop, in 1630. 

Squire Donn, on the 7th of September, 1874, 
at the mellow age of 80, was at last confronted by 
by the grim messenger that had already visited 
almost the last one of his early companions. 
Claiming New Jersey for his nativity, at an early 
day he went to Albany, New York, and in 1841, 
to Wisconsin, and to Minnesota in 1854, making 
the first halt in Faribault, Kice county, and when 
this county was opened up came here. He had 



436 



HISTORY OF FRBEBOHK COUNTY 



been married 55 years, and left quite a family, 
Mrs. (Toorge Whitman and INIrs. Dr. Bareck 
among them. 

Nathan McQinney was boni iu Willistin), Ver- 
mont, in 1820. and lived in the Green Moniitain 
State until tlie year IH.'iO, and then pushed on 
vteai as far as Dane county, Wisconsin. There he 
engaged in farming up to the year 1860, when be 
came to Minnesota and secured a place in Free- 
born, but after a time took up his residence in the 
village and went into business, at one time with 
O. S. Gilmore. He was a kindhearted man, much 
respected. His last removal was from his earthly 
tenement on the 19th of April, lH7il. 

Mrs Gh.\blotte Gowakd was born in Easton, 
Bristol county, Massachusetts, and was a daughter 
of William and Keziah Dean, who was married to 
Jason (ioward in 1849, and has lived here since 
1859. She was highly esteemed and was a woman 
of fine qualities, a devoted wife and mother, and a 
sincere friend. .\ very large concourse of people 
expressed their devotion l)y following her remains 
to their last resting place. 

H. T. Sims was called hence on the 26th of 
February, 1881, at the age of 09. He was born 
in Salom county. New York, and lived forty-two 
years iu that State. Iu 1854, he came west and 
stopped two years in Wisconsin, and then, in 1856, 
come over the Mississippi and located in the 
northern part of Freel)orn township. After living 
there si.xteen years he went to Itasca, and for a 
year or two lived in Albert Lea with his daughter, 
Mrs. Batcholder. At 30 years of age he was mar- 
ried to Miss Anna B. Moore. Thoy had three 
children, two of whom are still living. He was 
noted for his purity of character, faithfulness to 
his engagements, and the generosity of his im- 
pulses. His house, in early days, was headquarters 
for ministers for preaching and religious services. 

MATTEIiS OF INTF.KEST. 

It is claimed that the first birth in the township 
occurred on the 12th of February, 1857, and ush- 
ered into the light of this world, George, a son of 
Mr. and Mrs. L. T. Scott. 

The first marriage took place in August, 1858, 
and united the destinies of Mr. .John Wood and 
Miss Emily Allen. 

Early in the spring of the same year the grim 
and sorrow laden messenger of death lowered itself 
in the midst of sparsely settled Freeborn and car- 



ried away its first victim in the person of George 
C. Snyder. 

FiiERBoiiN Okanoe No. 206. — The organization 
of this society took place in the latter part of May, 
1874, at the schoolhouse in the village of Free-- 
born by Deputy F A. Elder, of the State Grange, 
with twenty -eight charter members. The officers 
were as foil . Master, S. S. Challis; Lecturer, 
E. D. Uodgers, '^.erseer, L. T. Sjott; Treasurer, 
P. M. Coon; Secretary. Ole. O. Simonsen; Chap- 
lain, S. P. Purdie; Steward, J. Goward; Assistant 
Steward, D. A. Sooville; Gate Keeper, John A. 
Scoville; Lady Assistant Steward, Serena M. 
Cram: Flora, Caroline Scheen; Ceres, .\manda C. 
Purdie; and Pomona, Maggie A. Scoville. The 
(irange met once in two weeks in the schoolhouse 
until March, 1881, when it consolidated with the 
Carlstou Grange, which is still in existence. 

TuENTON PosT-oFEK'E. — This office was estab- 
lished as early as 1858 and still continues, sup- 
plying quite an area with mail. .lohn W. Avers 
was the first and is the present Postmaster, with 
the office at his house in section three, near Tren- 
ton Lake, in the northern part of the township. 
The mail arrives once each week from Alden, by 
way of Freeborn. 

RELIfilOUS. 

CoNiiUEii.ATioNAL Chubch — This edifice was 
erected in 1879, by the Baptist society, at a cost 
of $1,000, its size being about 26x40 feet. In 
1880 the building was purchased by the Congre- 
gationalists, who now own it, and moved to its 
present location, about eighty rods east of the old 
site. The first pastor here was the Rev. Mr. Luce, 
the present is Rev. Wilbur Fisk. 

Methodist Episcopal Chuuch. — This building 
was erected iu 1878, at a cost of $1,000, its size 
being 24x36 feet. The first pastor was the Rev. 
S. B.Smith. 

FitEEMoUN (Jembtery As.sofHTioN — Wss Origin- 
ally organizeil in .lime, 1872, when the grounds 
were laid out containing six acres, ju.st north of 
the village of Freeborn, in section thirty-five, the 
land being donated to the project by L. G. Pierce; 
it is well adapted by nature for a "last resting 
place," and the natural beauty has been enhanced 
bj ini])rovements, tencmg, etc. The first buried 
here was of the remains of Mrs. E. S. Dunn, in 
1858, some twelve years prior to the organization 
of the association. 



FEE K BORN TOWNSHIP. 



437 



There is also a cemetery located in* the uovthern 
part of the town, in section eleven; which was net 
apart for burial purposes in 18(l'2. The first per- 
son burieJ here was Norman Olin, and since the 
advent of his remains, a number, who have yield- 
ed to the irn«iHt!il)le call ol' death, have found 
their last eartlily abode by his side, while many 
gleaming monuments rear their heads in perpetu- 
ation of the memory and virtues of the departed 
ones. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

As a matter alike interesting to all who are at 
all concerned in what has, or is to be said of their 
home, we herewith present a short historical 
sketch of the townsliip, |)rej)ared by 1). O. I'ark(!r, 
President of tlie old settlers' Association, and 
reatl by him at their annual re-iiiiion in the spring 
of 1877. It is only proper to state that the mat- 
ter was obtained by correspondence, and it is not 
ini|iri)b:ible that errors have crcjjtin. The sketch 
is pul)lislied in tlie county papers as follows: 

"FuEEBOiiN was settled by T. K. Page and 
William Montgomery, in .July, 1850. The for- 
mer built a house oi logs and opened a farm. 
The same season, being in advance of any other, 
Clark and West opened a small store in the win- 
ter of 1857-8, in the village, but left in the follow- 
ing spring. E. D. Rogers, a blacksmith, was the 
first mechanic. J. li. (Jiddings was tlie first law- 
yer, and located in 1860. In 1861 J. K. Moore 
olfered his services as the first doctor. The first 
school was taught at the village in'Scpiire Dunn's 
log liouse by Miss Emeliue Allen, in the summer 
of 1857. The fir.st schoolliouse was l)uilt by 
district No. 13, in the fall of 1858. In the same year 
L. T. Scottopi^ned tlio ball-room of his hotel to Rev. 
Isa.'ic Ling for the first religious service. In 1859 
tlio Metlioilists perfected tlie fir.s i \""\\ oiganiza- 
tion, and in 1867 the Baptists bunt I ' .irst house of 
worship. The first title to land, according to the 
land office abstracts, wasacipiinnl by Nelson Ever- 
est, on section twenty-two, as early as the 9th of 
.January, 1855, but as this was eighteen mouths 
before there was any settlement, it is believed to 
be an error of record. John Wood and lOmeline 
Allen were the first ])artic's ma-rricd, and the cere- 
mony was performed by E. H. Dunn, Esq., in 
1858. The first child born was George F. Soott, 
February 14th, 1857. The first death was that of 
Emily Dunn, in the fall of 1858. L. T. Scott 
opened the lirst hotel and was the first Postmaster, 



the latter in the winter of 1857-58. U. D. Gid- 
dings, J, W. Ayers, and E. D. Rogers constituted 
the first board of Supervisors, and were elected, 
May '25tli, 1858. John Wood, Clerk. The first 
board of schoor officers were J. S. Ricknrd, L. T. 
Scott, and C. D. Giddings." 

(iOVEUNMENTALi. 

The township of Freeborn came into existence 
as an official subdivision of the county, at a 
meeting hold for the purpose of organization at 
the house of E. S. Dunn on the lltli of May, 1858. 
The meeting came to order and Charles D. Gid- 
dings was chosen moderator, and John Wood, 
clerk. After the usual preliminaries the polls 
were declared open for the election of officers for 
the ensuing year, which election resulted as fol- 
lows: Supervisors, Charles D. Giddings, Chair- 
man, E. D. Rogers, and .John W. Ayers; Clerk, 
John Wood; Assessor, Thomas \V. Purdio; Collec- 
tor, John B. Purdie; Overseer of the poor, Joseph 
S. liickard; Constables, John B. Purdie, and S. B. 
McGuire; Justices of the Peace, Edward Dunn 
and Henry Olin. 

Public matters have progressed (piiotly and 
without interuption, the voters having been suffi- 
ciently careful to keep good, honest, and capable 
officers at the helm of the town afi'airs, and there- 
fore th( ro has been no iisel(«s waste of public 
mon(^y, or extravagance. 

In 1865, during the rebellion, a special town 
meeting was help at which the sum of $1,800 was 
voted to pay men who should volunteer to enlist 
in the service and fill the quota assigned the town, 
the amount to be issued in bonds as directed by a 
committee for the purpose. 

At the twenty-fourth annual town meeting, held 
in the spring of 1882, the following officers were 
elected, and are now in charge of tlie public busi- 
ness:' Supervisors, L. T. Scott, Chairman, J. W. 
Ayers, and H. Stcnsrud; Clerk, J. Goward; Treas- 
urer, O. S. Gilmor(!; Justices of the Peace, Geo. 
Miller and H. S. Olin; Assessor, J. B. Purdie; 
Constables, A. Andrews and C. Ayers. 

It will be observed that some of the present 
officers were members of the first board elected in 
the town, at the meeting on the lltb of May, 
1858. 

STATISTICS. 

Fob the yeak 1881. — Showing the acreage and 



438 



IIISTOEr OF FliMEBOMA'' C0U2fTY. 



yield in the township of Freeborn, for the year 
named: 

Wheat— 3,214 acres, yielding 27.267 bushels. 

Oats — 595 acres, yielding 19,806 bushels. 

Com — 495 acres, yielding 18,394 bushels. 

Barley — 122 acres, yielding 2,111 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 4 acres, yielding 35 bushels. 

Potatoes — 31 acres, yielding 2,856 bushels. 

Beans — 2 acres, yielding 13 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 17 acres, yielding 1,943 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 18 acres, yielding 28 tons. 

Flax-seed — 233 acres, yielding 1,611 bushels. 

Other produce — 34 acres. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881, 4,763. 

Wild hay— 2.400 tons. 

Timothy seed — 172 bushels. 

Apples — number of trees growing, 1,904; num- 
ber bearing, 732; yielding 585 bushels. 

Grapes — 83 vines, yielding 123 younds. 

Sheep — 189 sheared, yielding 1,009 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 202 cows, yielding 15,950 pounds of 
butter. 

Hives of Bees — 17, yielding 120 pounds of 
honey. 

Fob the year 1882. — It being two early in 
the season, at this writing, to procure the returns 
of threshing, we can only give the acreage sown 
this year in Freeborn : 

Wheat, 2,039 acres; oats, 629; com, 835; bar- 
ley, 220; buckwheat, 5; potatoes, 33; beans, 14; 
sugar cane, 41; cultivated hay, 112; flax, 175; 
other produce, 42. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1882, 4,145. 

Apple trees growing, 2,076; bearing, 1,037: 
grave vines bearing, 106; milch cows, 206; sheep, 
208, yielding 1,171 pounds of wool. 

Farms cultivated in 1881, 69. 

Forest trees planted and growing, 22 acres. 

Population. — The census of 1870 gave Free- 
born a population of 362. The last census, taken 
in 1880, reports 480 for tliis town; showing an in- 
crease of 118. 

FEEEBORN VILLAGE. 

This is the only village in the township, and 
may be said to be the only one in this portion of 
the county; and, although as yet not large, it may, 
at almost any time, get a railroad which will con- 
nect it with the outer worUl, and commence an ex- 
pansion which will bring it into prominent notice, 
as it has an excellent location for a village, and is 



STirrounded by some of tlie most productive farm- 
ing lands in the county. It is located in the south- 
eastern part of the town, in sections thirty-four 
and thirty-five, on the north bank of Freeborn 
Lake. 

The land upon which the village stands was 
claimed for town site purposes in June, 1857, by 
E. S. Dunn, who had arrived in the township the 
year previous and located in the northern part, 
and the village was platted the same year. 

It is claimed that the first store was started in 
the winter of 1857-58, by Clark & West, and in 
the spring following were succeeded by Jason 
Goward, who may be said to have opened the first 
substantial store, as he put in a fair stock of gen- 
eral merchandise, which he continued to manage 
for about ten years. In 1861, another store was 
, opened, by the Southwick Brothers, which is still 
in active operation. 

Freeborn Post-Office. — This office was origi- 
nally established in 1857, with L. T. Scott as Post- 
master, on the site of the village of Freeborn. 
In 1858, ]\Ir. J. Goward was commissiooed Post- 
master, and the mail was received once each week, 
i-iii the Mankato and Otronto, Iowa, mail route, 
Henry Lacy being the mail carrier. In 1867 J. 
Goward resigned and David Southwick received 
the appointment, holding the same for about three 
years, when A. Munn took the mail pouch keys 
and continued in the capacity of Postmaster until 
the year 1876 rolled arounil, when he relieved the 
usual monotony of affairs by committing suicide. 
His principal bondsman, J. Goward, took charge 
of the office, and removed it to the store of T. A. 
Southwick, who received the appointment of 
deputy, and in a few weeks was made Postmaster, 
which position he still occupies. Mail arrives 
daily from Aldeu, and supplies the Trenton Post- 
office with mail matter. 

At the present writing a i-esiime of what the vil- 
lage contains, would read something like this: — 
two general stores by M. A. Southwick and O. S. 
Gillmore; a black-smith shop by D. A. Scoville; 
a wagon repair shop, by J. H. Clarke; broom fac- 
tory by L. T. Scott; shoemaking shop by A. An- 
drews. And a population, it is said, of about one 
hundred. 

MEDI0MS OF EDUCATION. 

The territory of Freeborn is divided, for educa- 
tional purposes, into five school districts, with 
numbers and locations of houses as follows; No. 



FREEBORN TOWNSHIP. 



439 



11, with schoolhouse in section four; No. 12, in 
section twenty-three; No. 13, in Freeborn village;. 
No. 98, in section one; No. 101, in section twenty- 
eight. The districts are all in good condition, 
and under careful management, having good 
buildings and moderate attendance. A short 
sketch of the various districts is herewith pre- 
sented : 

DisTBiCT No. 11. — Effected the first organiza- 
tion in the township in 1857, and school was first 
held in a house 12x14, in section three, taught by 
Miss Normand Olin, to an attendance of about 
twelve scholars. In 1860 a schoolhouse was con- 
structed in section three, size 20x24 feet, at a cost 
of S350, And in this school is still held, although 
in 1874 it was removed^to the'eastern part of sec- 
tion four, remodeled 'and partly rebuilt at a cost 
of .S400. 

District No. 12. — It is claimed that this edu- 
cational subdivision did not arrive to the dignity 
of an organization until 1865, and^soon afterward 
a building was purchased for •'f50 to be used for 
school purposes. The first school was taught by 
Miss Minnie Caswell with an attendance of twelve 
pupils. In 1870, the school edifice now in use 
was constructed at a cost of about S400, size 16x20 
feet. The last term of school was instructed by 
Miss Nellie Scott, there being an attendance of 
twenty-eight pupils. The schoolhouse is located 
in the northeastern corner of section twenty- 
three. 

DiSTBiCT No. 13. — This is the district embrac- 
ing the village of Freeborn and immediately sur- 
rounding country. The organization was effected 
in 1858, and the first term of school was held at 
the private residence of E.]^S. Dunn, on the site of 
the present village, shortly afterward being taught 
by Mr. Joel Southwick, with an attendance of ten 
scholars. The school was held in private houses 
for about two years when a little shanty twelve 
feet square was erected, costing about $20, and 
three years later another school building was sub- 
stituted, size 20x30 feet, at a cost]jof $700. In 
1876, the latter structure was dispensed with and 
the present neat and commodious schoolhouse was 
buUt at a cost of .SI, 500, size 30x40 feet, two 
stories high, and the finest schoolhouse in the 
township. The district has lately been organized 
into a graded school, employing two teachers, and 
is one of the most effectual educational mediums 
in the county. George Latin was the last princi- 



pal, and the average attendance amounted to 
about sixty. 

District No. 98. — Effected an organization in 
1872. The first school was taught by Mrs. Mattie 
B. Frisby in the residence of R. D. Burdick in 
section one, with an attendance of twelve pupils. 
In 1873, the schoolhouse was erected in the south- 
western part of section one, size 16x24 feet, at a 
cost of $350. The last term was taught by Miss 
Ellen Roland. 

District No. 101. — This district effected an 
organization in the spring of 1876, and the same 
year erected their schoolhouse in section twenty ■ 
eight, size 18x22 feet, at a cost of .f450. The first 
teacher was Miss Emily Blighton, with an attend- 
ance of ten scholars. The last teacher was Miss 
Abby Chase, to an attendance of nine. 

BIOGEAPHIOAL. 

BnssELii D. Bdrmck was born in New York on 
the 27th of January, 1830. He attended the com- 
mon schools near his home, and afterward an 
academy in Madison county. In 1855, he came 
West to Dane county, Wisconsin, and two years 
later married Miss Luransa Champlin, also a native 
of New York. They have had four children, one 
of whom died on the 4th of May, 1876. In 1865, 
Mr. Burdick brought his family to this place and 
has since made it his home, his farm being located 
in section one of this township. He was one of 
the organizers of his school district and has since 
been one of its officers. In religious belief he is a 
Seventh Day Baptist. 

Alfred Obandall is a native of Rhode Island, 
born on the 14th of April, 1814. When an infant 
ht removed with his parents to a farm in Madison 
county. New York, and at the early age of twelve 
years left home and began working for his own 
support. When twenty-two years of age he 
moved to Massachusetts and found employment 
in wagon shops. In 1840, he married Miss Almira 
Day, a native of New York. They came to Dane 
county, Wisconsin, in 1846, and to this place in 
1863. For ten years Mr. Craudall had charge of 
different mail routes from Freeborn, going to 
Geneva, to Owatonna, to Albert Lea, and from 
the latter place to Waseca. He is one of the old 
and respected citizens, and has been instrumental 
in the organization and growth of the place. His 
farm contains two hundred acres. Mr. and Mrs. 
Crandall have a family of eleven children. 

Francis D. Drake was born in Cortland county. 



uo 



niSTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



New York, on the 2a of November. 1833. When 
thirteen years old he cnme with his parents to 
Dane county, Wisconiin, where tliey lived on a 
farm. He was married in 1858, to Miss Alma 
RioUmond, and they liave a family of seven chil- 
dren. At the outbreak of the war Mr. Drake 
enlisted in the Seventh Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, Company C; in March, 1862, joined the 
Array of the Potomac under General Grant, and 
took part in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, 
Shiloh, and several other important ones. He was 
honorably discharged in 1864, and returned to his 
home in Wisconsin. In 1867, he came to this 
township and bought a farm of two hundred and 
eighty acres, to which he has since added, and it 
is now well improved. He is the father of seven 
children. 

Charles H. Derby, another native of the Em- 
pire State, was born in Otsego county on the 7th 
of October, 1832. When ten years old he re- 
moved with his parents to Pennsylvania, where 
they resided until 1854, then came to La Crosse 
county, Wisconsin, but the same year went to 
Virginia. In the latter year Mr. Derby was uni- 
ted in wedlock with Miss Harriet E. St. John, a 
native of New York. They have been blessed 
with three children. In 1857, he returned with 
his wife to Wisconsin, and soon after moved to St. 
Paul. He has been a prominent resident of this 
place since 1863, owning a well cultivated farm 
of two hundred and forty acres. 

Stephen Poller, one of the pioneers of this 
place, is a native of Orange county, Vermont, 
born on the 2d of May, 1828. He attended the 
common schools in Vershire, his native town, com- 
pleting his education at the Thetford Academy, 
and afterwanl taught school for several years in 
Vermont and New Hampshire. In 1852 he mar- 
ried Miss Lnvia M. Carpenter, also a native of 
that State, by whom he had three children. They 
came west in 1859, and located a farm in sections 
fourteen and twenty-three, where Mr. Fuller has 
since devoted his time. His wife died in 1861, 
and he has since married Miss Elizabeth M. 
Aughenbaugh, of Freeborn. They have a family 
of four children. 

Samuel J. Fuller was also born in Vershire, 
Orange county, Vermont, his birth dating the 
15th of July, 1834. He assisted his father on the 
farm until twenty years old when he entered the 
academy known as the New London Literary and 



Scientific Institution, at New Loudon, New Hamp- 
shire, where he took a scientific course, learning 
the theory of surveying and civil engineering, 
which, however, he never practiced. In the fall 
of 1856, he emigrated to Keokuk, Iowa; the win- 
ter following taught school in the old Mormon 
town of Nauvoo, Illinois. The following s])ring 
he became one of the pioneers of Freeborn, and 
staked out a claim in sections twenty-three and 
twenty-four which has since been his home, divid- 
ing his attention between farming and school 
teaching. He was married in 1865, to Miss Sarah 
A. Turner, a native of New York, and they have 
been blessed with two children, both boys. Mr. 
Puller served three years in the army. He has 
been a member of the board of Supervisors several 
terms and Clerk of his school district for the past 
twelve years. 

Rev. Wilbur Fisk was born in Sharon, Wind- 
sor county, Vermont, on the 7th of June, 1839. 
He is the son of a farmer and arrived at manhood 
in his native place. In 1861, he enlisted for three 
years in the Second Regiment Vermont Volunteer 
Infantry, Company E; went South, joined the 
army of the Potomac, and re-enlisted as a veteran 
before his first term had expired; was in active 
service with that army till the close of the war. 
In July, 1865, he received an honorable discharge, 
having served nearly four years, including six 
months oil' duty on acc(.)unt of sickness. He was 
married to Miss Angelina S. Drew, of Tuubridge, 
Vermont, and in September, 1865, they removed 
to a farm he had purchased in Kansas. Mr. Fisk 
was here led to commence ministerial laliors in his 
own and contiguous neighborhoods. In 1875, he 
received an invitation to come to this place and 
devote his whole time to the work of the ministry, 
which call he accepted. He was ordained and 
installed pastor of the Congregational Church of 
Freeborn on the 13th of June, 1876. His labor is 
under the auspices of the American Home Mis- 
sionary Society of the Congregational denomina- 
tion, and his held includes, with Freeborn, places 
in Hartland, New Richland, and Lemond. He 
has four cliildren living and one buried in Kansas. 

Orvtlle S. Gilmoue was born in Ripton, Addi- 
son county, Vermont, on the 17th of February, 
1844. He resided at home until the age of 
eighteen years, then enlisted in the army and 
served six months. In the fall of 1865, he came 
to Dane county, Wisconsin, from whence he soon 



FREEBORN T0WX8IIIP. 



441 



after came to Freeborn county, and located in 
Freeborn township. In 1871, he came to the vil- 
lage of Freeborn, and for two years clerked in the 
store of T. A. Southwick, then bought out the 
business of A. A. Munn, deceased, and has since 
conducted it, having a good trade. On the 29th 
of September, 1874, IMr. Gilmore was married to 
Miss Jennie E. Leonard, and they have three chil- 
dren. He has held several local offices and is now 
Treasurer of the town and also of the school dis- 
trict in which he resides. He is a member of the 
M. E. Church. His father was born in Bristol, 
Vermont, in 1802, and now resides with him. 

Jason Gowahd was born in Croydon, New 
Hampshire, on the 19th of November, 1820, and 
lived with and worked for his father on his farms 
until arriving at the age of twenty -one. He then 
began for himself, working at different occupa- 
tions for two years; then went south to Acton, 
Massachusetts, where he engaged to carry on "a 
sash and blind factory, buying the same after 
three years. In 1849, he married Miss Charlos 
Dean, who bore him five children. In 18.52, he 
sold out his business in the latter place and made 
a trip to California where he aengaged in raining 
two and a half years. He experienced all kinds 
of luck, at some times being worth several thous- 
and dollars and at other times several hundred 
worse than nothing, the latter being occasioned by 
a protracted illness. On his return to his native 
State, he located on a farm which he purchased 
previous to going west. In September, 1857, he 
sold his lands and the following spring came to 
this section of the country. After a two weeks 
sojourn at McGregor, Iowa, he started for the 
northern part of that State and southern Minne- 
sota and while at Brownsdale in Mower county, 
he made the acquaintance of a Mr. Bigelow and 
his son-in-law, in company with whom he bought 
a yoke of oxen and wagon, supplied themselves 
well with provisions and started west with high 
hopes of future success. They drove to Freeborn, 
a distance of thirty miles, in four days, and Blr. 
Goward staked out a claim in section twenty-five. ' 
He immediately erected a small frame dwelling ! 
and then returned for his family. In July, 1858, 
he opened a store which he carried on for ten 
years, during all of which time he was Postmas- 
ter. He now owns about eight hundred acres of 
farming land in the county and is also interested 
in the coal and gypsum mines. He was one of 



the leading men in the organization of the first 
schools in this place, and has held nearly all the 
local offices, having for the past eight years tilled 
the office of Town Clerk. Many of the old set- 
tlers remember Mr. and Mrs. Goward (the latter 
of whom is lying in the Freeborn cemetery, hav- 
ing died on the 29th of March, 1882j with grati- 
tude for the aid rendered by them during hard 
times in 1859. 

John G. Haebison was born in Derbyshire, 
England, on the 18th of March, 1827. When he 
was an infant his parents moved to Liverpool and 
in 1837 came to America and located in Canada 
West, Durham county, where they were pioneers. 
They returned to England in 1840, remained four 
years and then came to this country, settling in 
Dane county, Wisconsin. In 1851, Mr. Harrison 
was joined in marriage with Miss Mary J. Pierce 
and they have six children. He became one of 
the pioneers of this place in 1857, having been to 
the State two years pi-evious residing one of the 
years in Iowa. Immediately after coming here 
he staked out a claim in section twehe, which has 
since been his home. 

Nels Hanson, a native of Denmark, was born 
on the 11th of January, 1845. When twenty-two 
years old he joined the army and served eighteen 
months, receiving at the end of time, an honor- 
able discharge. In 1870, he came to America and 
located in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was 
engaged in the blacksmith trade for about ten 
years. He was married in 1874, to Miss Christina 
Hanson, also a native of Denmark. The result of 
the union is two children. They came to this 
place in 1880, and own a farm in section twenty- 
six. 

James Hansen, one of the first Danish settlers 
of this place, dates his birth the 7th of January, 
1837. At the age of nineteen years he 
came to America and resided in Wisconsin 
until 1862, when he enlisted in the Eighth 
United States Infantry, Company D, and 
served three years. He then returned to 
Wisconsin, and in 1867, came to Minne- 
sota and bought a farm in this township, remain- 
ing three years. He returned to Wisconsin and 
Miss Augusta Dorn, a native of Germany, since 
which time his farm has been their home. They 
have a family of five children. 

Ole Johnson was born in Norway, near Bergen, 
on the 4th of October, 1835. He reached his 



442 



IHtiTOHY OF FliEEDORN COUNTY. 



majority in his native country, and in 1849. mar- 
ried Isabelle Johnson and the issue of the union 
is eleven children. They emigratad to America 
in 1861, and first settled in Dane county, Wiscon- 
sin, where he carried on a farm for ten years. In 
1871, he moved to Minnesota and has since been 
one of the respected and industrious farmers of 
this place. 

Henry S. Olin, one of the early settlers of 
Freeborn, was Ijoru in Chenango county, New 
York, on the 12th of July, 1829. When but 
twelve years of age he began to learn the carpen- 
ter and joiner's trade which he followed in bis 
early life. In 1852, he moved to Illinois, and in 
November, 1856, to Wisconsin, in both of which 
places he worked at his trade. He was joined in 
marriage in 1856, with Miss Annie P. Crandall, 
who was born in Madison county. New York. 
They have a family of three children. Mr. Olin 
came to this place in 1857, 9nd has a good farm 
of two hundred and sixty acres. He has been 
Justice of the Peace and held other town and 
school offices since his residence here. 

Thomah W. PiRDiE, a native of Scotland, was 
born near (rlasgow, on the 3d of September, 1828. 
When he was five years old his parents moved to 
America and settled in St. Lawrence county. New 
York, where he reached his majority. In 1848 he 
came to Wisconsin, and in 1857 to Mianesota, tak- 
ing a claim in section twenty-five, Freeborn town- 
ship. He was married in 1860 to Miss Tilley L. 
Crandall, a native of New York. Mr. Purdie was 
one of the first County Commissioners, first Town 
Clerk, and in 1859, and again in 1877, was elected 
to the State Legislature. He is the father of four 
children. 

John B. Pi'Rdie was also born near Glasgow, 
Scotland, his birth dating the 24th of March, 1830. 
He came with his parents to America, resided in 
St. Lawrence county, New York, and afterward in 
Wisconsin where he was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. In 1855 he made a trip to Kansas, 
remained a short time, and returned to Wisconsin 
and two years later came to Minneesota, locating 
a claim in section twenty-five, in this township. 
He was married in 1865 to Miss Amanda C. Aug- 
trendaveli, a native of Pennsylvania. The issue of 
the union jis one child. Mr. Purdie was the 
first constable of this place ami has filled other 
offices of trust. 

NovES P. Stilmi.vn was born in Cattaraugus 
county, New York. When he was an infant his 



])arents moved to Michigan, and three years later 
to Dane county, Wisconsin, where they were en- 
gaged in farming. They came to Freeborn 
township in 1862, where Noyes was engaged with 
his father on a farm until he became of age, then 
returned to Wisconsin and entered Albion Acade- 
my, from which he graduated in 1869, and after- 
ward taught in the institution. He returned to 
this place in 1871, and has since taught twenty 
terms of school, at the same time carrying on his 
farm, which is in section one. In 1874, Miss Em- 
ma Benjamin, of Newport, Vermont, became his 
wife. She has borne him two children; Gertie 
Maud and Edith May. 

John A. Sihoen, an early resident of this place 
is a native of Gei-many, born on the 2d of January, 
1829. He came to America in 1852, and for five 
years lived in New York City, marrying, in 1856, 
Miss ("aroline Herold, a native of Switzerland. In 
1857, they came to Minnesota, and took a claim in 
this township but after two years returned to New 
York. He subsequently resided in Wisconsin, and 
in 1865 enhsted in the army, went south and 
joined the army of the Potomac, receiving an 
honorable discharge after a service of six months. 
Mr. Sohoen always takes an active part in school 
and local matters. He is the father of five chil- 
dren. 

George Seath, one of the old citizens, is a na- 
tive of Scotland, and dates bis birth the 15th of 
October, 1833. When he was quite young he 
came with his |)arents to America, and for one 
year lived in New York City. The family then 
moved to Delaware county, and on the 9th of 
February, 1858, George married Miss Phtebe Lar- 
ribee. He came to this township in 1861, taking 
a claim in section twenty-seven, which has since 
been his home. Mr. and Mrs. Seath have five 
children. 

Frietz Tack was born in northern Prussia, on 
the 15th of April, 1849, and arrived at manhood's 
estate in his native country. He was joined in 
wedlock, in 1867, with Miss Mary Shodenberg. 
The issue of the marriage is two children. In 
1869, Mr. Tack emigrated with his family to Amer- 
ica and was a resident of Milwaukee eleven years, 
engaged in the lumber business. In 1882 he 
came to this place, where he resides with his wid- 
owed mother, his father having ilied a year prev- 
ious to their coming. They have a good home, 
the farm being located in section twenty-six 
and is well cultivated. 



FREEMAN TOWNSHIP. 



US 



FREEMAN 



CHAPTER LX. 

TOPOGKAPHY AND LOCATION BAELY SETTLEMENT — 

DECEASED PIONEERS — OFFICIAL RECORDS — 
STATISTICS RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS — BIOGRAPHI- 
CAL. 

This one of the southern tier towns of Freeborn 
county, lying contiguous to Iowa on the south; 
and the townships of Albert Lea, Shell Rock, and 
JNunda, respectively, on the north, east, and west. 
It is a full congressional township, the greater 
part of which is under an admirable state of cul- 
tivation, as a glance at the statistics will show. 

The surface of the township is considerably 
broken and inclined, in places, to be very hilly 
although there are no bluffs, and but few jjlaces 
so abrupt as to be detrimental to agriculture. 
There are also numerous sloughs dotting the 
prairie, which form the only obstruction to culti- 
vation to be found, and many of these are vala- 
al rle for hay and grazinj;. A good deal of small 
timber is found, aud it might be said the greater 
part of the area is jack and burr oak opening 
land, although very open, with prairie and natur- 
al meadows interspersed. The main body of tim- 
ber is in the central part. 

The soil is variable, but in the greater portion 
of the town is of a rich dark loam, although not 
unfrequently a locality is passed where the sand 
and clay are visible. 

The water courses of this town are all sluggish 
and small affairs, there being only one which is 
as yet dignified upon the map with a name. 
This is Goose Creek, which rises west of the 
boundary and enters by way of section eighteen, 
then taking a southeasterly course passes through 
Grass Lake and leaves for Iowa. Another small 
stream rises in the northern part and flows south- 
easterly across the northeast corner of the town. 
Several small streams fJow into Grass Lake, but 
have no names, and in the low country are liable 
to change their courses. 



Grass Lake is a body of water located in the 
corners of the four southeastern sections in the 
township. It is a sloughy concern, and is sur- 
rounded by such a low, wet and marshy country, 
that it is impossible to get to it; in fact, it is said 
that the entire southeastern part of Preel)orn has 
never been explored'. 

Therere are no villages in the township. The 
Minneapolis and St. Louis railroad enters and 
crosses the northeastern corner, and the B. C. & 
N. railway line crosses the northwestern comer. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

The early settlement and initiatory steps which 
led to the founding and subsequent development 
of this thriving township, in common with the 
majority of Freeborn county's subdivisions, dates 
back well into the fifties. Its early pioneers and 
hardy civilizers were fiot adventurers who came 
here merely tor speculation, nor were they men 
who expected or even hoped to accumulate a for- 
tune in a day; but men who knew there would be 
trials and hardships to endure, while the first few 
years of their existence here must be almost a her- 
mitage. And they were not mistaken, as those 
who can retrace the steps of memory to actual 
experience will testify, while those without having 
passed through it can never know. 

It is claimed that Freeman township had 
received a settler as early as 1854; this statement 
is made in a sketch of the history of the township 
published in the Albert Lea papers in 1877, and 
prepared by Mr. Parker, president of the Old Set- 
tlers' Association, and Mr. Botsford. But for the 
edification of our readers we will publish the 
sketch verbatim, to-wit: 

"The first settler in this town was Ole Olen- 
house, who made his claim as early as the summer 
of 1854, and was probably the first settler in the 
county. 

.Jacob Hostetter acquired the first title to land^ 
which occurred on the 19th of June, 1856. He 



444 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



was the first mechanic, aiul worked as a carpen- 
ter. 

Sarah White, in 1859, taught the first school, 
the same being held in the dwelling-houee of 
Joseph Shaw. The first parties married were 
Louis B. Probetin and Libbie Banning, in 1857, 
the ceremony being performed by William An- 
drews, Esc]. The first child born was in 1857, 
and connected with the Uleiihouse family. The 
first death was that of Mrs. Wadsworth, who died 
in I860." 

Where the above information came from we 
know not, and, therefore, will make no comment 
upon it; but will commence the story of early set- 
tlement, as we get it from the most reliable and 
oldest settlers now living. 

Among the early settlers, not the first in the 
township, was John Freeman, in whose honor the 
town received the mime it bears. He was bom in 
Northamptonshire, England, in the year 1805. In 
1855, he came to Minnesota, and direct to this 
township, where he secured, under the pre-emption 
law, the whole of section fifteen for himself and 
three sons. After living in a tent for several 
months he erected the log house in which he now 
lives, the logs l)eing cut from poplar trees, and 
covered with what was termed a "shake roof," 
i. e., clapboards cut from oak timber. The log 
house is in a good state of preservation, and under 
the third roofing. Three of Mr. Freeman's sons 
are yet in the town, and one is on the Pacific 
coast. 

The above statement is disputed by some, as to 
his being the first, and we give all sides a hearing 
by producing the statement. John Oldinghouse 
[or OlenlwuseJ was a native of Germany, having 
lately sojourned for a time in Wisconsin, rrrived 
in Freeman township in the summer of 1855, with 
his family, and squatted upon section twelve, where 
he dug a hole in the ground and covering it with 
poles and hay, spent the winter here. The follow- 
ing year he pulled up stakes and removed to 
section twenty-fcur, and this point is probably the 
hinge leading to the error into which many settlers 
have fallen in thinking the date of his settlement 
in section twenty-four was identical with that of 
his arrival; for in early days, his original place in 
section twelve was considered in the town east of 
this, or the Shell Rock settlement. 

Olenhouse erected a shanty ujjon his new farm 
and made improvements, remaining there about two 



years, when he with his family removed to Kansas, 
where he died soon after his arrival, from the 
effects of an exposure which affected his brain. 

In the fall, a man named Mr. Oliver Diamond, 
arrived and constituted the next settler. He was 
a native of Vermont, and located in the same sec- 
tion with Oldinghouse (24, ) where, among other 
improvements, heerecttd a log house, lt)x22 feet, 
which still stands, although rather delapidated 
and imoccupied, a remembranceof 'ye olden time', 
Diamond did not remain long and sold to Charles 
Grim who still lives on the place. 

About the same time in 1855, Jacob Hostetter, 
a Pennsylvania German, who came direct from 
Ohio, tciii Wisconsin, settled with his wife, four 
daughters, and two boys, upon section one. He 
erected a log house and commenced improvements 
which he continued for fifteen or sixteen years, 
and then sold to Mr. Nelson who is yet on the 
place. Mr. Hostetter now resides in the township 
of Albert Lea. 

The spring following the arrival of Hostetter, 
in March, 185(5, Christian Bias, a German, arriv- 
ed, and being a single man, commenced keeping 
"batch," upon the claim he secured in 
section twenty-two, the present Joseph Lang 
place, and remained here for a couple of years 
when he returned to Illinois from whence he 
came. 

William Edwards, from England originally, but 
late from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, arrived on foot 
in Freeman township on the 20th of Sept<'mber, 
1856, and took a claim in section twenty-four, 
where he commenced improvements, boarding in 
the meantime with Oliver Diamond. His claim 
was jumped shortly afterwards by a Mr. Finch, 
and he took a place in section twenty-two; but 
finally, in 1857, sold that and took the place he 
now occupies in section three. 

Just before Christmas, in 1856, a couple of Ger- 
mans, Charles Bessinger and Phillip Herman, late 
from Canada, made their appearance and selected 
homes. Chas. Bessinger selected his domain in 
section nine and lived there several years, when he 
sold to his brother, Morris Bessinger, who yet 
owns the place. Phillip Herman planted his 
stakes upon a fine track of land in section thirteen 
where he yet holds forth. 

The first of that small but determined army of 
the natives of Norway, arrived shortly afterward 
in the person of Lars Nelson, who declared him- 



FREEMAN TOWNSHIP. 



445 



self at rest upon a farm ia section twenty-three, 
and he has since been joined by enough of his 
countrymen to declare a majority of the inhabi- 
tants of the town. 

PIONEERS DECEASED. 

Joseph Lang was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 
the 25th of July, 1799. When 23 he married miss 
Jeannette LockharJ, and seven years thereafter 
came to Canada, and in 18.5fi to Freeborn County, 
and planted himself in the township of Freeman 
where he spent the remainder of his life until final- 
ly transplanted to the mystic realm on the 11th 
of April, 1875. He was a member of the Presby- 
terian Church and left a wife and seven children. 

Miss Josie Lang came with her parents when 
they settled in Shell Rock, and afterwards removed 
to Freeman. She was a dutiful daughter, affec- 
tionate sister, and a worthy member of society, 
and her name should have a place among Free- 
man's honored dead. The future life, with its 
hopes, promises, and possibilities, was opened up 
for her on the 10th of June, 1881. 

Pabton Greene was born in Ehode Island on 
the 15th of May, 1795. His parents removed to 
New York State in 1805. In 1817, he located in 
Erie county, and remained there until 1855, when 
he came and procured a farm in Freeman where, 
at the age of four score and three, he, on the 15th 
of May, 1878, was gathered as a sheaf fully ripe. 
He never married, but was industrious, sober, and 
enjoyed uniform good health, always preferring 
to walk rather than ride, having thus made a 
journey to Albert Lea a few days before his 
death. 

early events. 

First Births. — The first event of this kind to 
transpire occurred in 1857, and ushered into this 
reputed world of sorrow, Matilda Oldinghouse, 
whose parents resided in the town. Another early 
birth was that of a son of Oliver and Emily Dia- 
mond, it is claimed late in 1856. 

First Marriage. — This took place in March, 
1858, and joined by the holy ties of wedlock, Mr. 
W. Wadsworth and Miss Sarah Freeman. 

Death. — It is claimed that the first death in 
the township carried away George W. Wadsworth, 
a son of the parties who were first married in the 
town. The child was nine months old. 



OFFICIAL REOJIiD.5. 

This town effected an organization as a local 
government at a meeting held on the 2d of April, 
1861, at the house now occupied by William Free- 
man, by the election of the fallowing officers: 
Supervisors, B. H. Carter, Chairman, William H. 
Moore, and Lirs Nelson; Clerk, W. Wadsworth; 
Treasurer, Heary Eiton; Assessor, William Eaton; 
3ohool Superintendent, J. E. Marvin. After this 
meetings were held for four years in the sam? house, 
and thea the schoolhouses were brought into 
requisition. 

The present officers are as follows: Supervisors, 
Ole OpJahl, Chairman, Robert Freeman, and Ole 
Anderson; Clerk, W. Wadsworth; Treasurer, O. K. 
Plaakerud; Assessor, E. K. Fla-fkerud; Justice of 
the Peace, Andrew Ling. Another Justice was 
elected, but he stubbornly refusad to qualify or 
have anything to do with it, so, as expressed by a 
citizen, "his place was easily filled by leaving it 
vacant." 

The matters pertaining to the public welfare 
have been well and ably managed, nothing having 
transpired to disturb the usual tranquility of such 
business. 

.statistics. 

From various reports we have compiled the 
following statistics, showing the agricultural 
resources, the values, and the products of the 
township: 

Foe the Year 1881. — Showing acreage and 
yield in the township of Freeman for the year 
uamed: 

Wheat — 4,090 acres, yielding 48,160 bushels. 

Oats— 707 -'4 acre.s, yielding 23,239 bushels. 

Corn — 785 acres, yielding 27,409 bushels. 

Birley —50 acres, yielding 954 bushels. 

Potatoes — 55Ji acres, yielding 3,003 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 1 acre, yielding 117 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 67 acres, yielding 33 tons. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881, 5,730 acres. 

Wild hay gathered— 2,695 tons. 

Timothy seed — 15 bushels. 

Apple trees growing — 1,317. 

Trees baaring — 117. 

Apples — 179 bushels. 

Grape vines beariug — 5. 

Grapes — 50 pounds. 

Sheep sheared — 107. 

Wool — 481 pounds. 



446 



HTSTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Milch cows — 398, yielding 27,115 jiounds of 
butter. 

Hives of bees — 5. 

For the Yeak 1882. — Wheat, 3,371 acres; oats, 
849; corn, l,219i-2; l)arley, 88: potatoes, 58J^; 
beans, 1%; sugar cane, 1%:, cultivated hay, 69 J^. 
Total acreage cultivated in 1882, 5.668 ?<{. 

Apple trees^ — growing, 1,198; bearing, 449; 
grape vines bearing, 53; mik-li cows, 384; sheep, 
124, yielding 457 pounds of wool. 

Forest trees planted and growing — 3 acres. 

Population. — The census of 1870 gave Free- 
man a population of 6()4. The last census, taken 
in 1880, reports 772 for this town. Showing an 
increase of 168. 

KEHGIOUS. 

Freeman has two church organizations, each 
having neat and valuable buildings. The total 
cost of church buildings in the town amounts to 
alout .S2,750. The total number of members of 
the two organizations is about 350. The churches 
are about one mile apart. 

The first religious services were held on the 8th 
of October, 186], by Rev. Walter Scott. It was 
held at the house of Mr. W. Wadsworth, upon the 
occasion of the obsequies of his deceased son. 

Norwegian Lutheran Church. — This is loca- 
ted in the northeastern part of section twenty-one. 
It was erected ia 1874 at a cost of §1,350, but in 
the summer of 1880, it was reduced to an almost 
entire wreck by a severe wind storm which did 
considerable damage throughout this county. It 
was rebuilt, however, the same year, and now 
stands on the old site, in good condition, a monu- 
ment to the public spirit and enterprise of the 
builders. The first pastor of this temple of wor- 
ship was Rev. T. A. Torgeson, and through the 
earnest efforts of this good and sincere gentle- 
man, prosperity shed its bright rays upon the 
small band of worshipers, until its membership in- 
creiaed to two hundred. After about two years 
a change of pastors was made and Rev. J. Mosby 
was installed. The present pastor is Rev. S. B. 
Hustuet. 

There is a cemetery ground in connection with 
the church of this society, which was laid out 
about the time the building was erected. 

Lutheran Church. — Belonging to the Norsk 
Dansk Conference, is located in the northwestern 
part of section sixteen. It was erected in 1878 at 
a cost of $1,400, being a neat and cnmmodious 



building, equal to any in this part of the county. 
The church society has been very successful and 
efficient in its labor.s, for it now numbers as fol- 
lowers of its faith about one hundred and fifty 
members. There is also a cemetery ground con- 
nected with this church. 



Educational facilities in Freeman are at least at 
par with a majority of the towns, both in numeri- 
cal strengeth and m efficiency. The territory of 
the town for this purjjose is divided into five dis- 
tricts, which, if divided equally, would give an 
area of a little over six s([uare miles to each* dis- 
trict. The numbers and location of schoolhouses 
in the various districts are shown in the short 
sketch of each which is below presented. 

Dittrict No 46. — Effected an organization in 
i 1862, and the first term of school was taught by 
Orfa Skinner at the residence of William Eaton, 
with seventeen scholars present. Shortly after- 
ward a schoolhouse was constructed in the south- 
ern part of section three at a cost of S600, eipiip- 
ped with common furniture and the uece.s.sary 
apparatus. The attendance has grown from the 
first, and at present, instead of seventeen, the rolls 
show about thirty. 

District No 44. — The first school in this dis- 
trict was taught in 1865, at the residence of Swan 
Anson, by Miss Altha Young, with eighteen juv- 
eniles on the benches. This was about, or shortly 
after the district effected an organization. 
School was held in private houses after this 
until 1873, when a building was decid- 
ed upon and the schoolhouse now in 
use was constructed, at a cost of about .$125, in 
which Miss Mary Buchanan first called school 
to order, with an average attendance of twenty - 
two. The location of the schoolhouse is the cen- 
ter of section sixteen. 

District No. 48. — The first school in this edu- 
cational locality was taught by Mrs. W. H. Moore 
with an attendance of thirty^scholars. In 1873, a 
good and substantial school structure was erected, 
at a cost of .'i!80(), being well furnished and well 
kept. The present attendance of the school is 
about forty pupils. The district embraces the 
territory in the southwestern part of the town, 
with the schoolhouse in the northwestern part of 
section thirty-two. 

District No. 65. — It is claimed that the first 
school taught in this township was in this district, 



FREEMAIT TOWNSHIP. 



447 



although at that time it-was uuorgiinized. Thii 
first school was taught in Charles G rims' house, 
iu the winter of 1862, by Mr. Charles Grim, with 
an attendance of fifteen pupils. This district 
etfected an organization and continued holding 
school in private residences until 1870, when a 
school house 16x20 was erected in the north- 
eastern part of section twenty-three, which is still 
in use. The first school in this district was 
taught by Miss Jemima Blighton, with an attend- 
ance of twenty pupils; the average attendance 
has now increased to thirty. 

District No. 66. — This district embraces the 
territory in the northwestern part of Freeman 
with a schoolhouse located in section six, which 
was erected iu 1867, at a cost of $150. The first 
school therein was taught by Miss S. Carter, with 
an attendance of fifteen pupils. The average 
attendance has gradually increased, and is now 
about twenty-four. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Ole a. Bekgdol was born in Norway, and 
when twenty years old he emigrated to Americf 
with his parents, his father dying with lung fevei 
while on the ocean. The remainder of the famih 
located in Dane county, Wisconsin, and after fivi 
years experience in farming in that place cam< 
here and purchased his present farm of two hun- 
dred and forty acres, most of which is now unde: 
cultivation. In 1872 he went to Northwood, Iowa, 
and purchased two hundred and twenty acres o 
land, and remained there two years. He wa. 
married in 1872 to Miss Betsy Johnson, and the; 
have one child, a daughter, aged eight yeart 
Mr. Bergdol's mother was killed by a stroke o' 
lightning, at the age of sixty-nine years. She i 
buried in the Norwegian Evangelical Lutherai 
cemetery at this place. 

William Freeman was born in Northamptom, 
England, on the 1st of August, 1832. At the age 
of thirteen years he was obliged to depend upoi; 
his own resources, and for some time he lived 
with Henry Follett, brother of Sir John Follett, 
of London. In 1852 became to America, engaged 
in farming four years near Rutland, Vermont, and 
then came to Illinois, thence, in a short time, to 
Minnesota. He located on his present farm, firs', 
living in a tent, but soon after erected his house, 
which has been improved, and now has the thirr 
roof. His farm contains one hundred and sixt^ 
acres and is well impioved, having a grove of oal. 



timber and a very fine orchard. It is csntrally 
located, convenient to two churches, and altogether 
is a very desirable home. 

Robert Freeman was born in Northampton, 
England, on the 18th of March, 1841, and when 
when fourteen years old came to America and 
engaged in farming near Caslleton, Rutland 
county, Vermont. In 1857 he came west to Illinois, 
located in Kaneville, Kane county, where he 
remained one year, and came to Minnesota, pre- 
empting his present land in sections eleven and 
four. Freeman township. In 1862 he returned to 
Illinois, where he remained twelve years, and in 
1 874 married Miss Louisa Nelson, coming again 
to his farm in this place the following year. They 
have three children, John P., Edna B., and Alice, 
an infant. Mr. Freeman is a member of the Town 
and School boards. 

Ole K. Flaskerod was born near Ghristiauia, 
Norway, on the 29th of August, 1843. In 1866, 
he came to America, and after spending some time 
in Calmar, Iowa, removed to this county, locating 
near Twin Lakes, in Nunda, and purchased forty 
acres of land, on which he made some improve- 
ments. In 1868, he went to Otter Tail county, 
purchased land near Fergus Falls, but in 1875, 
came to this place and bought a quarter of section 
twenty-seven. He was married to Miss Mary 
Jacobson, who has borne him four children, two 
of whom are dead. Those living are, Karl Johan 
and Anna. Mr. Flaskerud has been Town Treas- 
urer three successive years, and has also held 
other local offices. His father and mother died in 
Norway, being quite aged. 

Erik K. Fla-skerud was born on the 20th of 
July. 1841, near Christiauia, Norway, and received 
a good education, learning the shoemaker's trade 
in his native country. In 1869, he was married 
to Miss Caroline Stromsod, of Norway, and the 
same year they emigrated to America, remained 
for awhile in lown, and then came to this State, 
locating on his present farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres in this township, section twenty-one. 
His parents died in the old country at an advanced 
age. Mr. Flaskerud has always taken an interest 
in church, school, and town affairs, having been 
Clerk of his school district ten successive years, 
assessor three years, and Town Treasurer three 
ye:irs. His children are; Christian, Theodore, 
Olive, Anna, Inger Mary, and Edward. 

Charles (trim is a Prussian, born near Gorhtz 



448 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



in the province of Saxony, on the 22d of Febru- 
ary, 1824, and grew to manhood in hia native 
country. In 1854, he came to America, and for 
two years was engaf»ed in a sugar factory in 
Memphis, Tennessee; removed to Davenport, 
Iowa, and thence to Minnesota, locating on sec- 
tion oue in Nunda townsliip. He soon sold liis 
claim therj, however, and for three years worked 
on neighboring farms, then purchased two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land in this township, 
seetion twenty-tour. In 1859, he married Misa 
Catharine Beighley, of Pennsylvania, and they 
have had six children, four of whom are living; 
Ada M., Kosa S., Georgiana B., and George W. 
Mr. (rrim's mother di(;d in Prussia in 1860, aged 
seventy-two years, and his father, Gottlieb Grim, 
was in the war of 1812, and continued in service 
nearly twenty year.s. He was at oue time taken 
prisoner with five others, and after several days of 
fasting, they finally made their escape, some one 
from the outside making an opening in the cellar 
in which they were confined. After nine days 
wandering, their only food being sour sorrel, they 
all died but Mr. Grim, who recovered from his 
exposure, but only lived a few years, then found 
an early grave, which is kept green in memory by 
his son Charles. 

George Hyatt was born in Cayuga county, 
New York, on the 5th of July, 1832, and at an 
early age removed with his parents to Oswego 
county, near Hannibal Centre, where he received 
his education and grew to manhood. In 1855, he 
removed to Yankee Settlement, Iowa, engage.l at 
the carpenter aud joiner trade, and in 1857, came 
to Shell Rock, Minnesota. He soon after pre- 
empted land in this town.ship, in section thirteen, 
and now has a farm of two hundred and eighty 
acres under a high state of cultivation, with a 
finely fiuislied house, commodious granaries, barns, 
etc., and gives his attention to farming and stock 
raising. He was married in 1863, to Miss lone 
Bartlett, and they have six children; Annette, 
Sherman, Willett L., Prank C, and Edgar and 
Edna, who are twins. 

Alexander Johnson was born on the 23d of 
April, 1823, near Arendahl, Norway, and remained 
in his native country until thirty five years old. 
He came to America, and for some time found 
employment in the pineries in Michigan and later 
engaged in fishing on Lake Michigan. In 1862, 
he removed to Minnesota and staked out a claim, 



but soon sold and bought a farm in Freeman, see- 
tion thirty-one, where he still resides. He married 
Miss Mary Mickleaon in 1868, and they have two 
children: .Julius, and Louisa. 

Andrew J. Lang was born in 1834, in Canada, 
in Dalhousie, province of Ontario, and received a 
good education. Whe'.) twenty-two years old, he 
came to Shell Rock, this county, and purcliased 
his farm of two hundred acres in section twenty- 
four. He and his brother Robert have lived to- 
gether for many years in single blessedness. They 
were the first to own and operate a threshing ma- 
chine in this place, that being their employment 
for fifteen summers. They wore out three ma- 
chines of the J. I. Case make. Their father, 

I mother, aud sister have all passed away, and are 
buried in the (rreeue cemetery. The sister's name 
was .Jeannette and she died <m the lOth of June, 
1881. Andrew and Robert, the last of the family, 
have, through their superior and careful business 

; management, acquired wealth and the sincere 
respect of all who know them. 

I Ole O. Opdahl is a native of Norway and 
dates his birth on the 25th of .July, 1844. He 
attended school until the age of sixteen years, 
when he learned the blacksmith trade, and contin- 
ued bis studies at an evening school for two years. 
In 1869, he emigrated to America, located in Os- 
sian, Iowa, where he was employed at his trade 
six years, and was married in 1871, to Miss Rachel 
Christiansen. He went to Forest City, aud for two 
years dealt in agricultural implements, coming to 
Minnesota in 1.S75, and ))urchased his present farm 
of three hundred aud twentv acres, and has con- 
ducted it since, also engaging at his trade. He 
has been Clerk of the board of School trustees 
mo?it of the time since his residence here, and also 
a member of the board of Supervisors ami after- 
ward Chairman of the same, still holding the latter 
office. He has had four children' three of whom 
are living; G. O., Thorston E., and Eliza A. His 
mother is still living, sixty-seven years of age. 
His father was drowned, the ves.sel being 
wrecked in a trip from Christiania to his home. 

WiFPiNQ Wadsworth wbs born at Stoke Doyel, 
Northamptonshire, England, on the 10th of Sep- 
tember, 1830, and grew to manhood in that coun- 
try, receiving such an education as the common 
schools afTorded. lu 1854, he came to America, 
and for some time engaged in farming in Ver 
mont, coming to this State in 1856, and pre-empt- 



GENM VA TO WN8IIIP. 



449 



ed a claim. He soou sold that and purchased 
two hundred acres of school land in section six- 
teen, where he now resides. In 18.^8, he married 
Miss Sarah Freeman, and they had six children ; 
Elizabeth A., Joseph L., Ada J., Agnes, George 
R., and Mary. In 18G4, Mr. Wadsworth enlisted 



in the army and served till the fall of 1865, when 
he received an honorable discharge. He has 
always taken a deep interest in public affairs, and 
has been kept constantly in office, being Town 
Clerk at present. 



GENEVA. 



CHAPTER LXI. 

Generai/ descbiption — Early settlement — 

hosoked dead political statistical 

mannfactueino — geneva village religious 

— Schools— Biogbaphioal. 

This is on the northern tier of towns in the 
county, the second from Mower county on the 
east, Newry lying between. Steele county is on 
the north, Bath on the west, and Biceland on the 
south. Like all the other towns in the county, 
the integrity of the original government survey 
has been maintained. Most of the sections from 
twenty -five to thirty-six is what may be called 
slough land, and is covered by college and rail- 
road scrip. The remainder is rolling prairie, 
with a black sandy loam, which, on some of the 
ridges is mixed with clay and is very productive, 
as there is seldom a failure of crops from any 
cause. Nearly all the timber in town, when first 
entered for settlement, was on sections seventeen 
and thirty -six. 

Geneva Lake is the only one in town. It is in 
the western part, and occupies parts of six sec- 
tions. It has an irregular outline, with an area of 
perhaps three sections, and is three miles long and 
a little over a mile wide in its widest part. A 
small stream finds its way into it from the north, 
while an exit is obtained toward the east that is 
deflected to the south as it leaves the town from 
section thirty-six to join Turtle River. This river, 
was formerly noted for the abundance of fish it con- 
tained, and it is still an eligible point for the dis- 
29 



ciples of Sir Isaak Walton. The water pond, 
in their season are still found. There are no 
streams in the northeast part of the town, but 
good water is obtained at no great depth. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

Milton Morey is said to be the first settler in 
town. He took a claim in 1855, built a cabin 
and did some breaking that fall. About Christ- 
mas his dwelling was unfortunately burned, and 
as he could not then put up another, he took his 
family in an ox team and turned his face towards 
civilization and spent the winter in or near where 
Austin now is, returning in the spring and put- 
ting in some crops. After a time he went to 
Dakota and now lives near Yankton. There were 
several settlers in 1856, and to write the truth as 
though it were fiction, an the 20th of April, on one 
of those days so characteristic of spring time in 
Minnesota, there might have been seen a solitary 
traveler, moving along the Indian trail between 
Austin and some point beyond this. Prom his ap- 
pearance he was a pilgrim in quest of some 
shrine where he might kneel and pay homage to 
the home he expected to find, after he had created 
it. This stranger was looking for Mr. Morey's resi- 
dence, which he had a confused idea was some- 
where near the trail he was following. This man 
was Elmer Eggleston, and in one hand he carried 
a grip sack and in the other an umbrella. He 
was a native of Ohio but had come from Galena, 
and soon found Mr. Morey, who of course gave 
him the best the house afforded, and two davs 



450 



BISTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



later assiated the young adventurer to stake out 
a farm in section eiglit which he opened up and 
cultivated nntil 1863, when he sold out, but still 
lives on the same section. In August following, 
the father reported in person and surmounted 
some of Uncle Sam's acres in the same section, 
where he wr(jught until gathered in by the grim 
reaper. 

In May Robert P. Farr, a native of Missouri, 
came and placed his sign manual on a spot of 
land in section fourteen, and he has been bustling 
around there ever since. Along with him came 
Joseph W. Burdick, a native of New York, who 
selected his place in section ten, and there he es- 
tablished a home in which he dwelt until he ex- 
changed worlds on the 24th of April 1877. 

Henry King, who was born in Canada, took up 
his residence in section twenty -three, but he now 
lives on the town site. 

E. C. Stacy, who had been through here in 
1854, secured a place in section seven. He was 
one of the first three County Commissioners ap- 
pointed by the Governor of the territory. He 
now resides in Albert Lea. 

Isaac Lyou, from Illinois, took a claim in sec- 
tion eight which he soon disposed of to Jones & 
Eobson. He afterwards lived in Steele county, and 
since that in Warren, Illinois. 

Samuel Woodworth came here from the Badger 
State and planted his boundary stakes in section 
twenty -six, and there he remained until 1866, 
when he again set his face toward the setting sun, 
and sometime iu 1881, he left his bones moulder- 
ing in Dakota soil. 

Nathan Hunt got his real estate in sections fif- 
teen and sixteen, went into the army, on his 
return marched west and halted in Faribault 
county, where he settled permanently. 

Walter Drake, from the Nutmeg State, procured 
his slice of Minnesota territory in section thirty, 
and in 1866 he too sailed in command of a prairie 
schooner, and found a haven iu Faribault county. 

John Reed, from Kent county, England, sur- 
rounded a piece of free soil iu section twenty-two, 
which he improved and cultivated. In February, 
1862, he enlisted in the Union army and went to 
Fort Snelling, but in one short month he was 
mustered out, and went to join the legion of 
whom it is said : 

'On fame's eternal campinjj ground 

Their silent tents are spread. 
And glory guards with solem around, 

The bivouac of the dead," 



His widow and daughter are residents of the 
town site. 

Thomas Cashman, of the Ever (ireeu Isle, came 
>ora Iowa, and cast his lot on section thirteen, 
md there he may still be found. 

Alexander Schntt, a native of the province ot 
Quebec, Canada, came here from Ontario, and his 
choice was in sections eleven and twelve. He is 
now in section sixteen. 

Burdette and Charles, sons of Eliab Eggles- 
ton, were early settlers, but both died young. 

John Hiues was here a short time, but pushed 
on to Dakota. 

O. G. Goodnature, of Canada, arrived in Juno, 
and transplanted himself iu section fourteen; he 
still remains a resident of the town. 

Lat« this year, two particularly enterprising 
men from New York State, with their minds filled 
with town sites, arrived and secured a beautiful 
spot, located a town, and soon made it one of the 
most populous and thriving, in their minds, in the 
whole Northwest. Mr. Jones still survives, but 
Mr. Robson, who was Sheriff of the county and a 
highly respected citizen, when the war broke out 
joined the army and lost his life. 

Hans Eustrom, a native of Sweden, came here 
from Boston and located in section four. He is 
now in Kittson county holding the position of 
Auditor. 

Those already mentioned were settlers of 1856. 
\ large settlement came in 1857, but only a few 
of their names could be obtained, among them 
the following : 

Bernhard Schad, an enterprising German from 
Red ^Viug. arrived and at once w'ent into the 
blacksmith and wagon business, which he still 
carries on. 

John Heath, Sr., took a claim in section seven, 
but afterwards removed to Albert Lea, where he 
now lives. 

Charles Henion, from New Y'ork State, came here 
from Wisconsin and secured a foothold iu secti(}n 
four, which he still holds. 

Some of the arrivals of 1858 were: 
(jeorge Osborne, a native of Ohio, wlio spent a 
winter here and afterwards lived in Steele county, 
[n about two years he returned to Geneva. Was 
iu the array, and afterwards for a time Postmas- 
ter. He is now dead. 

Thomas Hines, ot Vermont, settled in section 
sixteen. He removed to Faribault county in 1864, 



O ENE VA TO WNSHIP. 



451 



aud lived there uutil 1872, when his movements in 
this world were terminated. His family returned 
here to reside in section fourteen. 

Robert Hill, a native of the Key Stone State, 
pre-empted a place in section ten, and afterwards 
lived with his son-in-law, Robert P. Farr, until in 
1865 the portals of the other world opened before 
him. 

Early Births. — Anna Geneva, daughter of 
Bernhard and Anna Schad, was born on the 8th 
of September, 1857. Arriving at womanhood she 
married James Harvey Robson on the 16th of Feb- 
ruary, 1881. They live in Owatonna. He was the 
son of James A. and Martha Robson, and was 
ushered into this world in February, 1858. 

Ralph Freeborn Drake was born in August, 
1856. 

Irviu E. Burdick, son of Joseph W. Burdick, 
was born on the 10th of September, 1856. 

The First Deaths. — Seymour E., son of Eliab 
and Esther Eggleston, was removed to the spir- 
itual world on the 24th of December, 1857, in his 
14th year, 

The wife of W. 8. Bacon was overtaken by the 
angel of immortality in the winter of 1857-58. 

Burdette E., son of Eliab aud Esther Eggles- 
ton, received a summons that could not be 
disregarded, on the 28th of November, 1857, in 
his 22d year. 

THE HONORED DEAD. 

Harvey Partridge was born in Canaan, Litch- 
field county, Connecticut, on the 16th of July, 
1786, and in 1834, removed to Genesee county, 
New York, in 1846 to Rock county, Wisconsin, 
and in 1864 came to Geneva. About a year before 
his death he went fo Albert Lea to live with his 
son, Sidney Partridge. For fifty years he was a 
Methodist. In 1812, he took the blue lodge 
degrees in Masonry, and the scarlet degrees in 
1813. On the 7th of August, 1875, he was admit- 
ted to the "Supreme Lodge above, where the 
Grand Master of the Universe presides." He was 
buried with Masonic honors. 

Daniel Kinnear was born in Schuylkill coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania. He moved to Iowa in 1841 and 
remained until 1864 when he removed to Free- 
born county. He was a Methodist, and his life 
here was abruptly terminated by a second stroke 
of paralysis on the 29th of March, 1876, at the age 
of 75 years. His wife, one son, and five daugh- 
ters were present at the funeral. 



Hiram R. Jones, one of the oldest persons in 
the county, died in Geneva where he was much 
respected, and was mourned by a large number of 
people with whom he has been associated for 
many years. 

Eliab Eggleston. — At Whitehall, New York, 
in 1808, the subject of this sketch was born. 
When quite young he went to Ohio, afterwards to 
Illinois, and finally to Minnesota, settling in 
Geneva, where he arrived in the year 1856. 
He furnished three sons for the war of 1861, only 
one of whom survived. Mr. Eggleston left his 
son, Elmer, and his wife with whom he had so- 
journeyed for forty seven years. On the 10th of 
June, 1880, he quietly breathed his last. 

POST-OFFIOE. 

In 1856, E. C. Stacy made an application 
through Hon. Henry M. Rice, the delegate in 
Congress, for a Post-ofHce, which was secured 
with E. C. Stacy as Postmaster, and they had a 
weekly mail, to be procurred at the expense of the 
town, fi'om Austin. Dorr K. Stacy, who was then 
a mere lad, used to go over the twenty-two miles 
for it. The office was put in the store after that 
was opened, and still continues its good work. 

political. 

The first town meeting was on that noted 11th 
of May, 1858, when the new constitution went 
into effect. The Supervisors were: E. C. Stacy, 
Chairman, W. S. Bacon, and John Brannan; Clerk, 
Hans Eustrom. The earliest records are lost so 
there are no particulars as to what was done, or 
of the names even of the other officers. 

At the annual town meeting held in Chamber- 
lain's Hall on the 14th of March, 1882, thefollow- 
lowing officers were elected : Supervisors, Michael 
Quinn, Chairman, B. H. Conklin, and J. M. Saw- 
yer; Clerk, A. J. Chamberlain; Treasurer, Bern- 
hard Schad; Assessor, M. J. Feuton; Justice of 
the Peace, W. H. Twiford; Constable, Octave 
Goodnature. 

Honesty and economy have characterized the 
management of town aff'airs from the first. 

statistical. 

The year 1881. — The area included in this 
report takes in the whole town; as follows: 
Wheat— 2,885 acres, yielding 36,813 bushels. 
Oats— 799 acres, yielding 25,640 bushels. 
Corn — 879 acres, yielding 28,515 bushels. 



452 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Barley — 144 acres, yielding 3,020 bushels. 

Rye — 2 acres, yielding 35 bushels. 

Buckwheat -2 '4 acres, yielding 440 bushels. 

Potatoes — 33938 acres, yielding 4,1)14 bushels. 

Beans — lig acres, yielding 10 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 2% acres, yielding 142 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 59 acres, yielding 113 fajus. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881—477. 

Wild hay— 42,184 tons. 

Timothy seed — 11 bushels. 

Apples — number of trees growing, 830; number 
bearing, 330, yielding 134 bushels. 

Grapes — 7 vines, yielding 6 pounds. 

Sheep ^255 sheared, yielding 133 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 255 cows, yielding 29,250 pounds of 
butter and 130 pounds of cheese. 

Hives of bees — 10, yielding 125 pounds of 
honey. 

The YE.\ii 1882.— Wheat, 2,530 acres; oats, 
944; corn, 1,311; barley, 271; buckwheat, 8; pota- 
toes, 551^; beans, Q%; sugar cane, 5; cultivated 
hay, 60; other produce, J^ acre; total acreage cul- 
tivated in 1882, 6,376, y. 

Apple trees — growing, 781; bearing, 367; grape 
vines bearing, 3. 

Milch cows— 234. 

Sheep — 45, yielding 174 pounds of wool. 

Whole number of farms cultivated iu 1882, 54. 

Forest trees planted and growiug, 128 acres. 

Population. — The census of 1870 gave Geneva 
a population of 378. The last ceusus, taken in 
1880, reports 451 for this town; showing an in- 
crease of 76. 

MANUFACTURING. 

In 1858, a Mr. Deacon Brant started the manu- 
facture of shingles on section eight. The estab- 
lishment was a marvel in its way, and displayed a 
genius that should have been liandsomely reward- 
ed, for it was the missing liuk between hand labor 
and machinery. The blocks were cut the proper 
length by a cross-cut saw, and they were then 
boiled to soften them and then were slashed up 
into shingles by a knife attached to a lever worked 
by a man aud a wman power, the latter being 
his wife. 

Saw-mild.— In the fall of 1856, Bacon A- Eg- 
gleston put up a saw-mill on section thirty-six, 
and kept it vibrating until the summer of 1857, 
when it was transferred to section seventeen, 
where Bacon run it for two years, having, in 1858, 



added a grist-mill, which did good business. In 
1859, this mill was carried off by the western 
fever, which was epidemic at that time and has 
been ever since. 

PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 

A Grange was instituted on the 7th of July, 
1872, with W. H. Twiford as Master, and Hans 
Eustrom Sr. and fifteen other charter members, 
which afterward swelled up to fifty or more. 
Weekly meetings were held in the Kobson House 
hall. The members went into the fraternal part of 
the order in a whole-souled way, having a monthly 
ban(|uet, followed by music and dancing. But in 
1877, the banquet halls were deserted, aud the life 
of the institution fled to seek companionship with 
those who had gone before. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The following in regard to this town was publish- 
in 1877: "It was first settled by Milton Morey, in 
the fall of 1855, who immediately constructed a 
log house, wliich was burned down on the Christ- 
mas following. To him also belongs the honor of 
opening the first farm, which he did in the spring 
of 1856. E. C. Stacy, who settled in June, 1856. 
was the first lawyer, while his wife, who arrived 
in August following, was the first doctor. Rob- 
son and Jones were the first merchants, aud com- 
menced the sale of goods in July, 1857. Schad 
and Drommerhausen, blacksmith and wagon-mak- 
ers, were the first mechanics. In the same summer 
of 1857, a Mrs. Clark taught the first school iu a 
log shanty at the villaga. The first sohoolhouse ■ 
was built by district No. 3, in 1858. In the sum- 
mer of 1857, Rev. Isaac McReyuolds held the first 
religious service. In 1858 the Catholics organized 
the first religious society, and built the first 
church in 1861. The Post-office was established 
in the winter of 1856-7, which was supplied by 
special service from Austin. E. O. Stacy was the 
first Postmaster. The first child bom was Ralph 
Freeborn Drake, on the 30th of July, 1856. Wil- 
liam Robson and Atlanta Smith were the first par- 
ties married, John Reed performing the ceremony 
in the summer of 1859. The first death was that 
of Mrs. Welcome Bacon, which occurred in Febru- 
ary, 1859. Jamea A. Robson opened the first 
hotel in .Tune, 1858, although .Judge Stacy had 
thrown his house open to the public ever since his 
first settlement. The first title to land was acquir- 
ed by Welcome L. Bacon, August 16th, 1858, the 



GENEVA TOWNSHIP. 



453 



selection being made on section thirty. The first 
board of officers was elected May 11, 1858, con- 
sisting of E. C. Stacy, W. S. Bacon, and John 
Brenuan; H. Eustrom, Clerk." 



GENEV.i VILLAGE. 



The village of Geneva was platted in the winter 
of 1856-57 by James F. Jones and James Bobson, 
on section eight, and contained about four himdred 
acres. This was one of the first crop of villages ever 
raised in the county, and was very pleasantly sit- 
uated, and of course calculated and expected to 
become the Chicago of the new Northwest. 

In the spring of 1857, Jones and Bobson 
started business and put up a store and hotel. 
They soon, however, dissolved partnership, Jones 
retaining the store which he managed for several 
years, part of the time in company with C. H. 
Molntire; but they afterwards sold out to Cabot 
& Lester, who continued the business but a short 
time, when they went to Martin county with their 
goods. The store was then occupied by Mr. Lor- 
ing, and was soon consumed by fire. 

Two Swedes, named Lohyed and Matison, put 
up a store and placed a stock of goods in it. 
They soon sold out and it changed bands several 
times; finally it was purchased by Charles Kittle- 
son, now State Treasurer, and was burned while 
he owned it. 

George and Warren Osborne began merchan- 
dising in 1865, and continued one year, when 
George secured his brother's interest and run it 
alone one year and then turned over his stock to 
Charles Kittleson. 

The only store in town now is kept by Archi- 
bald Chamberlain, which was first opened by 
Dwight Brooks in 1880. 

In 1857 Bernhard Schad and George Drom- 
merhausen started a blacksmith and wagon shop. 
Wagons and plows, custom work and general re- 
pairing were their specialties. In about a year 
Schad became sole proprietor, and he is still 
hammering away at the old stand. 

Tiie hotel which had been biiilt was leased to 
Isaac Lyons who opened it with an approj^riate 
flourish in 1858, and managed it for a year or two 
and then sold to O. A. Jones, of Fillmore county. 
His father, H. K. Jones, kept it one winter and 
then his sou, James F. Jones, bought and moved 
into it and is now the proprietor. 

In 1857, in deference to a demand, Mr. Graham 
put up a building and opened a saloon, and as 



the business increased he erected a larger build- 
ing, which afterwards changed hands and a store 
was opened there. 

RELIGIOUS. 

Methodist. — The first religious meetings held 
in the village were in the store of Loyhed & Mali- 
son, in 1857, by a Methodist itinerant. Soon 
after an organization was effected. Elder Towne, 
a Baptist preacher, also had meetings at Deacon 
Brant's house, but as far as remembered, no or- 
ganization was perfected. The Methodist denom- 
ination still "holds the fort" with a garrison of 
twenty members. The meetings are in the school- 
house, with Kev. W. H. Burkaloo, who lives in 
Berlin, as pastor. 

Roman Catholic Chukch. — The first mass 
known to have been said in this township, was in 
May, 1859, by Father Pendergast, in the resi- 
dence of Thomas Cushman. Services were fre- 
quently held in this house, until inl866 the church 
edifice was erected. It is a frame building, and 
was put up under the care of Father McDermott. 
The congregation is now under the charge of 
Father Fleming of Albert Lea, of which it is an 
outlying mission. 

United Bretheen. — Religious meetings were 
held in John Hime's house in 1858, also in 
John Brown's house in section twenty- 
three, that was also used as a schoolhouse. In 
1859 a society was accumulated with about a 
dozen members, by Rev. John Arnold, who also 
expounded in Geneva village. This society had 
sufficient attraction of cohesion to hold together 
for two or three years, when it became dis- 
rupted. 

The Seventh Day Adventists. — The first time 
this peculiar doctrine was advocated in town was 
in the summer of 1876. Meetings were held in 
the schoolhouse by Elder Dimmick. On the 24th 
of September they organized with ten members, 

I and a Sunday school was also commenced with 
Lucius Gibbs as Superintendent. Afterwards 
meetings were held in a tent. Rev. D. T. 
Curtis came after this and expounded the gospel 
as he understood it, once a month. Rev. Henry 

j Ellis succeeded him and held the last meeting on 

j the 20th of January, 1882. 

Universalist. — Elder Wakefield, a pioneer 
preacher in this faith, had a series of meetings 
here, and quite a society was gathered. Their 

■ meetings are held at stated times in the school- 



454 



niSTORT OF FREEBORN C OUNTT. 



house, with Rev. G. S. Gowily as pastor, who has 
good congregations, which is a little remarkaljle 
in this western country where, as a rule, the so 
called liberal denominations do not meet with 
much encouragement. 

SCHOOLS. 

District No. 3. — The first school was opened in 
8 private house belonging to John Brown, in sec- 
tion fifteen, in the summer of 1858. Mrs. Henry 
King wielded the ferule during this term. The 
next year the citizens succeeded in building a 
schoolhouse on section fourteen. Miss Lucy 
Thomas called the first school to order in the new 
house, which was a log afifair, 20x24 feet, which 
was put up by a regular "Bee," each farmer con- 
tributing something. This served until 1877, 
when the frame building now standing was erected 
on sectioQ twenty-three, at a cost of about S400. 

District No. 4. — A school was opened in a 
claim shanty on the town site in 1878. Mrs. Clark 
was the constituted authority during this term. 
Afterwards the school was kept in the store of 
Loyhed k Matison, and then in a building erected 
for a saloon. The schoolhouse was gotten up in 
1865. 

District No. 97. — This was organized in 1875, 
having been taken from the third district. That 
same year the schoolhouse was built on the north- 
west corner of section fourteen. The initial 
teacher was Miss Ella Davis. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Harrison M. Davis, a native of New York, was 
born in Holland, Erie county, on the 19th of Jan- 
uary, 1832. He was married in 1851, to Miss 
Aurilla Benedict, and four years after they moved 
to Wisconsin. In the summer of 1858, he came 
to Minnesota, lived in Steele county until fall, 
then returned to Wisconsin. They came again to 
Steele county in 1862, and on the 1st of Decem- 
ber of the year following, Mr. Davis enlisted iu the 
.Second Minnesota Cavalry, went west on the 
frontier, and remained in service until November, 
1865, svhen he . received an honorable discharge. 
In 1866, he bought a farm in section six, Geneva, 
where he has since lived. He is the father of two 
cliildren; Adelmar P. and Edwin W. 

Eliab Eqgleston, deceased, one of the pio- 
neers of Geneva, was born in Whitehall, New 
York, on the 29th of July, 1808. When quite 
young he learned the carpenter and joiner trade, 



and afterward was engaged as an architect. When 
about twenty years old he moved to Ohio, and a 
few years later to Indiana. On the 4th of Novem- 
ber, 1833, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Esther Chapman. Thej resided in (lalena, Illi- 
nois, seven years, and in 1856 came to Minnesota 
and settled on a farm in this place. He devoted 
his time to the improvement of his home until his 
death on the 9th of June, 1880. Mr. ancl Mrs. 
Eggleston had six children; Charles, who enlisted 
in 1862 in the Fourth .Minnesota volunteer infan- 
try. Company F, went south and was under Grant 
at Vicksburg, came home on a furlough and died 
on the 19th of October, 1863, aged twenty-eight 
years; Elmer, the only son now living, married on 
the 22d of October, 1861, Miss Catherine Gross, 
i and they have two children. Burdette and Eliab 
I J. ; Burdette, the third son, died on tlie 28th of 
November, 1857, in his twenty-second year; Olive 
Ann died when two and a half years old; Alvanus 
enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota Regiment, Com- 
pany C, went south and died near Vicksburg on 
the 5th of July, 1863; and Seymour E. died on 
the 24th of December, 1857, ageti fourteen years. 
Mrs. Eggleston lives on the old homestead with 
her son Elmer. 

Michael Fenton, one of the early settlers of 
this place, is a native of Ireland, born on the 29th 
of September, 1811. He was brought up iu Mid- 
dlesex county, England, and there learned the 
trade of a brickmaker. In 1830 he sailed with 
his parents for America, his father dying on the 
way. The remainder of the family proceeded 
from Quebec to Boston, aud thence to Waterbury, 
Vermont, where Michael was engaged at his trade 
one summer. He then returned to Canada and 
worked iu the lumber business tor two years, from 
thence to Rochester and subsequently to Buffalo, 
Detroit, and back to Rochester. He was married 
in 1847 to Miss Mary White. While at Roches- 
ter he enlisted in the first United States artillery, 
went south to Florida, aud after a service of three 
years was honorably discharged. He spent eight 
months iu Georgia aud from there went to New- 
burg, New York, thence to Vermont and worked 
at his trade. He went to Michigan and settled on 
a farm about eleven miles from Jackson, and 
after a residence of five years moved to Ottawa, 
niiiiois. He served in the Mexican war under 
Geo. Shields, was wounded twice at the battle of 
But-na Vista, and confined in the hospital four 



GENE VA TOWNSHIP. 



455 



months, after which he received his discharge and 
returned to Illinois by way of New Orleans and 
St. Louis. After reaching his home he was laid 
up two years on account of injuries received 
while in service. In 1857 he came to Minnesota, 
resided in Stillwater until 1858, then selected a 
farm in this place, and the following year moved 
his family. He is a member of the National Vete- 
rans' Association and is a Mexican pensioner, pro- 
bably, the only one in the county. Mr. and Mrs. 
Fenton have had three children; Johanna M., 
Michael J., and William E., the latter of whom 
died on the 10th of July, 1880, from the effect of 
injuries received from a falling capstan. 

Robert P. Fakr, one of the pioneers of this 
place, is a native of Missouri, born in 1827. When 
quite young he removed with his parents to Indi- 
ana, and at the age of nine years went to live with 
his grandparents in Pennsylvania. After four 
years he returned to his home, and four years 
later removed to Clayton county, Iowa, where he 
bought a saw-mill and run it until 1856. In the 
latter year he came to Minnesota, took a claim in 
section fourteen of this township, and has since 
made it his home. He has a fine orchard, and his 
farm contains four hundred acres. In 1861, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Belle Hill, a 
native of Pennsylvania. They have had seven 
children, six of whom are living; Esther, May, 
Sarah, Robert, Alice, and Charles. George died 
when eighteen mouths old. 

Lucros GiBBS was born in Pennsylvania on the 
17th of February, 1831. He received an academ- 
ical education, and in 1862, his health failed, which 
necessitated a change of climate. He went to 
lUiuois, thence to St. Louis up the Missouri river, 
and west to Montana. After an absence of three 
years he returned to his native State, where he 
married Miss Mary A. J. Maynard,and after a few 
weeks started for Minnesota. He located in 
Geneva, where he bought a farm and has since 
made it his home. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs have had 
five children, three of whom' are living; Lester D., 
Carrie S., and Willie L. Stephen died on the 16th 
Of January, 1881, aged nine years, and Henry 
died four days later at the age of four years. 

John L. Gibbs was born in Pennsylvania on the 
3d of May, 1838. He acquired the fundamental 
principles of a good education in the common 
schools of his native State, and afterward attended 
Le Raysville Academy, and subsequently taught 



school, using the proceeds for the advancement of 
his education. After a course at the Susquehanna 
Collegiate Institute and the Pokeepsie Law 
School of Indiana, he entered the law department 
of the university at Ann Arbor, Michigan, gradu- 
ating one year afterwards. He then taught school 
in Iowa, and in 1861, came to Albert Lea. The 
following year he was elected County Attorney, 
and in 1863, elected to the Legislature and again 
in '64, '75, and '76. Thus it will be seen by the 
public positions he has occupied, in what esteem 
ho is held by his fellow citizens. He was married 
in 1868, to the widow of Capt. James Robson. 
Mr. Gibbs has always been a careful and method- 
ical student, and by his perseverance has overcome 
many obstacles that to an ordinary mind would 
seem insurmountable. As presiding officer of the 
House his qualifications are marked with that 
degree of firmness and ability that has so distin- 
guished some of his predecessors. In selecting 
the standing committees no man could have been 
more just and impartial, or displayed better judg- 
ment than did he. 

O. C. Goodnature, one of the pioneers and 
most successful farmers of Freeborn county, is a 
native of Canada, born in 1825. When quite 
youug he moved to Clinton county. New York, 
and was there employed in a saw-mill and in driv- 
ing a team. He was marrid to Miss Emily De- 
Marre and the issue of the union is nine children ; 
Octave C, George, Peter, Nicholas, Eli, Emily, 
Rosalie, Michael, and David. Mr. Goodnature 
sought a home in Minnesota in 1856, and settled 
in section fourteen of this township where he has 
since resided. 

Charles Henion, one of the early settlers of 
Geneva, is a native of Albany county. New York, 
where he was born on the 17th of September, 
1831. In 1854, he removed to Wisconsin, which 
was his home until coming to this place in 1857. 
He took a claim in section four and the same year 
returned to New York and married Clarisa Hubbs. 
The result of the union is five children ; Ophelia, 
Alva, Cora, Lillie, and Bina. Immediately after 
marriage Mr. Henion returned to his farm and has 
since devoted his time to its improvement. Mrs 
Henion died on the 16th of July, 1872, and in 
1876, he married his present wife, whose maiden 
name was Libbie Clipper. She is a native of 
Schenectady county, New York, born in 1842, and 
resided in her native county until coming to Min- 
nesota. 



456 



HI STORY OP FREEBORN COUNTY. 



JasteS F. Jones, one of the pioneers of this 
place, was born in Oi'ondaga county, New York, 
on the 15th of June, 1822. When quite young 
he was engaged in a tan yard and subsequently 
learned the trade of a tanner, currier, and shoe 
maker. At the age of twenty-one years he was 
married to Miss Adelpha Moon, and after a few 
days they started with a team for Milwaukee. 
Just before reaching their destination Mr. Jones 
was taken sick with fever, and when able was taken 
to his brother's house in the city and remained 
during the winter. In the spring he took some 
land which, the next year, he sold and moved tn 
Rock county, Wisconsin, where he bought a farm. 
After a residence of three years there his health fail- 
ed and they returned to NewYork where he was en- 
gaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes, 
which he brought to Wisconsin every year and 
traded for wheat ; that he took to Jauesville and 
had made into flour, then to Milwaukee where he 
shipped it to Buffalo for sale. After continuing in 
this business for three years he returned to his farm 
in Rock county, and in 1856 came to this county, 
and in company with Captain Robson located the 
town site of Geneva, built a hotel and engaged in 
mercantile pursuits and farming. He is at pres- 
ent landlord of the hotel here and is also interes- 
ted in stock raising in the Missouri valley in Da- 
kota. Mr. and Mrs Jones have a family of six 
children; Hiram, Eugene, Helen, Adelle, Jay, and 
Mark. 

Geobge Osborn, deceased, one of the early 
residents of this place, was born in Erie county, 
Ohio, on the 6th of September, 18.32. He was 
married in 1857 to Miss Maria J. Gross, a native 
of New York, and the year following they came 
to Minnesota and located a farm in this place. 
They afterward resided for two years in Waseca 
county and then returned to Geneva. In 1862 
Mr. Osbom enlisted in the Tenth Minnesota Regi- 
ment, Company E, and served as sergeant. He 
was in several battles and once was wounded; 
after a service of three years he received an hon- 
orable discharge, having gained the confidence 
and respect of every officer and soldier who knew 
him. While in the army he contracted a lung 
disease which resulted in consumption, and finally 
terminated his life. In the spring of 1866 he 
opened a boot and shoe store which he carried on 
nine years; was also Postmaster a number of 
years. He was a Universalist, but his house was 



always open to ministers of any denomination, 
and no man could be more thoroughly missed, his 
death occurring on the 23d of February, 1875. 
He left a wife and two daughters. 

Richard Quinn was born in Ireland in 1828, 
I and emigrated to America in 1851. He landed in 
I New York on St. Patrick's Day, and after a month 
went to Indiana, where ho was in the employ of 
the railroad company one year, then went to Day- 
ton, Ohio, and engaged in the livery business. 
He was afterward employed as porter in a hotel 
at Cincinnati, and there married, in 1854, Miss 
Mary Ann Hayes. For a time Mr. Quinn was 
engaged in the wholesale and retail liquor busi- 
ness at Dubuque, Iowa. He came to Minnesota 
and settled in the Crow River country, working at 
Dayton and afterward engaged in farming about 
four miles from that place. After a residence of 
four years there he sold and moved to Minneap- 
olis, where he was engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness, and in 1868 came to this township, locating 
in section fifteen, which has since been his home. 
Mr. and Mrs. Quinn have had thirteen children, 
ten of whom are now living; Mary Ann, Edmund 
J., Michael J., William F., Nora J., Mary F., 
Johanna A., John R., Philip P., and Monica C. 
The two eldest died in infancy, and Anne E. died 
in June, 1882, aged sixteen years. 

Bernhard Schad is a native of Germany, born 
on the 28th of April, 1834. At the ago of four- 
teen years he began to learn the blacksmith trade, 
and after serving an apprenticeship of three 
years came to America. He located in Genesee 
county. New York, and three years later moved to 
Chicago, then to Red Wing, in this State, where 
he was married in 1856 to Miss Anna Andrist, 
who was born in Berne, Switzerland, on the (Jth of 
October, 1834. They remained in Red Wing one 
year and then moved to this towushiiJ and opened 
a blacksmith shop, which he still carries on. Mr. 
and Mrs. Schad have had seven children, six of 
whom are living; Anna Geneva, John B., Mary M., 
Katie Belle, Libbie E., and Frankie E. 

MicHAEi. QriNN is a native of Ireland, born in 
1834, and left his birth place for America, in 1852. 
He went from New York to Elizabeth, New 
Jersey, and two months later to Lancaster, Ohio, 
thence to Cincinnati, and Newport, Kentucky. He 
came to Debuque, Iowa, to visit friends, and in 
April, 1856, made a trip to St. Paul, traveled 
through the big woods to the prairie of 



nENEVA TOWNSHIP. 



457 



Forest City with the early settlers and after a time 
went to Chicago and resided one year. He then 
returned to Minnesota and assisted a Mr. Dayton 
in laying out a townslte, buUding a saw and grist 
mill in the Crow River Valley. Mr. Quinn was 
united in marriage in Mobile, Alabama, with Miss 
Margaret O'Shea, on the 10th of Ajiril, 1860. In 
1862, he enlisted in the First Alabama Mounted 
(Cavalry, and after serving one year was transferred 
to a gLin boat in Mobile bay, remaining till the close 
of the war. He then opened a grocery store in 
Mobile, and after running it two years sold out 
and came again to Minnesota and bought land in 
section nine, ten, and sixteen of this township and 
has since made this jjlace his home. He has filled 
different offices of trust and is at present chairman 
of the board of Supervisors. He is the father of 
seven children; Edward, William, Mary A., Cath- 
arine A., Margaret, Honora, and John. Mr. 
Quinn has traveled quite extensively throiigh 
both the northern and southern States. 

Captain James A. Robson, deceased, one of the 
early settlers of Freeborn county, was born in 
western New York, on the 23d of May, 1825. 
His father died when he was an infant, and he 
lived with his mother until 1847, when he remov- 
ed to Rock county, Wisconsin, and settled in 
Magnolia. He was joined in matrimony on the 
'26th of October, 1848, to Miss Martha Partridge, 
and the union was blessed with four children. In 
1857, Mr. Robson came to Geneva, and in 1859 
was elected County Sheriff and moved to Albert 
Lea, where he also carried on a hotel, the Webber 
House, during his term of service. In August, 
1862, he took an active part in raising Company 
E, of the Tenth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry 
and by unanimous voice was chosen its Captain. 
He was accidently shot by Lieut. McCarty of 
Company H, and died on the 9th of November, of 
the same year, two days after the accident. He 
was a popular man at home aud in the army, and 
his death was a great loss to the community in 
■which he lived. 

Alexander Schutt, one of the pioneers of 
Geneva, was born in Quebec, Canada, on the 2Sth 
of February, 1833. He remained at his birth- 
place until twenty-one years old, then was en- 
gaged at the carpenter trade for three years in 
Ontario. In 1866, he married Miss Elizabeth Car- 
son and the same year came to Minnesota. They 
came directly to this county and first settled in 



Moscow, but the same year came to this township 
and took land in sections eleven and twelve. They 
have a family of eight children; Hiram, Francis, 
John, James, Albert, Maria, Lillie, and Alexander. ■ 
Mr. Schutt now owns a fine farm of six hundred 
acres and good buildings. 

Dk. Willis H. Twifoed was born on the 12th 
of May, 1821, in Fayette county, Ohio. His 
mother died when he was seven years old 
and left the family of ten children. In early 
life Willis improved all opportunities afforded 
him for obtaining an education, attending the 
Academy of Delaware, Ohio, for two terms. He 
afterward entered the office of Dr. J. Sidney Skin- 
ner at West Canaan, Ohio, and studied medicine 
three years, taking his degree as M. D. at the 
Starling Medical College of Columbus. In April, 
1846, he was joined in wedlock with Miss Nancy 
R. Darning, daughter of Jeremiah Darning, Esq., 
of Madison county, Ohio. Dr. Twiford jsracticed 
his profession in Pleasant Valley, now Plain City, 
until August, 1853, when he removed to Union 
City, Indiana, and remained there till the war. 
He entered the Twenty-fifth Indiana Regiment as 
Assistant Surgeon, and was soon after commis- 
sioned Surgeon, being in charge of the hospital 
on the Antietam battle field. He was appointed 
by General Hooker, Surgeon in Chief of the First 
Division of the Twelfth Army Corps and held the 
same until July, 1864, when he resigned in con- 
sequence of an injury of the spine, resulting in 
partial paralysis. The same year he came to 
Minnesota, and settled at River Point, in Steele 
county. Ha was elected to the ninth Minnesota 
Legislature, and in 1870, resumed his practice of 
medicine, coming to Geneva in July, 1873. 

Charles E. Vinton was born in Hampshire 
county, Massachusetts, on the 23d of January, 
1826. When he was five years old his parents 
moved to Cattaraugus county, New York, and in 
1856, to McHenry county, Illinois, settling on a 
farm. Charles was married in 1851, to Miss Brit- 
ana Hurlburt, a native of New York. After a resi- 
dence of two years in Illinois they came to Min- 
nesota, and took land in Summit, Steele county. 
In 1875 they removed to Geneva, where Mr. Vin- 
ton bought twenty-two lots in the town site, and 
has since added five more to his purchase. He is 
the father of three children; Mary, Martinette, 
and Cliarles W. 

John W. Walaski, one of the earlv settlers of 



458 



HISTORY OF FREEBOUN COUNTY. 



this place, was born at Castle Garden in New 
York, on the 5th of January, 1831. His father 
was a Polander and a captain in the Begiilar 
Army, being: among the ninety-sis banished from 
that country at the fall of the empire. Those 
banished came to America and took the oath of 
allegiance to the United States, and were cared 
for by the Government, each family given one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in To Daviess 
county, Illinois. Air. Walaski's jjarents settled 
there and remained until the breaking out of the 
Black Hawk War when they removed to Jefferson 
Barracks, Mi.isouri. His father joined the army 
and went to J^lorida, where he took part in the 
Seminole War, leaving his famiy at Fort Clark, 



near St Louis. After a service of four years he 
returned to Illinois and settled on Government 
land in Clay County where they resided until 
18.57, then came to Minnesota to seek a home. 
The father and son both took laud in this county 
and in 1862, came to Geneva, where the former 
(lied on the 30th of November in the same year. 
His widow died on the 14th of November. 1870, 
aged fifty -six years. In 186'2, John went witli a 
volunteer company, furnished his own horse and 
equipments, and went west to guard the frontier 
until relieved by government troops. He was 
married in 1865, to Miss Amy Baker, and they 
have one child, Edna G. 



HA YAVARD 



CHAPTEB LXII. 

General description — eaklt settlement — poi^- 

ITICAL events OE INTEREST STATISTICS 

SCHOOLS — BIOGRAPHICAL. 

This township is the southeast of the six in- 
terior towns of the county, and the towns in 
contact with it are, Riceland on the north; Oakland 
on the east; Shell Ruck on the south; and Albert 
Lea on the west. It is six miles square, like all 
the other towns in the county. 

An arm of Lake Albert Lea, three miles long 
and a third of a mile wide, lays near the western 
boundary, in a north and south direction. A stream 
called Peter Lund Creek enters the lake in section 
seven, made up of two branches arising back in 
the town. 

The land may be described as prairie, with oak 
openings and meadow land interspersed, the prai- 
rie predominating; the timber being found mostly 
in the western part of its territory, in the region 
of the lake. In tlie northern part of this region 
may be found, with the oak, some |)oplar timber. 



while soutliward the wood is red oak and a small 
growth of poplar. The heaviest timber is in sec- 
tion thirty-one, which is divided into wood lots of 
five, ten, or twenty acres. The prairie is rolling, 
and some of it inclined to be low. The north- 
east part of the township, particularly in sections 
eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, has not yet 
been reclaimed, and is still owned bv the State 
and railroad. A scheme is however contemplated 
by which the whole tract is to be drained and 
improved. 

The soil, as a rule, is a black loam, productive 
of all crops in this latitude. The subsoil is clay 
and gravel. The Southern Minnesota railroad 
runs through the town from east to west, entering 
it on section one and leaving it from section 
seven. 

EAliLY SETTLEMENT. 

The town was named in honor of David Hay- 
ward, an early settler, who came from Postville, 
Iowa, in tbe summer of 1856, and selected a place 
in section six, claiming a quarter section, and 



If A Y WAIl D TO WNSUIP. 



459 



there he Kved until 1858, when he returned to 
Iowa. His taxes becoming delinquent the place 
was sold, and it is now owned in part by Charles 
E. Fisher. 

The first two settlers were two Norskmen, Peter 
Lund and E. Gilbraudsou, who came in company 
from Iowa county, Wisconsin. They left their 
families iu Houston county, and came through to 
this place and secured claims on sections eight and 
seventeen, and on the 20th of June, 1856, they 
went back and brought their families. At first 
they lived in a tent arranged by poles and wagon 
covers; in this they lived until fall, when they dug 
a hole in the ground, and sodding it over existed 
in that for a year. 

The very first breaking done in the town was 
by a young man named Olson Andrews, on sec- 
tion thirty-two. This was in the summer of 
1856. 

James Andrews also broke some land on section 
thirty -two. He lived in the town of Shell Bock 
before he brought his family. 

The next comers were the Peccsylvania Ger- 
mans, two of whom located in Albert Lea and one 
here. 

William Newcomb, in the fall of 1856, drifted 
on to section seven with his family and a team of 
horses, and put up a log house, which he staid in 
until 1874, when he sold to John Murphy, and 
took himselt to Council Bluifs, Iowa. 

In section eight the first settlement was made 
by Norwegians. 

Section two was settled by Americans. 

The southeast corner of the township was first 
settled by Americans, but is now inhabited by 
Bohemians. 

Lysander K. Luce came to this town in April, 
18.58, and surrounded a claim on sections seven 
and eight. He was from Clayton county, Iowa, 
and pulled through this roadless region with an 
ox team. He constructed a timber residence, 
which was all the fashion on the frontier, and 
here he lived and wrought until on the 16th of June 
1882, he drifted across that mystic river of which 
we talk so much and know so 'little. He was a 
native of New York State, 

Lysander Eaymond Luce, Sen., deceased, This 
Freeborn county pioneer entered upon the enjoy- 
ment of human life on the 21st of July, 1814, at 
Stowe, Vermont, and at the age of twenty-six was 
married to Ann Morrison, of his native town. 



They lived there until 1855, and had five chil- 
dren. At this time he caught the western fever, 
which was then epidemic in New England, and 
brought his family to Clayton county, Iowa, 
and remained two years. Then removed to Albert 
Lea and staid one year when he went to Hayward. 
His release from the body was by a lingering 
method which he bore with great fortitude, and 
was on the 16th of .Tune, 1882. 

POLITICAL. 

The first town meeting in response to a legal 
notice was held on the first Tuesday in April, 1859 
at the house of S. H. Ludlow. According to the 
records there were two moderators, S. H. Ludlow 
and I. W. Devereux. The officers of the election 
were H. M. Luce and Charles Bush. On motion 
the meeting adjourned to meet at the house of 
Charles Bush, where the following officers were 
elected: Supervisors, J. W. Devereux, Chairman, 
Peter Lund, and H. L. Dow; Clerk, Charles 
Bush; Treasurer, Peter Lund; Assessor, A. T. 
Butts; Justice of the Peace, Charles Bush : Con- 
stable, H. L. Dow. 

The whole number of votes cast at this election 
was nine, and there was no charge of ballot-box 
stuffing. 

A tax of fifty dollars was levied for town ex- 
penses. It was voted that the next town meeting 
be at the house of A. T. Butts, on section .seven- 
teen. 

Since that time the town has run on in the even 
tenor of its way, and the expenses of the govern- 
ment have been gradually increasing until it has 
now got up to the sum et -5125, the amount raised 
for 1882, and yet no motion has been made to 
have a committee of investigation to see what has 
become of their money. It is evident that this is 
a poor town for rings. 

At the election held on the 27th of March, 1882, 
the following officers were elected : Supervisors, 
H. C. Nelson, Chairman, Ole Anderson, and Peter 
O. Stensven; Clerk, R. Campbell; Treasurer, Peter 
Lund; Assessor, E. W. Knatvold. 

The whole number of votes cast at this election 
was eighty, although the number of registered 
voters is 190. So that less than one-half turned 
out. The established polling place is the Howard 
sohoolhouse, in District No. 34. 

HAYWARD VILLAGE. 

A village was platted here in 1869 by H. C. 
I Lacy. Martha P. Gibbs was the proprietor and 



460 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



it was recorded on the 20th of December. Morin 
& Armstrong, of Albert Lea, took an interest in 
the village in 1870 and erected a warehouse on thr 
railroad grunuds. Tlie next building put up was 
a store and dwelling by Oliver Nelson in the fall 
of 1870, In 1877 he sold to R. Campbell and 
went to Laki' Mills, Iowa. In 1S7(I the depot was 
built. 

It is a mere hamlet, and to-day is made up of a 
good size! store, kept by Hanson brothers; two 
blacksmith shops; a boarding house kept by 
William Hoyt; two warohou.ses, and two dwelling 
houses. The population consists of five families. 
The location is in section nine, and it is six and 
one half miles east of Albert Lea. 

POST-OFFICE. 

This perquisite of civilization was established 
during the war, in 1863. The first man entrusted 
with the key to unlock the mail pouch was M. W. 
Campbell, who received and distributed the mail 
in his house on section four. In 1870 it was 
transferred to the village, to Oliver Hanson's care, 
in the store, and after a time it was turned over to 
H. T. Hanson, who is still entitled to write P. M. 
after his name. It has a daily mail each way, 
from^the train. 

WIND FEED MILL. 

There is a feed mill, driven by wind, on the 
railroad in section eight. It was built by M. M. 
Luce in 1877, and is 18x32, two stories high, and 
has a capacity, when there is sufficient wind, to 
grind two hundred bushels a day. It is one and 
one fourth miles west of the village. 

PATRONS OF HVSBANDBY. 

A Grange was instituted on the 9th of Decem- 
ber, 1874, in the sohoolhouse in district number 
sixty. The prominent officers were, Luther 
Phelps, Wm. Bragg, and G. Y. Slocum. At first 
there were thirty members and meetings were 
kept up until some time in 1879, when the char- 
ter was surrendered. At one time it was flourish- 
ing, having seventy members. A hall was built 
in 1876, 20x40 feet, one story high. It finally 
passed in the hands of Robert Campbell, Jr., and 
is now owned by Hanson ife Brother who use it for 
■tore purposes. 

CEMETERY. 

The city of the dead, where all mortality finds 
a home at last, is on section nine, south of the 



village of Hayward, on a commanding piece of 
ground. The association was organized in June, 
1874, the first officers being Olson Nelson and 
Andrew Gilbrandson. There are four acres. The 
first one to leave his earthly remains here was 
Arne Overby, in the winter of 1874. He was a 
native of Norway and lived on section twenty- 
three, being one of the early settlers. At the 
time of his demise he was about forty years of 
age. There are now sixteen graves here. 

EARLY EVENTS. 

Ole P. Lund, son of Peter and Else Lund, as is 
reported, was the first settler to arrive by birth in 
this town. It was on the 27th of May, 18,58, and 
he still lives here and is himself a married man. 

The first known death was that of an infant 
child of Philo Butts, in the winter of 18.58, who at 
(hat time lived in section seventeen, but in 1862 
he returned to Wisconsin. 

STATISTICS. 

The Ye.^b 1881. — The area included in this 
report takes in the whole town, as follows: 

Wheat — 3,858 acres, yielding 40,132 bushels. 

Oats— 787 acres, yielding 25,283 bushels. 

Com — 612 acres, yielding 25,340 bushels. 

Barley — 91 acres, yielding 2,055 bushels. 

Rye — 33 acres, yielding 354 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 6 acres, yielding 47 bushels. 

Potatoes— -37 acres, yielding 3,682 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 2 acres, yielding 420 gallons. 

(Cultivated hay — 66 acres, yielding 98 tons. 

Flax — 20 acres, yielding 193 bushels. 

Other products — 5 acres. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881 — 5,517. 

Wild hay— 2,075 tons. 

Timothy seed — 7 bushels. 

Apples — number of trees growing, 1,251; num- 
ber bearing, 307, yielding 124 bushels. 

Grapes — 242 vines, yielding 210 pounds. 

Sheep — 117 sheared, yielding 497 pound of 
wool. 

Dairy — 282 cows, yielding 24,625 pounds of 
butter and 200 pounds of cheese. 

Hives of bees — 9, yielding 100 pounds of 
honey. 

The Year 1882.— Wheat, 2,898 acres; oats, 
848; corn, 932; barley, 178; rye, 69: buckwheat, 
20; potatoes, 82: beans, 3; sugar cane, 1; cultiva- 
ted hay, 149; flax, 30; total acreage cultivated in 
1882—5,210. 



HATWARD TOWNSHIP. 



461 



Apple trees growing — 1,196; bearing, 489. 

Grapes — vines bearing, 245. 

Milch cows — 243. 

Sheep — 135, yielding 581 pounds of wool. 

Whole number of farms oultivated in 1882 — 87. 

PopniiATioN. — The census of 1870 gave Hay 
ward a jjopulation of 382. The last census, taken 
in 1880, reports 659 for this town; showing an 
increase of 277. 



The first school taught in this town was in the 
north part, in section three, in a timber building 
which was put up for that purpose. Miss Olive 
Callahan was the first to teach the young idea how 
to shoot under this roof, and B. Lamb taught here 
from 1864 until 1875. It was finally removed to 
the village, and is now District No. 34. The first 
school here was held at the Grange hall on the 2d 
of October, 1875 The officers elected were E. A. 
Campbell, Lars Lund, and Peter Lund. The 
present building cost about $700, is 24x36 feet, 
and has seats for about forty scholars. The first 
school here was managed by W. Cooley in the 
late autuma of 1875 at 832 per month, with forty 
pupils. 

District No. 35. — This was organized in 1866 
at the house of Watson Brown. The first officers 
were O. Andrews, .James Andrews, and Watson 
Brown. In the aummer of that year they succeeded 
in getting up a log house, 16x20 feet. In 1880, 
the old house becoming inadequate to the wants 
of the district, a new one was built, a frame struc- 
ture. 18x30 feet, with room for eighty scholars, at 
a cost of $700. 

District No. 36. — In 1864 this district assumed 
form; the meeting for organization being in the 
house of Peter Lund, on the 12th of April, and a 
log house was soon rolled together on section 
eighteen, 16x18 feet. The first school had four- 
teen jiupils. It was called to order and managed 
by* Miss Esther Lowry, for .$20 a mouth. Tlie 
first school officers were Peter Lund, Andrew San- 
derson, and L. R. Luce. 

District No. 60. — In 1864 this was taken from 
No. 35, and created into a new district, the first 
meeting being held at the house of Daniel Chute, 
on the 2d of June, 1864. The first officers were 
Daniel Chute, Luther Phelps, and David Ansley. 
They proceeded to build a log house without floor, 
and with a sod roof, and dignified it by calling it 
a schoolhouse, but it was the best they could do. 



and here Miss Emma Fenholt got togethes thir- 
teen pupils and taught them ten weeks for .$2 per 
week and boarded herself. The house now there 
was constructed in 1875 at a cost of .$400. It is 
20x26 feet and can seat thirty-five. The last 
school was taught by Miss Helleu Hare, at |22 
per month, and there were twenty-three scholars; 
considerable more difference in the wages than in 
the number of pupils. 

BI0GB.1PHICAL. 

Robert Campbell, Sr., one of the pioneers of 
this county, is a native of Vermont, born in Ches- 
ter, Windsor county, on the 7th of September; 
1795. His father was a revolutionary soldier, and 
drew a pension until the time of his death. In 
the spring of 1855, Mr. Campbell came to Wis- 
consin and resided on a farm in Janesville, Rock 
county, until coming to this township in 1858. 
He drove here with an ox team, and staked out a 
claim in section ten where he has lived ever since. 
He was appointed Postmaster in 1865, and has held 
other local offices. The maiden name of his wife 
was Belinda Woodward and of ten children born of 
the union, six are living. One son was killed in 
the army, and had he lived would now be sixty- 
one years old. 

Robert Campbell, Jr., a sou of the subject of 
our last sketch, was also born in Chester, Windsor 
county, Vermont, his birth dating the 14th of 
March, ls36, and at the age of nineteen years 
came with his parents to Wisconsin. He went 
from there to California in 1859, and was engag- 
ed in the mines and in tlic lumber business for 
eight years, then took a trip to Oregon and 
Washington territories and returned to San Fran- 
cisco. In 1867 he came to Minnesota and located 
in section ten, Hay ward. The following year he 
was married to Miss Isadore A. Luce, the ceremo- 
ny taking place on the 23d of March. After 
living on his farm some years Mr. Campbell 
removed to Albert Lea, and started in the machin- 
ery business with Gilbrandson and Bro., and 
remained with them for five years, then returned 
to this place and in the autumn of 1877 bought 
Granger's Hall, converted it into a store building 
and commenced trade. In March, 1880, he sold 
to Hanson Bros, and moved to section four, where 
he now lives. His farm contains five hundred and 
forty acres and he also owns a warehouse and 
haypressin the village. He was Postmaster from 



462 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



1877 to 1880, and has been Town Clerk since 
1878. He is the father of five children. 

Nehemi.\h W. C.\MrBELL, deceased, was a na- 
tive of Vermont, born on the 29th of April, 1823. 
He married the daughter of Amos Robbiiis; she 
was born on the 25th of November, 1825, in Ver- 
mont, the marriage ceremony takmg place on the 
30th of September, 1849. In 1857 Mr. Campbell 
moved with his family to Wisconsin, and the fol- 
lowing year he came to Hayward, located a farm 
in section four, and brought his family the follow- 
ing year. ()u the 7th of November, 18()4, he en- 
listed in Company C, of the First Minnesota 
Heavy Artillery, under Capt. George S. Ruble, and 
served until the 18tb of May, 1865, wheu he died 
in the hospital. His widow lives on the old home- 
stead with Elbridge A., the oldest son, who was 
born on the 18th of February, 1851. He has 
been Justice of the Peace and school Clerk, each, 
several years. Mrs. Campbell has another son 
and two daughters. 

Joseph Feabn, was born in England on the 
20th of June, 1832. He came to America when 
eighteen years old and remained in Ohio one year, 
thence to Illinois, and in a year enlisted at Chicago 
in the regular array for a period of five years. 
During the time he was in several skirmishes with 
the Indians, tlieu went to New Mexico and accom- 
panied emigrants across the plains to California. 
During the Mountain Meadow massacre he was 
for nine days buried in the snow with nothing to 
eat but horse flesh. After receiving his discharge 
on the 15th of August, 1860, he traveled through 
Kansas to Ohio, and on the 20th of June, 1862, 
married Miss Sarah McClum, who was born on 
the 5tb of June, 1825. In 1869 Mr. Fearn came 
to Minnesota, and for some time was engaged in 
keeping a boarding-house at Armstrong, then re- 
moved to Hayward and located a farm in section 
twenty, which is well improved with a fine 
orchard. He is the father of one child. 

A. P. Hanson is a native of Norway, born on 
the 6th of May, 1849, and emigrated with his 
parents to America wheu twelve years old. They 
came directly to Minnesota and resided in Ban- 
croft for one year, then came to Hayward and 
lived on a farm a number of years. In 1870 Mr. 
Hanson was married to Miss Oleana Hanson, and 
they have five children. In 1880 they m .ved to 
the village and his brother bought the Campbells' 
store where A. P. has since devoted his time, keep- 



ing a line of general merchandise on the corner of 
Main street. The Post-ofSce is located at their 
store. 

Edwakd W. Knat%'old was bom in Norway on 
the 11th of April, 1851, and came with his par- 
ents to America when eleven years old. They 
came directly to this township and took a home- 
stead in section eighteen where Edward assisted 
in the farm labor until twenty -three years old. 
He then bought a farm of his own, has twice 
added to it ind now owns three hundred and forty 
acres containing good buildings. He was mar- 
ried on the 16th of November, 1874, to Miss 
Nettie Barny and the union has been blessed 
with four children. Mr. Knatvold is a partner of 
Robert Campbell in a hay press and warehouse 
in the village of Hayward. His father came 
from Norway to this country and immediately en- 
listed in the army, served one year and settled on 
his present farm. He is now sixty-five years 
old. 

Sami'ed T. Kirkpatrick is a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born on the 1st of May, 1836. At the age 
of thirteen years he left home and worked on 
farms until sixteen years old when he served an 
apprenticeship of two years in a blacksmith shop. 
He then moved to Armstrong county, worked 
three years and in 1856, came to Utica, Crawford 
county, where he erected a shop and remained 
several years. On the 17th of December, 1857, 
he was joined in matrimony with Miss Nancy 
Davis. In 1864, Mr. Kirpatrick sold his shop, 
bought a farm and carried it on in connection 
with another shop for six years. In March, 1870, 
he came to this place, purchased eighty acres in 
section thirty-three, and in June returned for his 
family, settling on tlie farm the same year. He 
,iow owns two hundred and forty acres all im- 
proved, with a fine grove all around his house. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick have a family of five; 
Mary Auu, twenty-four years old; Martha J., 
,wenty-two; Leonard C, nineteen; Robert T., 
.'ourteen; and Frank J., twelve. 

Milton M. Lt'ce, one of the early settlers of 
this place, was born in Vermont on the 21st of 
.September, 1843. He resided with his parents on 
,1 farm in his native State until 1855, when they 
aoved to Clayton county, Iowa. In the spring of 
1857, his father came to Minnesota, left his 
.'iimily in Albert Lea and pre-empted land in Hay- 
ivard where they have since lived. In 1861, Mil- 



HAY WARD TOWNSHIP. 



463 



tou eulistei in the Fourth Miunesota Vohinteer 
lafan'ry, Cjmpmy I; at the fall of Vicksburg he 
was transferred to the Invalid Corps, sent to Bock 
Island and remained during the winter of 1863 
and '64. In October of the latter year, he went 
to Chicago where he received an h(jnorable dis- 
cliarge and returned horns, remaining until March 
1st, 1865, when he went to St. Paul as a veteran 
in Company A, of the Ninth Regiment, Hancock's 
First Veteran corps; was mustered in on the 10th 
of March and witnessed the hanging of 
Lincoln's conspirators. He was sent to 
InJia'iapolis, Indiana, where he guarded Gov- 
ernment stores till March, 1866, when he was 
mustered out. The same month he was united in 
marriage with Miss M. E. Stulty of the latter 
place. Mr. Luce returned with his wife to his 
home and remained until 1869, when he moved to 
Albert Lea where he was constable four years, 
and also worked at the carpenter trade; was elec- 
ted City Mar,-5hal in 1874; in 1877, he returned 
to his father's farm where he still resides. 

Samuel Lajjdis was born on the 4th of May, 
1837, in Ohio, and lived with his father until of 
age, when he came west. After a residence of two 
years in Iowa he returned to Ohio and in the fall 
of 1861. came to Blue Earth, Faribault county, 
Minnesota. He soon after enlisted in the First 
Minnesota Mounted Rangers, Company K, went 
to St. Peter, thence to Missouri River and fought 
the Indians, participating in eight battles. After 
receiving his discharge he went to Ohio and re- 
enlisted in Company H, of the One Hundred and 
Ninty-seventh Ohio Regiment; was sent south to 
Virginia and remained in service until the close 
of the war, receiving an honorable discharge on 
the .Slst of July, 1865. On the 21st of December 
following he was married to Miss Eva Smith, by 
whom he has three children. For four years after 
his marriage he lived in Michigan, then came to 
Freeborn county and bought a farm in section 
twenty-six, Hayward, moved his family here in 
October, 1869, and has since made it his home. 
He and his wife are members of the United 
Brethren Church. 

Peter Lund, one of the pioneers of this place, 
was born in Norway on the 13th of June, 1820. 
He was married in his native place on the 16th of 
June, 1846, to Miss Elsie Gravli, and they have 
two children. In 1850, he came to America, loca- 
ted first on Rock Prairie, Wisconsin, and a year 



later moved to Iowa county in the same State, 
where he worked in lead mines three years; then 
moved to Iowa, and a yenr afterward to "Minpe- 
sota. He came to this township and selected 
claims in sections eighteen and eight, returned 
to Iowa for his family, whom he brought here 
with an ox team, arriving on the 1st of July, 1856. 
Mr. Lund now owns three hundred and twenty 
acres, a large portion of which is cultivated. He 
was the first Town Treasurer, and held the same 
several years. 

John Park is a native of Huron county, Ohio, 
born on the 23rd of May, 1833. His mother died 
when he was nineteen years old, after which he 
came to Winneb.igo county, Wisconsin, and after 
a residence of eight years moved to Waushara 
county, where he took a claim and remained two 
years. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Rice, 
from New York, and they have a family of nine 
children. In 1861, Mr. Park came to Minnesota, 
lived on a farm near ,\lbert Lea one year, then 
moved to Hartland, and the same year came to 
Hayward, first bought railroad laud, and in the 
spring of 1866, purchased his brother's farm in 
section twenty-nine, which is well improved and 
_'ontains a good frame house. 

Edmund Town is a native of Vermont, born on 
the 26th of August, 1822. When twenty -one years 
old he removed to New York where, on the 12th 
of December, 1843, he married Miss Betsy E. J. 
Lyon, formerly from Vermont. In 1854, they 
came to Minnesota, arriving in Shell Rock on the 
2d of May. Mr. Town purchased a hotel, of which 
he was landlord until 1876, then traded it for a 
farm in this township, and moved here on the 14th 
of November of that year. While at Shell Rock 
he served as Justice of the Peace two years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Town have a family of five; their oldest 
son served in the late war, enlisting in Company 
C, of the One Hundred and Eighteenth New York 
Regiment in 1863. 

Thomas Wiley was born in Boston Massachu- 
setts, on the 2l8t of November, 1820. At the age 
of thirteen years he was apprenticed to a manu- 
aeturer of printing presses, where he remained 
several years, subsequently learning the trade of 
^nano forte maker in his native city. In 1840, he 
mgaged with a firm of book publishers and deal- 
ers, remaining some six years. He was married 
,u 1846, to Mis? Emily A. Johhson, of Worcester, 
.Massachusetts. A tew years later they removed 



iCA 



HISTORY OF FHEBBORN COUNTY. 



to Detroit, Michigan, where he was employed in 
the Superintendent's oflBce of the M. C. Railroad, 
subseqnently moved to Chicago, Illinois, afterward 
to Central Illinois, and in 1856, was elected Clerk 
ot the Circuit Court and Recorder of Deeds in 
McHenry county, which office he held four years. 
He enlisted in the One Hundred and Twelfth Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, but was rejected on 
account of pliysical disability. He was engaged 
in the dry goods business in Chicago for several 
years. In 1857, his wife died, leaving four chil- 



dren. He was afterward married to Miss Harriet 
E. Soule in Cambridge, Illinois. Three children 
survive their mother, who died in Albert Lea in 
June, 1882. Mr. Wiley moved to this place in 

1873, and purchased a farm in section tliirt^'-three. 
He has been forward in promoting agricultural 
enterprises, successfully managing the county 
fairs and introducing improved machinery. In 

1874, he was elected Justice ot the Peace, and has 
since filled the office. 



HARTLAND, 



CHAPTER LXIII. 

Desokiptive — Eably Days — Matteks of Inter- 
est — Official Record — Village op Habtland 
— Statistics^ Schools — Biographical. 

The town bearing this name is one of the 
northern tier of townships in Freeborn county, and 
in the second tier from the west. It is bounded 
on the north by Waseca county; on the south by 
the township of Manchester; on the east by Bath; 
and on the west by Freeborn. It is constituted 
as originally surveyed, of thirty-six sections, l)ut 
the survey correction line passing through it cuts 
off 278.8") acres, making it so much less than the 
usual congressional township, and leaving about 
22,861.15 acres. 

It is almost entirely a prairie town, and the ex- 
panse of undulating prairie jjresents a pleasing 
and beautiful contrast to the usual broken and 
spar.sely timbered sections throughout this part of 
Minne.sota. There are yet, however, traces of 
timber in the town, most of it about Mule Lake, 
in sections thirteen, fourteen, twenty-three, and 
twenty-four; and in the western part, in and about 
sections seven and twenty, although the latter has 
long since been converted into fertile and valua- 
ble farms. 



The entire area of the town is well adapted to 
the modes of agriculture and crops of the day, 
and the farmers are, as a rule, in moderate cir- 
cupistances, with fair farm buildings and moderate 
conveniences. The soil is of a dark loam, from 
eighteen to twenty-four inches in depth, underlaid 
with a sub- soil ot clay. Rocks or stone of any 
kind are scarce, and there is no limestone what- 
ever. The soil in the burr oak region of Mule 
Lake is more of a sandy nature. 

There are two water courses in the town and 
one lake. Mule Lake is situated in the four cor- 
ners of sections thirteen, fourteen, twenty-throe 
and twenty-four, and constitutes the head waters 
of the LeSueur River, which takes a northward 
course, bearing a little to the east, until it loaves 
the township, when it bears westwardly. Boot 
Creek rises in section ten and Hows northwesterly 
to enter Waseca county. 

Tlie Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad crosses 
the township from north to south, and on it is lo- 
cated the village bearing the same name as the 
township. 

A few words as to the lake will not be out of 
place. The Indians named it Le Sueur, and it went 
bv this name through the early settlement; but, 



UABTLAND rOWlSTSHIP. 



465 



n 1857, a fiue span of mules belonging to B. J. 
Boardman were drowned in it, and tlie settlers 
began designating it as Mule Iiake, until it was 
as generally known under this caption as the 
other. The lake finally got upon the map as 
Le Sueur or Mule Lake, and thus both will be 
perpetuated. 

IN EARLY DATS. 

There seems to be a preponderating amount 
of testimony that the first settlers in this town- 
ship were the Boardman brothers, who came in 
the spring of 1857, and located about Le Sueur 
or Mule Lake, one taking on the south and the 
other to the east of that body of water. Both 
had families and at once commenced the erec- 
tion of. houses. They remained for about one 
year and then left for parts unknown. 

About the same time, two others, whose names 
have been forgotten, made their appearance and 
took claims on the north and west sides of Mule 
Lake; thus surrounding it. But little is known 
of the actions of any of these; as they left 
shortly for other scenes. 

Uncle Charles Sheldon joined this settlement 
at about the period of its starting, coming from 
Kochester and taking a place just north of Mule 
Lake, in section thirteen, where he yet remains. 

Levi Jones next put in an appearance, having 
come from Geneva, and jumped a claim from a 
Norwegian named Wunj, and during the sum- 
mer he was joined by a Mr. Montgomery, who 
took a jjlace just west of Uncle Sheldon's, built 
a house and remained until the next spring, 
when he left. Jens Thorson also came early 
this summer, and took the place he now occu- 
pies. 

In October, 1857, George McColley, of New 
York, accompanied by his family and brother- 
in-law, Charles Morehouse, came with a yoke of 
cattle, a cow, and his household furnitiire, and 
located in section twenty-nine. Mr. McColley 
still lives on his place, although his estimable 
wife' has passed away. He is one of Freeborn 
county's most public-spirited men. Charles 
Morehouse settled in section twenty, but ha ^ 
since moved away. 

About the same time came the Motson family, 
consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Motson, and the five 
boys, Ole, Erick, Mot, John, and Andrew, who 
all settled about George McColley's place. They 
were Norwegians, and all are yet living in the 
30 



town except the old gentleman, who died several 
years ago, and Mot Motson, who hung himself in 
Hartland. 

In the fall of 1858, a pair from Wisconsin, in 
the personnel of John P. Duncan and John P. 
Huggins, drifted in and secured homes. Dun- 
can dropped anchor in section twenty, and 
remained a citizen of the town until within two 
years, when matters became too torrid for him 
and he left between two days, as the saying 
goes. Huggins was a true man, and settling 
in section twenty-eight remained until the war 
broke out, when he enlisted and heroically died 
in defense of his native land. 

The same year witnessed the arrival of Sandy 
Purdie, William 0. Cram, Hat. Pierce, and 
Jonathan Pickard, who all took places and are 
yet on them, except the last named, Jonathan 
Pickard, who now resides "in Freeborn town- 
ship. 

In 1859, Seth. S. Challis, of the New Eng- 
land States, made his arrival and commenced a 
sojourn in section thirty-one, which he still con- 
tinues. 

Speculators, after this, took most of the land, 
and if early settlers wanted it they must pur- 
chase at a good round figure. At this time the 
town had no name, more than Town 104, Kange 
22. 

MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

The first birth in Hartland township was 
Mary A. McColley, on the 9th of August, 1858. 
She is now Mrs. Charles Doty, and yet resides in 
the town. Freeman Beede was another early 
birth. 

The first marriage ceremony performed within 
the limits of the town, took place in May, 1859, 
the high contracting parties being Mr. J. Seely 
and Miss Frances Farris. 

Death, that insatiable enemy to immortality, 
soon hovered over the little community, and took 
as its first victim, Martha, a daughter of William 
and Judith Wrangham, aged nine years, on the 
18th of June, 1859. 

The township was named Hartland by Mrs. O. 
Sheldon, in 1858, and she also bestowed the same 
name upon the Post-office, which was established 
at the same time, with O. Sheldon as Postmaster. 
What the name was in honor of, or what had 
suggested it, we are unable to say. 

During the late war of the rebellion bonds were 



466 



HISTORY OF rut;EBOUN COUNT r. 



voted to the amount of SI, 700, to secure volun- 
teers, but it seems that it was ineffectual, for two 
drafts were made, notwitlistauding nine volun- 
teers were furnished. John McCartney. John 
McClelland, and Perry Haugen, of this town- 
ship, never returned, the second named leaving a 
wife and child to mourn his loss. 

Bonds to the amount of $10,000 were voted to 
the Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad, as bonus. 

RELiGiors. — Tlie first sermon preached in the 
township was by the Rev. Mr. McReynolds, an 
itinerant Methodist preacher, in the fall of 1858, 
at B. J. Boardraan's house in section twenty- 
four. The Methodist church was organized in 
1859, at William Wrangham's house, with Rev. 
Mr. Corey officiating and six members. The 
society finally merged with other denominations. 

The Congregational society was organized in 
1877, at the schoolhouse of district No. 8, by 
Elder Cobb, with twelve members. .\ store 
building was afterward purchased in the village 
of Hartland and converted into a church. The 
present pastor is Rev. Wilbur Fisk, with a mem- 
bership of thirty-five. 

The Presbyterian denomination first held ser- 
vices in the old log schoolhouse in 1869, with Rev. 
William Wrallson as minister, and for several 
years thereafter services were held regularly ouce 
in three weeks. 

OFFIt'LVL REOORD. 

The early town records of this township are a 
curious set of documents, and should be preserved 
aa a curiosity, if not for official purposes. They 
consist of a small book made of foolscap, con- 1 
taining ten or fifteen pages, and from the center 
of the document soms one has cut about the same 
number of pages, for some reason best known to 
the cutter. The school districts, oaths of officers, 
roads, and all matters pertaining to the town are 
promiscuously thrown together, and the legal 
terms such as ''to wit," "whereas," "therefore," 
etc., are indiscriminately mixed in without regard 
to their appropriateness in connection with the 
subject; but calculated to inspire the sturdy pio- 
neer officers with the full and fearful respDnsihil' 
ity of their positions. 

The first town meeting was held at the house of 
O. Sheldon on the 11th of May, 1858, and the 
following officers were elected for the ensuing 
year: Supervisors, B. J. Boardman, Chairman, .1. 
L. Reynolds, and J. C. Seeley ; Clerk, E. Boardman ; 



Assessor, T. W. Calkins; Collector, B. J. Board- 
man; Constables, Alexander Spencer and James 
Sheehan; Justices of the Peace, T. W. Calkins 
and O. Sheldon; Overseer of the Poor, Jacob 
Heath; Overseers of Roads, E. A. Calkins and B. 
Cromwell. 

The first meeting of Supervisors was held at 
the Town Clerk's office on the Uth of June, 1858, 
at which the town was divided into three road 
districts, and the following gentlemen were made 
overaeers of them: First, E. A. Calkins; second. 
B. Cromwell; third, Charles Morehouse. 

The officers for 1882 are: Supervisors, Olaf 
Lee, Chairman, Sandy Purdie, and Peter Mace; 
Clerk, Peter Griuager; Treasurer, C. Hen<lrickson; 
Justices of the Peace, E. Wicks and S. S. Challis; 
Assessor, Frank Phipps; Constable, Peter 
Peterson. 

VII>I,.\GE OF H.\RTL,\NU. 

This is the only village in the township. It is 
located on a fine village site, on a high portion 
of the town, and at every hand lies a fine view of 
prairie, dotted with the modest homes of thrifty 
farmers and artificial groves, and to the north 
farm houses can be seen at a distance of seven 
miles. The sight is all that can be desired, ex- 
cept the absence of a water course or lake; as one 
inhabitant suggested, "it is a boss site in summer 

but in winter," as its elevation serves as 

an "estoppel," so to speak, of the wind. To the 
stranger the burg presents rather a dreary ap- 
pearance, with tlie "butt ends" oi the buildings 
pointed towards the railroad, and the absence of 
shade trees; but the last objection is fast being 
remedied by the citizens who are planting trees. 

Its E.4.RLV Days. — The laud upon wliich the 
village was started was originally the property of 
Torger Samuelson; but in 1877, when the rail- 
road was started, twenty acres m the northwestern 
corner of section twenty-one, were purchased by 
A. E. Johnson, then of Albert Lea, and it was at 
once platted and the sale of lots begun. At this 
time William Morin platted a few acres of his 
laud east of the railroad track, and for a time con- 
siderable strife existed, a few buildings being erec- 
ted upon both sections. But finally a settlement 
was arrived at and Mr. Morin platted twenty 
acres into lots and blocks, just north of Johnson's 
in the southwest corner of section sixteen, and the 
whole forty and the small portion east of the 



IIARTLAND TOWNSHIP. 



467 



track became the village site. This was at the 
time of the arrival of the railroad. 

The first business opened in the town took 
place in September, 1877. A small frame build- 
ing was moved from the town of Manchester to 
this place by Andrew J. Anderson, and opened 
for a boarding house. In a few months he sold 
it to Mots Motson, who enlarged and remodeled 
it, carrying it on for a year or so when he commit- 
ted suicide by hanging himself, and the building 
is now occupied as a residence by his widow. 

In Sejjtember of the same year, 1877, J. P. 
Grinager and C. K. Hovland put up a frame 
building 20x80, one story high, and in November 
put in their stock of general merchandise. About 
two years later Mr. Hovland retired from the firm 
and Mr. Grinager continues it alone. 

About the same time Scarseth and Lee com- 
menced building and opened their $4,000 stock of 
general merchandise to customers late in October, 
in a building 50x2'2 and two stories high. In 
1879 Mr. Scar.seth died and Mr. Olof Lee has 
since managed the bu.siness. 

In a few weeks after the above advent, E. S. 
Dunn moved a building, 22x.50 feet, from Free- 
born village to Hartland, and with it brought and 
opened a limited stock of drugs. Mr. Dunn 
afterwards sold to Hovland & Nelson, and they in 
turn rented to the present jiroprietor, Dr. M. 
Torkelson. 

The same fall, Hoff & Seim moved a small 
building, 18x24 feet, to the village, bringing also 
a stock of goods, and locating their building east 
of the track, opened a general merchandise store. 
This store was formerly located on the farm of 
Louis Knudson in section fifteen, where the Post- 
ofiice was originally established. In July, 1878, 
the goods were moved to the main part of the 
village, where the business is still continued, now 
under the firm of Seim & Hufland. 

Thus the growth of the village went on, and 
new stores and saloons, and various other shops 
were started, and a number of buildings erected, 
many of which, however, are now vacant. 

In 1881 a building was erected east of the rail- 
road track, size 50x5.5 feet, for a hay press, by 
Tunell & Harper, in which the necessary machin- 
ery was put into operation by a twelve horse- 
power steam engine. This is quite an enterprise, 
and makes a ready market for all the hay put up 
in the neighborhood, baling it for shipment to the 



cities and distant markets. Lately W. P. Ser- 
geant purchased Tunell's interest, and the busi- 
ness is continued under the new firm. 

Warehouses. — The first warehouse erected in 
the village was put up about the middle of Sep- 
tember, 1877, by C. D. White, being a frame 
building, one story, size 32x40 feet. This was 
pretty well filled with grain by the time the rail- 
road got here. 

The next warehouse was put up by C. W. 
Whiton, in November, 1877, size 40x80, one story 
high, and was run by A. MoDermid in the interest 
of the Millers' Association. The latter gentle- 
man purchased it, and in 1881 it was increased in 
size and changed into an elevator with a capacity 
of about 9,000 bushels, using a ten horse-power 
steam engine. This elevator was entirely destroyed 
by fire in the winter of 1881-82. 

In the winter of 1877 Grinager & Fitzgerald 
erected a warehouse 30x60 feet, which was operated 
for three years and then torn down. 

P. Olson erected a warehouse, 30x50 feet, one 
story high, in 1878, which is still on the ground. 

HAKTLAND POST-OFFICE. 

Before the village was thought of this Post- 
office was established and held in various parts of 
the township. In December, 1876, J. C. Hoff was 
appointed Postmaster, and moved the office to his 
store in section fifteen. In the fall of 1877 it was 
removed with the store to the village, and in 1879, 
when he sold out his interest in the store to hia 
partner, Ole A. Seim, the latter gentleman became, 
and still is. Postmaster, with the office at the 
store. Mail now arrives daily on the railroad. 

STATISTICS. 

The teak 1881. — Showing the acreage and 
yield in the township of Hartland for the year 
named. 

Wheat — 4,939 acres, yielding 58,651 bushels. 

Oats— 1,000 acres, yielding 3.3,353 bushels. 

Corn — 735 acres, yielding 29,615 bushels. 

Barley — 77 J^ acres, yielding 1,882 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 7 acres, yieldiug 90 bushels. 

Potatoes — 37 acres, yielding 4.494 bushels. 

Beans — ^,^ of an acre yielding 9 bushels. 

Sugarcane, — 2ig acres, yieldiug 369 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 14 acres, yielding 91 tons. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881, — 6,833. 

Wild hay— 2,799 tons. 

Timothy seed — 413^ bushels, 



468 



iirsrmn' of fiiickborn countt. 



Apples — number of trees growini;, 1,987, num- 
ber bearing, 307, yiekling l-tO;*^ bushels. 

Grapes — 23 vines, yielding 285 J^ pounds. 

Sheep — 690 sheared, yielding 2,979 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 4.09 cows, yielding 33,955 pounds of 
butter. 

Hives of Ijees — 2, yielding 20 pouuds of honey. 

The year 1882— Wheat, 4.431 acres; oats, 
1,109; corn, 1,203; barley, 122: buckwheat, 24; po- 
tatoes, 43; beans, ig ; sugar-cane, 2; cultivated bay, 
52; flax, 1; other products, 55 ig'; total acreage 
cultivated in 1887,05034'. 

Apple trees — growing, 1,881; bearing, 349; 
grapevines bearing, 31. 

Milch cows— 41,6. 

Sheep — 644, yielding 2,880 pounds of wool. 

Farms cultivated in 1881^101. 

Forest trees planted and growing — 209. 

PopoLATioN. — The census of 1870 gave Hart- 
land a population of 485. The last census, taken 
in 1880, reports 699 for this town. Showing an 
increase of 214. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

District No. 8 — The organization of this dis- 
trict was effected in the spring of 1863, at a meet- 
ing held at the house of Aaron Carr in section 
ten. The first officers were; Director, W. J. Mc- 
Clelland; Treasurer, William Wraugham; Clerk, 
William Beede. A log schoolhouse was bought 
for $9, and located in section eleven. The first 
school was taught by Miss Mary Bliss with eight 
scholars enrolled; the last term in this building 
was taught by Miss Maggie McClelland to an 
attendance of forty pupils. The present house 
is located near the center of section eleven, size 
18x24, and cost •'5400. The present officers are 
Messrs. Hendrickson, Peterson, and Phipps. 

District No. 9. — This district embraces the 
territory in the southwestern part of the town- 
ship, with a schoolhouse located in section thirty - 
five, and was among the first districts organized in 
the county, although the records only extend 
back to 1869, prior to tliat having, by some means, 
been lost. The district is in a flourishing condi- 
tion, fully up to the average schools in attendance 
and efficiency. 

District No. 10. — It is claimed that this dis- 
trict was organized in the summer of 1858, and 
' the first school was taught the same year by Mrs. 
Charles Morehouse at her residence, witli six pu- 



pils present. The first school meeting was held in 
the fall of 1858, at the residence of C. Morehouse, 
six voters present, and the following officers were 
elected: Clerk, George McColley; Director, J. P. 
Duncan; Treasurer. Charles Morehouse. In 1863, 
a schoolhouse was erected near the center of the 
district, size 26x30, frame, at a cost of S800, 
which is still in use. The schoolhouse is located 
in the northern part of section thirty-two. 

District No. 62. — The first school held within 
the boundaries of this district was called in the 
summer of 1860, with twelve pupils present, and 
Elizabeth Sibbey as instructor. In the spring 
of 1862 the district effected an organization, the 
officers being L. Knudson, O. Sheldon, and Levi 
Jones, ajid the first school after organization was 
taught by Miss C. Reynolds in a private house. 
In 1868 the school structure was erected in the 
center of section fourteen at a cost of #415. The 
present clerk is Henry Hanson. 

District No. 109.— This is the Hartlaud vil- 
lage school, and, as will be inferred from the 
number, is the youngest school district in the 
township. Prior to its organization the children 
attended in, and the territory was annexed to, 

\ other districts. At the time of platting the vil- 

i lage, or shortly after, the district was 
brought into existence, and in the fall of 
1878 the schoolhouse was erected, being a frame 

j building, size 24x36 feet, two stories, with a bel- 
fry, well painted and furnished, and cost about 
11,800. The lower story is used for church 
services, lectures, town meetings, and all public 
purposes. The school has had as many as fifty- 

I five scholars enrolled and is in a flourishing 
condition now, having about thirty average 
attendance. 

biographical. 

William Beede, one of the jiioneers of this 
place, is a native of Vermont, born on the 9th 
of April, 1824. He was raised on a farm, and 
in 1845, married Miss Cynthia Sleeper, who was 
born in New Hampshire. lu 1856, they came 
west and settled first in Wisconsin and two years 
later started with an ox team for this place. 
They pre-empted land in section four, which has 
since bean their home. They have a family of 
three children. Mr. Beede in an early day took 
an active part in the organization and supjjort 
of the schools. 



IIAKTLAND TOWNSHIP. 



469 



S. S. Ohallis was born in Corinth, Orange 
county, Vermont, on the 7th of April, 1822. In 
1847 he removed to New Hampshire, and in 1850 
to Massachusetts. He was married on the 22d of 
November, 18.52, to Miss N. .Julia Orr, who has 
borne him four children. In 1857 Mr. Challis 
went to California where he remained three years, 
then returned to Vermont, and in June, 1862, came 
to Hartland which has sinc3 been his home, his 
farm being in section thirty-one. He was Chair- 
man of the Board of Supervisors in 1864, and the 
year following elected Justice of the Peace, which 
office he now holds. In 1863 he was chosen and 
served as captain of a military company raised in 
this county. 

Gtilij Guttobmsen, oue of the old residents of 
Hartland, is a native of Norway, born on the 16th 
of June, 1822. He sailed for America in 1850, 
landing in New York on the 4th of July, and 
came directly to Columbia county, Wisconsin. 
On the 10th of February, 1855, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Engelburt Tearksendatter, 
who has borne him two children, only one of 
whom is living. In 1856 they removed to Min- 
nesota, and resided in Steele county tor two years, 
then came to Hartland. He served in the First 
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry from the 16th of 
Blarch, 1865, until the close of the war. 

Walter L. Hansen, a native of the Empire 
State, was born in Oswego county on the 25th of 
May, 1845. When he was ten years old he moved 
with his parents to Illinois where, on the 1st of 
August, 1864, he enlisted La the One Hundred and 
Forty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company 
E, was on garri.son duty all the time until dis- 
charged on the 10th of July, 1865. In 1867 he 
moved to McGregor, Iowa, and a year later to 
Wisconsin, where he married on the 18th of March, 
1870, Miss Margaret Ramsey. She died on the 
9th of June, 1872, leaving one child, Margaret 
Irene. In 1875 Mr. Hansen came to Hartland 
and purchased a farm in section three, which has 
since been his home. His present wife was for- 
merly Miss Emma Challis, whom he married on 
the 26th of October, 1876. This union has been 
blessed with one child, Maud Lillie. 

Caul Hendrick.son was born in Norway on the 
12th of May, 1838, and when ten years old emi- 
grated with his parents to America. They settled 
in Wisconsin where he married, in 1860, Miss 
Esther Madison. They have had eleven children, 



nine of wom are living. He came here in 1865, 
and purchased his present farm. Since 1877 he 
has been Town Treasurer, and has held other 
local and school offices. 

Ole T. Johnson was born in Norway on the 
6th of August, 1856, and when an infant came 
with his parents to America. The family first 
located in Columbia county, Wisconsin, until 
1867, then came to this township and have since 
made it their home, their farm being in section 
two. 

Lewis Knddsok, one of the early residents 
here, is a native of Norway, and dates his birth 
the 5th of August, 1830. He was married in 
April, 1853, to Miss Isabel Kittleson, and the 
same year they came to America. In 1858, they 
moved from Wisconsin to this township, and 
secured a farm in section fifteen. Mrs. Knud- 
son died on the 28th of April, 1871, having 
borne seven ehildren, only one of whom is now 
living. His present wife. Miss Isabel Torgenson, 
he married on the 20th of May, 1872, and of 
six children born to this union, four are living. 

Thomas 8. Lee was born near Bergen, Nor- 
way, on the 3d of January, 1834. When he was 
twenty -two years of age he came to America and 
first settled in Racine county, Wisconsin. He was 
married in 1861, to Miss Sarah Johnson, also a 
native of Norway. They resided in different parts 
of the latter State until 1873, when they came to 
Minnesota and located in Freeborn township until 
1880, then came to Hartland. They have a family 
of ten children. 

Oluf Lee was born in Norway, about twenty- 
five miles from Christiania, on the 21st of April, 
1849. His father died when he was twelve years 
old, and after finishing his schooling he clerked 
in a store. When he was seventeen years of age 
he went to sea, and in 1870, spent one summer 
traveling in England. He emigrated to America 
in 1871, and located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, 
and clerked in a dry goods store for ten months, 
thence to LaCrosse in the same occupation. He 
was subsequently employed as book-keeper for 
J. C. Easton, of Chatfleld, and later filled the same 
position in the First National Bank in LaCrosse, 
Wisconsin, also for a lumbering company. In 
1877, he came to Hartland and bought an interest 
in the first store in this place, and is now sole pro- 
prietor. He is at present Chairman of the board 
of Supervisors, and has held other local offices. 



470 



nrSTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



George McCollev, one of the pioneers of Hart- 
land, was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, 
on the 24th of March, 1831. When he was young 
his parents moved to Ohio, and in 1845, to Port- 
age City, Wisconsin. On the 6th of March, 1853, 
George was joined in wedlock with Miss Electa 
Morehouse and they have six children. In 1857, 
Mr. McColley started with an os team to this 
place and for two months camped in his wagon, 
in the meantime putting up a shib house in section 
twenty-nine which has since been his home. He 
served for a time iu Company E, of the First 
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. His wife died on 
the 19th of July, 1881. 

Francis E. Phipps, a native of New Hampshire, 
was born on the 14th of April, 1833. When young 
he learned engineering, and in 1854, came to Green 
Lake county, Wisconsin, where he was engaged 
in running stationary engines in a steam mill. In 
1860, be came to Minnesota and took a claim in 
this ]jlace, sections ten and fifteen, where he has 
since lived. He was married in 1862, to Miss 
Mary Samson, a native of Canada. After a linger- 
ing illness of several years Mrs. Phipps died in 
1881, leaving three children. Mr. Phipps has 
taken an active part in the support and organiza- 
lioh of the schools and has held several local 
offices. 



O. A. Seim was Ijorn in Norway on the 25th of 
December, 1840, and when fifteen years old emi- 
grated to America. He was engaged in farming 
in Wisconsin until 1857, then came to Steele 
county, Mmnesota, and worked his father's farm 
until buying one of his own. At the sanie time 
he carried on a general mercantile store in the 
southeastern part of Waseca county. In 1876, he 
came to Hartlaud township and opened the first 
atore in the place with .John C. Hoif as partner, 
but a year later moved to the village and is now 
carrying on a merchandise business in company 
with Oluf Hufiand. Mr. Seim has been Postmas- 
ter since 1879, besides holding other offices. 

Peter P. Shager, one of the early settlers of 
this county, is a native of Norway, born on the 
16th of January, 1819. He came to America in 
1849, and resided in Dane county, Wisconsin, one 
year, afterward in Columbia county until 1854, 
then went to Winneshiek county, Iowa. In the 
spring of 1857, he came to this county and settled 
in Manchester until enlisting on the 15th of 
August, 1862, in the Tenth Minnesota Volunteer 
Infantry, Company E, and served twenty-one 
months. After his discharge he located on a farm 
in seciiou thirty-four, Hartlaud. and has since 
devoted his time to its cultivation. 



LONDON 



CHAPTER LXIV. 

Topography and location — Early settlers — 
Statistics — Mediums of education ^- Bio- 
graphical. 

This is the southeastern sub-division of Free- 
born county, with Mower county bounding it 
on the east; the state of Iowa on the south; 
the township of Oakland on the north; and 
Shell Kock on (he west. It is a complete con- 
gressional township of 36 sections or s(iuare miles, 
and comprising the territory, technically speak- 
ing, of Township 101, Range 19. 



The greater part of the township is prairie laud, 
and is well adapted to tillage and profitable agri- 
culture. Toward the central and northern part 
there is considerable small timl)er; such as burr, 
red, and scrub oak, interspersed with natural 
meadows and small patches of prairie, and is 
known as "oak-opening land." The general in- 
clination of the surface is rolling, although it may 
be said to be more level than any township in Free- 
born county. In and about sections fifteen and 
sixteen is the most broken, although not enough 
so to be impractical for cultivation. The soil is a 
dark loam, rich and productive, and is underlain 
with a subsoil of clay. The best farming land in 



LONDON TOWNSHIP. 



471 



the town is the eastern part, while the balance is 
moderate or up to the average. 

There are few streams and only one lake to 
water the surface of London. This body of water 
lies near the center of the town, and is known as Elk 
Lake, covering the greater part of 160 acres in 
section twenty-one. Two streams flow across the 
northeastern part of the town, and one traverses 
he southwest corner. 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

The early steps leading to the founding and 
subsequent development of this thriving town- 
ship, began at about the same period as did most 
of the towns in Freeborn county, and in none 
of them has the growth been more substantial, or 
progress more marked than in London. The early 
jjioneers of this locatity were not of a class that 
were indolent; but they were thriving, energetic, 
and high spirited. They were good neighbors, 
and ao good neighborhoods were created, and this 
was one of the great comforts, and in fact, blessings, 
for which the pioneers had cause to be thankful; 
for without the few good companions to each, 
which formed neighborhoods, and the unanimity 
of good fellowship and purpose, pioneeer life on 
the then barren frontier must have been unendur- 
able. 

About the first settlement made in the town- 
ship was by a party of various nationalities from 
Wisconsin, who settled in sections eight, nine, and 
ten, in what was termed the burr oak opening 
laud. This party was made up of Edward E. Bud- 
long, who now lives in Shell Bock townwhip; John 
T. Asher from Wisconsin, who is now dead; Asa 
Bullock and family, and a Mr. Carpenter, the last 
two mentioned, after a year's residence in London, 
pulled up stakes and removed to Oakland town- 
ship, where friends and relatives had preceded 
them. In the article upon that town they are 
treated' more at length. During the ensuing 
winter the young folks who were matrimonially in- 
clined decided to have the conjugal knot tied in 
the everlasting and let-no -man -put- asunder way; 
so the ox teams were "covnded" and yoked, and 
away the parties hied themselves on a rapid ox 
walk for Osage, Iowa, 25 miles distant, where the 
ceremony was performed making the /ow;', two, and 
uniting Lemuel Bullock to Miss Carpenter, and 
Willard L. Carpenter to Miss Bullock. 

This was about all who arrived in London in 
the year 1855, and they passed the winter as best 



they could, depending upon each other for enter- 
tainment and keeping off despondency. During 
the following year, however, the beauties of this 
region began to be heralded abroad, and many 
who had come to realize the inequality of the 
contest between labor and capital in the older and 
eastern States, thronged in to find a new home, 
where, for the first years, at least, equality would 
reign supreme and merit must be ranked side by 
with capital. Among those who arrived in 1856, 
as many of the most prominent ones as can be 
remembered, will be given. 

William N. Goslee, a native of Connecticut,who 
had stopped for a time in Iowa, came from the 
latter place with an ox team, and in May, 1856, 
secured the place he now occupies in section 
thirteen. Timothy F. Goslee came about the 
same time; but located just over the line in 
Mower county. 

Benjamin Stanton joined this party by securing 
a slice from Uncle Sam's domain in section twelve. 
In October, 1857, while engaged in building a log 
house his earthly career was abruptly terminated 
by a stroke of lightning. 

Just north of Stanton, in section one, the same 
year, B. E. P. Gibson, a native of Connecticut, 
succeeded in making his anchor take firm hold 
and his moorings still remain intact. H. B. Riggs, 
late of Michigan, joined this party and made 
himself a home in section eleven, where he re- 
mained for a number of years, and then removed to 
Shell Rock, where he finally paid the debt of 
mortality. 

These parties had scarcely got nicely settled 
when the tranquility of their reign was disturbed 
by the arrival of a native of Wisconsin in the 
person of D. B. German, who located in section 
twelve, where he remained until 1880, when he 
removed to Mower county, and now lives there. 

Avery Strong, a native of New York State, was 
another of the arrivals in 1856, who secured a 
habitation in this settlement by installing himself 
in section thirteen. He soon left, however, and is 
now living in his native State. 

Silon Williams came from Vermont at about 
the same time, and planted his stakes in section 
eleven, where he still continues to thrive. 

Edward Thomas, also about the same time, 
commenced a sojourn which he still perpetuates in 
this settlement. 



472 



nisroRT OF FREEBoity couyrr. 



William Davia and a Mr. Liint also arrived iu 
1865. 

Section twenty-one received a settler this year 
in the person of Ole Lewis, who remained a year 
or two and then left the country. 

In the spring of 1857 James H. Goslee left his 
home in Connecticut and pushed toward the set- 
ting sun, coming as far as Dubuque by rail, from 
there taking the stage route to St. Paul, where he 
was engaged for a couple of weeks, and then 
came on as far as West Union with a man who had 
horses for sale. The snow was very deep and he 
was delayed for several days; but finally found a 
man who was on a milling trip from Chickasaw 
county, Iowa, and with him rode to the latter 
place. Here he was detained for three days by a 
severe blizzard, and was finally carried on to 
Otronto, Iowa, from whence be walked to his 
brother's place in Lyle, Mower county, who is 
mentioned above as having settled there the year 
previous. Bring favorably impressed by the 
country, bought a place in sections twelve and 
thirteen in this township, of Sylvester West, 
which he still occupies. 

In 1858 James H. Stewart, a native of the 
Empire State, made his appearance in London, 
and became an inhabitant by placing his sign 
manual upon papers for a claim in section twenty- 
four, where he now tills the soil. 

The same year Joseph Chmelik and A. Ray- 
mond, Bohemians, arrived and took claims in 
section five where they are still plodding. 

After this the immigration was more gradual, 
yet this is enough to indicate the class with which 
London began its civilization. 

HATTERS OF INTEREST. 

The first birth in the township occurred late iu 
the fall of 1856, and brought into existence George 
Adkins. 

The second made its apjjearance in February, 
1857, and this time a child of Horace Lamb 
became a living creature. 

The first death was that of Benjamin F. Stan- 
ton, who died by a stroke of lightning on October 
6th, 1857. His remains were deposited in their 
last resting place near Otronto, Iowa. 

For political purj)oses this township was origin- 
ally merged with Oakland, and subseijuently for 
a time a part of Shell Rock; but finally it was set 
off from these and is now a separate organizaticin 
under the head of London. 



From the records we learn that the first title to 
land was acquired by William Clatwortliy and 
W. A. Pierce, on the 15th of August, 1856, these 
parties taking their claims on sections eight and 
nine. 

London Post-office. — This office was estab- 
lished in September, 1876, with Henry Lang as 
Postmaster, and shortly afterward Mrs. Meadow- 
croft was appointed as deputy, with the office in 
section fourteen. Mail arrives once each week 
from Austin, the mail carrier being John Connor. 
Tlie office remained in section ft)urteen until 
April, 1880, when Mr. James Lacy was commis- 
sioned Postmaster and Marion Connor deputy, 
and again, iu the spring of 1882 the Postmasters 
changed, this time John Manning took the mail 
pouch keys and still fills the position of Postmas- 
ter, the office being kept in section fifteen at his 
residence. 

statlstics. 

The Year 1881. — Showing the acreage and 
yield in the townsliip of London for the year 
named : 

Wheat— 2,365 acres, yielding 25,723 bushels. 

Oats — 753 acres, yielding 22,321 bushels. 

Corn — 710 acres, yielding 20,895 bushels. 

Barley — 169 acres, yielding 4,491 bushels. 

Rye — 1 acre, yielding 6 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 5 acres, yielding 22 bushels. 

Potatoes — 28 J4 acres, yielding 3,049 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 8^4 acres, yielding 300 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 56 acres, yielding 42 tons. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881—4,1321^. 

Wild hay— 569 tons. 

Apple.s — number of trees growing, 704 ; uvimbei 
bearing. 111, yielding 25*^ bushels. 

Tobacco — 19 pounds. 

Sheep — 31 sheared: 

Dairy — 129 cows, yielding 5,275 pounds of 
butter. 

The Year 1882. —Wheat, 995 acres; oats, 758; 
corn, 1,059; barley, 224; rye, 10; buckwheat, 2; 
potatoes, 34; sugar cane, 1%; cultivated hay, 99; 
flax, 3. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1882— 3,1883^. 

Apple trees — growing, 668; bearing, 93. 

Grape vines — bearing, 1. 

Milch cows — 150. 

Sheep— 31. 

Whole number of farms cultivated in 1882 — 55. 

Forest trees planted and growing, 31^ acres. 



LONDON TOWN 811 IP. 



473 



Population. — The census of 1870 gave London 
a population of 311. The last census, taken in 
1880, reports 614 for this town; showing an 
increase of 303. 

MEDIUMS or EDUCATION. 

District No. 51. — Effected an organization in 
1862, and the following year the first term of 
school was held at the residence of H. B. Riggs, 
in section eleven, by Miss Orpha Skinner, with an 
attendance of about twelve scholars. Then, in 
1867, the schoolhouse was erected in the western 
part of section twelve, which has since been 
greatly improved. The last term of school was 
taught by Misn Belle Cheadle with an average 
attendance of twenty-five scholars. 

District No. 59. — Embraces territory in the 
southwestern part of the town, and has a school- 
house located in the northern part of section 
thirty-two. 

Distbict No. 71. — This district came into exist- 
ence by organization in 1865, the first school 
being held in Morgan Eckert's granary, in section 
eighteen, taught by Miss Dora Sabin with an 
attendance of about six pupils. After this school 
was continued in private houses and granaries 
until the summer of 1869, when a schoolhouse, 
16x20, was completed in section eight at a cost of 
S220, and Carrie Harrison taught a school with 
an attendance of eighteen. The house has since 
been remodeled and improved to the extent of 
$500. The last teacher was John D. Murphy; 
attendance thirty-two. 

District No. 94. — EfTected an organization in 
1874, and the school building was erected the 
same year, in the southern part of section twenty- 
three, size 20x20, with an ante-room 12x16 feet, 
and cost .|1,025. The first teacher was Mr. John 
Bewick with an attendance of fifteen scholars. 
Ella Meadowcroft was the last instructor of the 
young idea and had an average attendance of 
aljout twenty pupils. 

BIOGBAPHICAL. 

Persons Bump was born in Wyoming county. 
New York, on the 29th of March, 1844. When 
he was seven years old his parents came west and 
settled in Wisconsin. Persons enlisted in 1862, in 
the Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
Company E, was in considerable active service in 
the South and spent four months in Libby prison, 
receiving an honorable discharge in 1865, having 



attained the rank of Frst Lieutenant. He returned 
to his home and the same year married Miss Mar- 
inette Oolson, a native of Ohio. In 1868 they 
came to London township, and bought a farm of 
two hundred and forty acres, in sections twenty- 
two and twenty-seven and have since made it their 
home. They have five children. 

Thomas Bosnallie, one of the early settlers of 
this place, is a native of Scotland, born on the 
5th of Apil, 1819, His parents came to America 
when he was an infant, and located in Canada. 
He remained with an uncle in Scotland until four 
years old, then joined his parents in Canada. 
In 1851 he was united in marriage with Miss 
Charlotte Philips and two years later they came 
to Wisconsin. Since 1856 Mr. Bonnallie has 
been a resident of this place. His first wife died, 
and in 1873, he married his present, Mrs. Janette 
Campbell, a native of Philadelphia, Penn. The 
issue of this union is seven children. 

James H. Goslbe, one of the old and respected 
citizens of this section of the country, is a native 
of Connecticut, born in Hartford county, on the 
31st of January, 1831. The early j^art of his life 
was spent in farming and learning the carpenter 
trade, and in 1857, he came to this township. His 
farm now contains over seven hundred acres and is 
well improved, he devoting his time principally to 
stock raising. In 1860 he was united in wedlock 
to Miss Zillah T. Beach, a native of New York. 
They have had two children; Henry A., born on 
the 2d of July. 1861; andDwight W., born on the 
8th of April, 1866. The latter died on the 12th of 
January, 1882. 

William N. Goslee, another pioneer of London 
township, was born in Hartford county, Connecti- 
cut, on the 12th of May, 1826. He was married 
before leaving his native State, in 1850, to Miss 
Sarah E. Ellis. They came west in 1855 and 
located in Iowa, but the following year came to 
this place, staking out a farm in section thirteen 
where he has since made his home. Mrs. Goslee 
died in 1862. His present wife was formerly 
Mary A. Cheadle, a native of Indiana, and they 
have two children. Mr. Goslee owns a fine farm, 
and since his residence here has served the town 
and county in difl'erent capacities. 

RoGBB P. Gibson was born in Connecticut on 
the 17th of August, 1817. He grew to manhood 
on a farm and in 1840, married Miss Colista Gos- 
lee, who died three years later. Some years after 



474 



HISTOBT OF FREEBORN GOUNTT. 



he was again married to a CoDnectiout lady, who 
came west with him to Iowa in 1855, and to this 
township the following year. Death again entered 
his home in 1861, and took away his partner in 
life, whose remains rest in the cemetery at this 
place. In 1863, he was wedded to Miss Emma 
M. Bolton, who was born in Ohio. This union 
has been blessed with six children. Mr. Gibson's 
farm has the appearance of a careful and exper- 
ienced manager. He is one of the pioneers here 
and has filled offices of trust in the town. 

Abtrdb E. Johnston, a New Yorker, was born 
on the 6th of .Tune, 1850. When he was sixteen 
years old he came with his parents to Butler 
county, Iowa. They resided there until 1879, then 
came to this place and located in section twenty- 
four, which is still their home. Mr. Johnston is 
at present Treasurer of the school board. 

Henky Lang, a native of Scotland, was born on 
the 10th of January, 1842. He came with his 
parents to America when an infant, first settled in 
New York City and afterward lived in Missouri. 
After a residence of five years in the latter place 
the family came to Wisconsin and in 1862 to this 
township. Henry was joined in matrimony to 
Miss Jane Meadowcroft, also a n.itive of Scotland. 
They have a family of seven children. Mr. Lang 
owns a well improved farm of two hundred and 
forty acres. 

John W. Manning, the present Postmaster of 
Loudon, was born in New Jersey on the 31st of 
October, 1845. He remained in his native place 
until twenty years old, then came to Rock county, 
Wisconsin, and in 1867, married Miss Sylvia 
Mosher, a Canadian lady. The issue of the union 
is five children. In 1872, Mr. Manning moved to 
Iowa and in 1879 came to this place. He has a 
good farm in section fifteen. 

John Robertson was born neir Glasgow, Scot- 
land, on the 15th of May, 1836. He came with 
his parents to America in 1844, and resided for 
some time in Rock county, Wisconsin. In 1858 
he married Miss Margaret Campbell, also a native 
of Scotland. They came to Minnesota in 18(;6, 
and settled in section twelve of this township, 
which has since been their home, the farm con- 



taining three hundred and twenty acres. Mr. and 
Mrs. Robertson have a family of three children. 

James H. Stewart, one of the early settlers of 
London township, is a native of New York, born 
on the 19th of August, 1832. In 1853 he came 
to Wisconsin, where he married, in 1856, Miss 
Clarissa H. Hubbard, a native of Vermont. The 
same year they moved to Illinois, and a year later 
came to this place, taking land in section twenty- 
four, which is now a well cultivated farm. Mr. 
Stewart has filled offices of trust since coming 
here. He is the father of three children. 

Edward T. Thomas, a native of Wales, was 
born in March, 1835, and when very young came 
with his parents to America. They located in 
Utica, New York, and several years later moved 
to Ohio, finally coming west to Rock county, Wis- 
consin. In 1860 Edward married Anna Thomp- 
son, of Ohio. The following year he came to 
Minnesota and took a claim in London, section 
twenty-two. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have a family 
of three children. 

.Tames Van Winkle, deceased, was born in 
Illinois on the IHh of September, 1825. He was 
married in 1853 to Miss Nancy Sutherland, also a 
native of Illinois. They came to Minnesota in 
1858, but only remained a year and a half, and 
returned to their native State. In 1861 they came 
again to this State and bought a farm in London, 
where Mr. Van Winkle died on the 4th of Feb- 
ruary, 1876. He left a widow and six children to 
mourn his loss. 

SiLON Williams, one of the pioneers of this 
place, was born in Derby, Vermont, on the 23d of 
July, 1832. When twenty-two years old he 
moved to Osage, Iowa, and a year later came to 
this place, settling in section eleven. He was 
joined in wedlock in 1860 with Miss Mary A. 
Phelps, a Canadian lady. They have tea chil- 
dren. In 1862 Mr. Williams enlisted in the Ninth 
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Company C, spent 
one year on the frontier, and then went south and 
participated in considerable active service, receiv- 
ing his discharge in 1865. He has since made 
his farm his home. 



MANUHESTEB TOWNSHIP. 



475 



MANCHESTER. 



CHAPTEK LXV. 

LOCATION AND TOPOGEAPHY EAELT SETTLEMENT 

OEGANIZATION — STATISTICS EVENTS OP INTEEEST 

— MANCHESTER VILLAGE— SCHOOLS— BIOOEAPHICAL. 

Whatever the population of this town, it is cer- 
tain it bears an English name. It lies in the 
second tier from the north and also second from 
the western line of Freeborn county. Its contigu- 
ous surroundings are, Hartland on the north; 
Bancroft on the east; Pickerel Lake on the south; 
and Carlston on the west. It contains 11,689 
acres less than a full congressional township, 
because of the "correction line" of the survey, and 
has thirty-six sections, comprising the territory of 
Town 103, Range 22, in all about 22,923 acres. 

Originally the greater part of the town was 
covered with timber of small varieties, such as 
burr and black oak, maple, basswood, black wal- 
nut, butternut, ash, and elm, interspersed with 
natural meadows and prairie land. The south- 
western part of the town was principally burr oak 
opening land, except in sections twenty -eight and 
twenty-nine, where is found the sugar maple which 
is still, to a considerable extent, intact. The 
greater part of what was originally timber land is 
now under a high state of cultivation. The prin- 
cipal parcel of timber now in the town is black 
and burr oak, the latter being the most plentiful. 
The entire northwest portion of the town is a roll- 
ing prairie, and is among the best of farming 
land. 

The soil, as a rule, is a dark rich loam of from 
two to three feet iu depth, and underlaid with a 
subsoil of clay; but this is particularly apjjlicable 
to the timber land, as on the prairie a lighter ten- 
dency is apparent, while the subsoil is of clay and 
sand. All the land is very productive and well 
adapted to the mode of cultivation and crops of 
the latitude. The prairie land is made picturesque 
by groves of domestic poplar, which have been 



planted and well cared for by the thrifty settlers. 

The township is well watered and has its full 
complement of small lakes and water courses. A 
cluster of small lakes is found in the southwestern 
part of the town, and on the map appear the names 
of Lake Peterson, Sugar Lake, Silver Lake, and 
Lake Whitney, which are all near together on sec- 
tions twenty, twenty-one, twenty-eight, twenty- 
nine, and thirty. The only one of these having 
an outlet is Lake Peterson, from which a small 
stream taking a southeasterly course finally leaves 
the town rin section thirty-six, and enters Ban- 
croft township. South of this cluster of lakes, in 
section thirty-two, Spring Lake infringes upon 
and covers a few acres of land. A small body of 
water known as Gun Lake is located in the eastern 
part of section nine. School Section Like is loca- 
ted in the southeastern portion of the town, in 
section thirty -six. 

There is but one village in the township, Man- 
chester, located in section fifteen, on the Minneap- 
olis & St. Louis Railroad, which crosses the 
township from north to south, bearing a little 
southeasterly. 

The surface of the town is rolling, and although, 
in place.s, inclined to be rather abrupt in its mod- 
ulations, is not hilly, or in any place broken 
sufficiently to be detrimental to agriculture. The 
town is well iidapted to agricultural jjurposes, and 
has a l^rge cultivated area yielding good crops of 
the cereals. 

EAELY SETTLEMENT. 

The earliest attempt at settling this town com- 
menced in 18.56, when, on the 6th day of June of 
that year, S. S. Skiff, a native of New York, came 
from Wisconsin and took a claim in section twen- 
ty-six, where he remained until 1858, and then 
returned to Wisconsin where he stayed until 1860. 
This year he again pushed his way back to his 
newly made habitation and settled down in earn- 



476 



HISTOHT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



est. He made this his liome until 1880. and then 
removed to the town of Alden, where his light 
still "holds out to bum." He, it is claimed, was 
the very first settler, and there is a preponderance 
of teKtimony to uphold it. Ho had been here 
about one week, when, on the l.^th of "June, 18.56, 
there arrived a party from Iowa, which soon took 
the name of Winneshiek county settlement as they 
came from their Norwegian homes by way of 
Iowa and had stopped for a time in the county 
indicated. 

Among this party were Gunie Thykeson, who 
secured a place in sections nine and ten, upon the 
banks of the miniature lake which received its 
name after him, and he may still be found upon 
the place, evidently well satisfied with his venture. 

N. N. Wangin, who planted his stakes upon a 
part of Uncle Sam's domain in section seventeen, 
where he may still be found. 

Rollof, a brother to Gunie Thykeson, made him- 
self at home in section fifteen, w'here he remained 
until 1879, when he took up his abode upon a 
place in sections nine and sixteen. 

Stiner Mickelson also settled in section fifteen 
and remained until 1864, when he disposed of his 
farm and removed to Blue Earth City, where he 
still lives. 

Ole O. Klappp, who settled in section twenty - 
two, and remained until 1858, when he went to 
Bancroft, and in 1864, went to the south. 

This comprised the original members of the 
Wineshiek county settlement. They were all 
natives of Norway, and they have since been joined 
by countrymen, who have thronged in until they 
constitute the greater part of the town's inhabit- 
ants. 

In the latter part of the same month that the 
above settlement arrived, in June, 1856, a party 
known as the Kock county settlement, all natives 
of Norway, who had sojourned for a short time in 
Rock county, Wisconsin, came to the town, and 
their names and movemements are chronicled as 
follows; ' 

Thor Anderson, Andrew Evorson, and Ole Kit- 
tleson all took claims in and about section ten, \ 
where they still remain. ' 

Peter O. Fossum planted his hopes on a tract in 
section fourteen, and is still bustling around j 
there. 

Ole Peterson commenced a sojourn which he 
still perpetuates in section fifteen. | 



Halver Peterson anchored his bark of worldly 
possessions in section nine, and remained there 
until August, 1868, when, as matters, evidently, 
did not progress in a satisfactory manner, tired of 
the practical problem of world's life, solved the 
matter by hanging himself; his family still live 
upon the old place. 

O. O. Fossum located on sections twenty-one 
and twenty-two, and remained there until the time 
of his death, which occurred in 1878, and his 
remains were sorrowfully deposited in their last 
resting place, in the Norwegian Lutheran Ceme- 
tery. His family still occupy the old home-stead. 

THE HONORED DEAI}. 

Henry Schmidt came to this county when it 
was wild and desolate, but lived to see the town 
settled, filled with farms, and in a flourishing con- 
dition. He had been Town Treasurer, and was a 
thorough American German. The respect in 
which he was held was attested by the large fune- 
ral which took place a few days after his death, 
which was on the 6th of September, 1878, at the 
age of 67 years. 

Ole Olson Fossdm came to Manchester in 1856, 
took a claim and opened a farm and continued to 
live on it until the 9th of June, 1878, when he 
went over the river at the age of 64. He is re- 
membered as a fine old gentleman. 

Mrs. Harriet L.Johnson was thirty-five years 
of age when her presence was required in the 
great beyond, on the 6th of April, 1873. She was 
a daughter of Dr. Solomon Douglass, of Oswego 
county, New York. With her husband she came 
west as far as Winnebago county, Wisconsin, 
where they remained six years, and then came to 
Freeborn county. Three children were left. She 
was a woman who won the esteem of all her 
acquaintances 

OFFICIAL OEGANIZATION. 

The first town meeting, at wliich the organiza- 
tion was effected, was held at the house of Ole 
Peterson, on the 11th of May, 1858, pursuant to 
to notice of the Clerk of County Commissioners. 
After the usual preliminaries the meeting was 
called to order, and the polls opened for the elec- 
tion of town officers for the ensuing year. Upon 
counting the ballots the following candidates were 
found to have the number of votes set opposite 
their names, as follows: 

For Chairman of Supervisors, Matthias Ander- 



MANCHESTER TOWNSHTP. 



ill 



son received 25 votes; E. S. Smitb, 7. Supervis- 
ors, Ole Peterson and Tostin Knntson, unanimously 
elected, 32 votes each. Clerk, James E. Smith, 32. 
Assessor, Bennett Asleson, 25; Mattias Anderson, 
7. Collector, Thomas Anderson, 32. Overseer of 
the Poor, .Tohn Ellingson, 32. Constables, Charles 
Oleson and David Ames, each 32 votes. Justices 
of the Peace, James E. Smith and Thomas Oleson, 
32 votes each. Overseer of Koads, Charles Olson, 
25; Ole Peterson, 7. There were in all thirty-two 
votes cast. 

Town Name. — The original name of the town- 
ship was " Olborg," in honor of the Post-office in 
in Norway from whence Ole Peterson came. After 
a short reign under this caption it was changed to 
Buckeye, in a joke upon Stanley and S. B. 
Smith, who were natives of Ohio, and a Post- 
oHice by this name was established. In 1858, at 
the meeting above mentioned, the matter of the 
name again came up, and "Liberty" was pro- 
posed to take the jilace of the Ohio caption. The 
matter was put to a vote and resulted in a unani- 
mous assent to the new name. The town then 
commenced its career as " Liberty " ; but in a 
short time notice was received from the State 
Auditor that as there were already two " Libertys" 
in the State, their name must be changed. In 
accordance with this, in 1859, the name was again 
changed, this time, finally, to " Manchester.'" 

Thus the township of Manchester was started 
on its career as a municipality, and since that 
time the affairs of the public have been faithfully 
cared for. It being a farming community there 
has been but little expenditure of public funds, 
except for school and highway purposes, and the 
burdens of local taxation have never been ex- 
cessive. 

The present township officials are as follows: 
Supervisors, Claus Fandt, Chairman, Rolloff Thyke- 
son, and Thor Anderson; Clerk, I. A. Rodsater; 
Assessor, D. H. Johnson; Treasurer, Bennett 
Asleson; Justice of the Peace, L. C. Larken; 
Constable, M. O. Whitney. The last town meet- 
ing was held in the spring of 1882, at the school- 
house of District No. 18. 

STATISTICS. 

This article is intended to convey to the reader 
an idea of the wealth and productiveness of the 
township, and to what extent the facilities and 
richness of soil which nature has endowed, have 
been utilized and improved. 



The Year 1881. — Showing the acreage and 
yield in, the township of Manchester for the year 
named: 

Wheat— 2,696 acres, yielding 16,937 bushels. 

Oats — 450 acres, yielding 16,147 bushels. 

Corn — 521 acres, yielding 17,650 bushels. 

Barley — 26 acre.s, yielding 690 bushels. 

Rye — 10 acres, yielding 200 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 1 acre, yielding 25 bushels. 

Potatoes — 68 acres, yielding 2,260 bushels. 

Flax seed — 42 acres, yielding 350 bushels. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881^3,814. 

Wild hay— 2,184 tons. 

Apples— number of trees growing, 1,453; num- 
ber bearing 275 yielding 78 bushels. 

Sheep — 386 sheared, yielding 1,20 J pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 872 cows, yielding 15,700 pounds of 
butter. 

The year 1882.— Wheat, 2,894 acres; oats, 532; 
corn, 500; potatoes, 29; other products, 19; total 
acreage cultivated in 1882 — 3,974. 

Apple trees growing — 1,902. 

Milch cows— 518. 

Sheep— 67, yielding 631 pounds of wool. 

PopuijAtion. — The census of 1870 gave Man- 
chester a population of 701. The last census, 
taken in 1880, reports 784 for this town, showing 
an increase of 83. 

MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

The first child born in the township was Mich- 
ael Michaelson, in September, 1856. The boy 
grew to manhood, was married, and now lives in 
Blue Earth county. 

It is claimed that the first marriage in the 
township occurred in December, 1858, the high 
contracting parties being Mads Madson and Miss 
Opengardeu. The ceremony was performed by 
Thomas Oleson at the residence of John Elling- 
son, in section sixteen. The groom died in 1880, 
and the widow now resides in Hartland. 

The above, however, was not the first marriage 
of parties from this town; for on the 2d of Octo- 
ber, 185S, a double wedding occurred in Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa, wliich united the destinies of Miss 
Inglebert Peterson to Ole Knudson, and Miss 
Sarah Kittleson to Lewis Sebertson. The cere- 
mony was performed by Rev. L. Clausen. 

The first death occurred in August, 1858, and 
carried to that mysterious hereafter, Peter Johnson, 
aged 24 years. 



478 



JIIHTORY OF FliEEBORN COUNTY. 



The first religions services in tlie town were held 
iu June, 1858, at the residence of Ole Peterson, in 
section tifteen, by the Rev. Mr. Brown, a Lutheran 
rainiater. The church organization was not effect- 
ed until 1876. 

The first house in the township was erected in 
June, 1856, by Gunia Thykeson, on section nine. 
It was a log building, 12x14 feet, and was after- 
ward used as a stable. 

Mickle Mickleson, in July, 1856, the following 
month, erected the second house of the same ma- 
terial, and this was subsequently used as a black- 
smith shop. 

At an early day a number of the jiioneers in a 
rude way manufactureil sorghum, by using three 
,wouden home-made rollers, propelled by a yoke of 
oxen, for a press; but this crude machinery has 
long since been supplanted by the patent process 
and new machinery. 

It is claimed that Mathias Anderson, who came 
from the town of Manchester, Boone county, Illi- 
nois, gave to this township its present name. 

Originally town meetings were held in private 
houses, and anywhere that shelter could be found. 
At present they are held iu the schoolhouse of 
district No. 18, in section twenty-two. 

The first blacksmith shop was erected and oper- 
ated by a Mr. Mickleson, on the northwest quarter 
of section fifteen. In 1865 he sold out and went 
to Blue Earth county, where he now lives. This 
was erected in 1856. 

In 1858, the next shop was erected in section 
thirteen, size 12x14 feet, and put in ojjeration by 
Lewis Oleson. It was of logs, with a log and sod 
roof, and was operated by him until about 1873, 
when it changed hands; finally, in 1879, becoming 
the property of Ole O. Olson who now owns it. 

Suicide. — In August, 1868, Halver Peterson, 
an early Norwegian .settler living in section ten, 
disgusted and disheartened by the vicissitudes and 
uncertainties of this cruel world, departed from it, 
in spirit, by hanging himself to a tree. He had 
been sick for eighteen months, and the only excuse 
offered, was the old one in these cases, "tired of 
life." 

Frozen to De.\th. — A Mr. Gulbrandsou was 
frozen to death on the evening of the 8th of Janu- 
ary, 1873. One of his oxen perished with him. 

Manchestee's War Eecord. — It cannot be 
denied that this town did its full share during the 
war of the rebellion. Of those who volunteered 



and went into the service, nine never returned, 
finding graves in southern soil. Strengen Bcns<m 
was the only married man of the departed lieroes; 
he left a wife and two children to mourn his loss. 
The rest were all single men and most of their 
jjareuts resided in the town at the time. Man- 
chester voted bonds to t!ie amoimt of .S4,() 10 for 
the purpose of securing volunteers to till the 
quota assigned the town, which amount was duly 
paid and recruits secured. 

Buckeye Post-office. — This was the first office 
in the township, having been established in 1858, 
named after the pet cognomen of Ohio, with James 
E. Smith as Postmaster, and the office at his res- 
idence in section thirty, where it remained, there 
being but little business for it, until 1860, when 
S. B. Smith was appointed, with a mail route from 
Maukato to Otronto, Iowa, under the supervision 
of A. L. Davis, who carried the mail by team. 
After a time A. G. Hall was appointed, and the 
office was removed to his residence iu section one 
of Alden, where it was finally discontinued about 
1870. 

Manchester Post-office was established in 
the village of this name iu 1878, upon a petition 
gotten up by H. R. Fossum and E. H. Stensrud, 
and signed by a majority of the citizens. H. R. 
Fossum was first appointe<l as the Postmaster, 
and held the office until 1880, with a business in 
the meantime amounting to S6 per quarter, when 
E. H. Stensrud was commissioned and sfill holds 
the mail pouch key ; the business of the last quar- 
ter amounted to .S8.89. The office is kept in the 
store at the village. 

Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Man- 
chester. — This corporation, instituted for the 
protection of the farmers from fire and lightning, 
is growing rapidly each year; afid, as there is not 
visible iu this, the hand of dishonesty and trickery 
that is so apparent in the procedures of a great 
many of the city corporations, it has been, and, 
with the same capable management iu the future 
that it has had in the past, will continue to be a 
true benefit and assistance to its patrons. The 
company was organized at the Central church of 
the Freeborn Norwegian Lutheran Conoreoa- 
tion on the 7th of December, 1876, on which day 
the following officers were elected; President, O. 
Peterson; Secretary, I. A. Rodsater; Treasurer, 
O. Narvesou; and Directors, E. C. Johnson, K. 
Ingebrigtson, A. N. Teslow, I. Hammer, H. Stens- 



MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP. 



479 



ruJ, and John Madson. It commenced biisiness 
on the 10th of February, 1877, and consisted at 
that time of 102 members, and the capital in- 
sured was $135,172. During the first year the 
company had a loss of only $10. Total losses dur- 
ing the first five years, $765. Last year's loss 
was $200. At the last annual meeting the com- 
pany consisted of 338 members, with an amount 
of insurance of $375,000. 

Present officers: President, O. Peterson; Secre- 
tary, Tver A. Rodsater; Treasurer, O. Narveson; 
Directors, C. C. Johnson, K. Ingebrigtson, A. Tes- 
low, C. Jonsrud, H. Stensrud, John Madson. 

NoRWEGi.*,N Lutheran Church. --This society 
was organized about 1876, with Eev. V. Koran offi- 
ciating, and had about nine members. In 1876, the 
church was erected in section four. Gust. Peterson 
donating two acres of land for a site. It cost 
about $5,700, and is 36x82 feet, with a tower, in 
which an 800 pound bell has been placed which 
cost 1300, and is one of the finest church build- 
ings in the county. The society is very prosperous 
and strong, and now counts about 400 as its 
followers. Eev. Ina Woolfsburg is the present 
minister, and has been upon the circuit for fifteen 
years. Services are held every other Sunday. 

There is also a neat burial ground adjoining 
the church," which was laid out in 1872. The first 
burial here was of the remains of an infant child 
of Andrew Madson and wife, in 1873. The first 
matured person whose remains were deposited 
here, was Cornelius Gilbertson, who died ut Free- 
born at the age of twenty-four, 

VILLAGE OF MANCHESTER. 

This is the only village in the township, and 
though as yet nothing metropolitan, it has a pros- 
pect of becoming a good center for trade. 

It is located in section fifteen, on the Minneap- 
olis it St. Louis railway, about seven miles from 
Albert Lea, the county seat, and surrounded by 
an excellent farming country. 

The village was platted in 1882 by Ole Peter- 
son, but had already taken a start. 

In 1877 Cosgan & White erected an elevator 
which was moved to section twenty- three soon 
after its erection, and has since been moved back 
to the village. 

In 1878, Anton Anderson erected a blacksmith 
shop, 24x28 feet, and commenced blowing the 
bellows. In the fall of 1881, an addition was 
erected, 12x28 feet, for a wagon shop, and an 



engine house 10x12 feet, in which was placed a 
five horse-power steam engine to run the machin- 
ery. The shop employs three men. 

In February, 1878, a building was erected by 
H. R. Fossum and E. H. Stensrud. and a good 
stock of dry goods, groceries, and general mer- 
chandise was placed upon the shelves to the 
amount of about $400. In May the Post-office 
was established. 

MEDIUMS OF EDUCATION. 

District No. 18. — This district effected an or- 
ganization in the year 1861. The year previous 
a schoolhouse of logs was erected by subscription 
on section fifteen, in which a school of thirty 
scholars was taught by Emma Walker. After 
this district was organized they took charge of 
the school building, and scliool was continued 
under their management. The first school officers 
were: Thorson Knuteson, John Ellingson, and 
O. O. Fossum, Clerk, Director, and Treasurer. 
In 1867 the house was moved to the site it now 
occupies in section twenty-twi>. The present 
officers are; Director, Dennis Sipple; Treasurer, 
Clau8 Flindt; Clerk, Bennett Asleson. The last 
term of school was taught by H. B. Fossum, with 
forty pupils enrolled. 

District No. 19. — A meeting was held on the 
8th of May, 1862, at the residence of Christian 
Jacobson, at which the organization of this dis- 
trict was effected and made permanent by the 
election of officers, as follows: Director, Tosten 
Knatson; Clerk, Claries Olson; Treasurer, Charles 
Johnson. The same summer Mr. Henderson 
taught the first school, a term of three months, in 
Charles Oleson's house in section thirteen, with 
seven or eight pupils present. In 1864 Christian 
Jacobson donated a site, and the schoolhouse was 
erected in the center of section twelve, by con- 
tribution of labor, at a cost of about g50, size 
16x20. The present officers are; Director, Ole 
Knutson; Treasurer, John Johnson; Clerk, P. J. 
Spilde. The last instructor was L. P. Jensen, and 
there were forty scholars upon the roll. 

District No. 21 — Efl'ected an organization in 
1864, the first meeting being held at the house of 
Erick Olson, in section nine, in the spring, at 
which the following officers were elected: Direc- 
tor, Carl Gustaveson; Treasurer, Halver Peterson; 
Clerk, August Peterson. The first school was 
taught by Miss Emma King in Erick Olson's 
house, in section nine, with twenty pupils present. 



480 



UI8TURY OF FREEBOltN COUyTr. 



In 1867 a frame house, which is still in tise, was 
erected in the western part of section nine, size 
16x22, at a cost of .S3()0. The present otKcers are ■ 
Director, Ed. Mortensou; Treasurer, Hans Chris- 
topherson; Clerk, Nels N. Waugiu. The last 
term of school was taught by John C. Quammen, 
with thirty-five scholars enrolled. 

District No. 55. — This educational sub-divis- 
ion embraces tlie territory in the southeastem 
part of the town. It wiis organized in the fall of 
1864 in E. D. Hopkins' house, on section thirty- 
four, and the following officers were elected: 
Director, O. Kemfield; Treasurer, J. Welcor; 
Clerk, E. D. Hopkins. The first school was taught 
by Maggie Colby in 1864, in a log house belong- 
ing to A. M. Johnson, ou the bank of Lake Albert 
Lea. The following year a log house, 18x16 feet, 
was procured, which has since been moved to its 
present site in the southeast corner of section 
thirty-four, having cost about SIOO. The present 
officers are as followt-: Director, A. M. Johnson; 
Treasurer, J. H. Converse: Clerk, O. J. Taylor. 
The last teacher, in the summer of 1882, was Miss 
Eva Gilsoii, and there were nineteen scholars en- 
rolled. 

BIOGBAPHICAIi. 

Mathias Anderson, one of the first settlers 
aud organizers of this township, was born in Nor- 
way on the 15th of June, 1824. He emigrated 
with his parents to America in 1851, located in 
Broome county, Illinois, where his' mother and 
one sister still reside. Ou the 1st of October, 1854, 
Mathias was joined in matrimony with Mi.ss 
Betsey Helga. In 1857, they came to this town- 
ship and staked out a claim in section two, which 
is still their home. Mr. Anderson was Chairman 
of the first board of Supervisors and the first 
Clerk of School District No. 18. He is the father 
of five children, three boys and twc girls. 

Erik O. Aasen was born in Norway o:i the 15th 
of October, 1832, and learned the blacksmith 
trade in his native country. In 1857, he emigra- 
ted to America, came to Iowa and resided one 
year, then moved to this place and located in 
section nine which has since been his home. In 
1860, he met with an accident, one of his cows 
hooking him, which resulted in the loss of his 
eyesight. He was married ou the 25th of Decem- 
ber, 1870, to Miss Argatta Mark, who has borne 
liim five children, four of whom are living. Mr. 



Aasen has held town and school offices since his 
residence here. 

Lewis Beach was born in New York on the 
2()th of December, 1830. He was married ou the 
27th of Septembei-, 1857, to Miss Lessie T. Sou- 
miss and the same fall moved to Michigan. In 
the spring of 1858, he came to this township and 
was among the first settlers, staked out a claim in 
section eighteen and has since made it his home. 
In 1863, he was elected Town Clerk and held the 
office five years. Mr. and Mrs. Beach have had 
nine children, six of whom are living. 

Charles Bickford, a native of Vermont, was 
born in Richford, Franklin county, on the 29th of 
September, 1835. He enlisted in Company A, of 
the Sixth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, in Septem- 
ber, 1864, and served till the close of the war, par- 
ticipating in seven battles, and while in the battle 
of Petersburg was wounded. After his discharge 
he returned to his home and remained until the 
spring of 1866, when he came to Minnesota and 
settled on his present place in this townsnip. He 
was married on the 25th of December, 1868, to 
Miss Almira J. Tucker. They have had six chil- 
dren, five of whom are living. 

Jambs H. Chamberlain was born in Ashford, 
Cattaraugus county, New York, on the 1st of 
April, 1830, and was never outside of his native 
State until coming to this State in 1864. He was 
married on the 10th of March, 1850, to Miss 
Angeliue Margaret Hall. They have had nine 
children, eight of whom are living. Mr. Chamber- 
lain was drafted in the late war but was not able 
to serve. He came to Freeborn county and resided 
in Bancroft until 1868, when he moved to this 
township and has since made his home in section 
thirty-four, engaged in the cultivation of his 
farm. 

Carl Gust.avesen is a native of Norway, born 
ou the 8th of December, 1828. Having a talent 
for music he devoted consiilerable time to its 
study and for a time was leader of the '-Great 
Norway Military Band." He was married on the 
26th of December, 1852, to Miss Annie Mortenson. 
In 1855, they came to America, resided in Iowa 
until 1863, and then moved to Manchester in sec- 
tion five where they still make their home. Of 
seven children born to the union, four are living. 
When first coming here Mr. Gustavesen taught 
instrumental music but since 1876 has devoted 
!iis time to farming. 



MAM'llESTEli TOWSSllIP. 



481 



Pi0S HuBEB was born iu Germany on the 5th 
of May, 1849. He emigrated to America in 1867, 
and first settled in Connecticut; in 1873, came to 
Houston county, and the following year to this 
township. In 1876, he purchased land in section 
twenty-one and has since devoted his time to its 
cultivation. He was married on the 25th of 
December, 1877, to Miss Mary Flaelmau. They 
have been blessed with three children. 

John Johnson, one of the first settlers of Man- 
chester, is a native of Norway, and dates his birth 
the 14th of February, 1831. He came to America 
in 1855, and first settled m Walworth county, 
Wisconsin. On the 7th of February, 1856, he 
married Miss Esther M. Olson. The following 
year they removed to this place and located in 
section one where they have since devoted their 
time to the cultivation of the farm. They have 
had six children, four of whom are living. Mr. 
Johnson is one of the Directors of school district 
No. 19. 

John Olsbn Jord.\hl, deceased, was a native of 
Norway, born on the 14tL of February, 1820. In 
1857, he emigrated to America, and first settled 
on Washington prairie, in Winneshiek county, 
Iowa. In the autumn of 1857, he came to this 
county and made a pre-emption in sections eleven, 
fourteen, and fifteen, and in 1858, moved his family 
on the same. He married in the spring of 1842, 
Miss Flora Nelson, and of thirteen children born 
to the union, nine are living. Mr. Jordahl died 
on the 8th of October, 1871, and his wife followed 
on the 27th of October, 1881. 

Ole J. JoKD.\HL was born on the 19tb of July, 
1842, in Norway. He emigrated with his parents 
to America in 1857, and resided on Washington 
prairie in Winneshiek county, Iowa, until 1858. 
He then came to this township with the family, and 
inl866 bought his present place, in section two. 
He was married on the 3d of December, 1865, to 
Miss Anna Johnson. They have a family of seven 
children. Mr. Jordahl has been Chairman of the 
board of Supervisors five successive years and 
clerk of his school district five years. 

Charles M. Johnson was born in Norway on 
the 20th of August, 1829. He left his native 
country in 1841, and came to Amei'ica with his 
parents, settling in Boone county, Illinois. In 
1852, he went to the gold mines of California, but 
four years later returned to Boone county, where, 
on the 20th of March, 1856, he married Miss 
31 



Adeline Olson. On the 2d of July, 1857, he 
started for this State, and located a claim in sec- 
tion twelve, Manchester township. He has been 
road Overseer two years, and Treasurer of his 
school district two terms. He is the father of six 
children, two boys and-four girls. 

SivERT Johnson, one of the pioneers of this 
place, was born in Norway on the 12th of August, 
1807. He was united in matrimony on the 13th 
of January, 1829, to Miss Anna Peterson, who 
bore him eight children, three of whom are still 
living. She died on the 4th of August, 1848, and 
the following year he came to America with five of 
his childran, two having died since coming here. 
He married his present wife, formerly Annie Paul- 
son, on the 1st of January, 1849. This union has 
been blessed with four children, three of whom 
are living. When first coming to this country 
Mr. Johnson settled in McHenry county, Illinois; 
in 1855, moved to Butler county, Iowa, and two 
years later came to Manchester, taking a farm in 
section twelve, which has since been his home. 
His eldest son, Lewis Johnson, was bom on the 
12th of March, 1838, in Norway, and resided with 
his father until 1861. He was married on the 8th 
of May in that year, and moved to his farm in 
section two. He has been a member of the board 
of Supervisors several terms. He is the father of 
six children. 

Jens O. Jenson was born in Norway on the 16th 
of November, 1813. He was married on the 25th 
of December, 1832, to Miss Martha Olsdatter. In 
1851, he came with his family to America, first 
located in Dodge county, Wisconsin, remaining in 
that State until coming here, in 1860. He imme- 
diately selected his present farm in section twen- 
ty-four, to which he has since devoted his time. 
Mr. and Mrs. Jenson have had ten children, three 
of whom are living, one girl and two boys; three 
of their sons were killed in the army. 

Knut Knutson Moerttm, a native of Wisconsin, 
was born in Waukesha county, on the 1st of Octo- 
ber, 1844. In 1855 he moved with his parents to 
Goodhue county where they remained one year, 
and in 1856, became pioneers of this township. 
Kuute was married on the 25th of December, 
1873, to Miss Inglebert Oleson, who has borne him 
four children. His farm is located in section four- 
teen and is well cultivated. 

Ole K. Morrcm was born in Norway on the 
14th oi September, 1835. He emigrated to Amer- 



482 



HISTORY OF FREEBOJiN COUNTY. 



ici in 1843, and settled in Wisconsin, thence in 

1857, to Manchester, where he married his wife. 
Miss Ingeborg Peterson, on the 2d of October. 

1858. They have had ten children, eight of whom 
are living. Mr. Morrum's farm is in section thir- 
teen, and he is one of the Directors of school dis- 
trict No. 19. 

Lewis L. Olson, one of the pioneers of this 
place, was bom in Norway on the 15th of Octo- 
bers, 1824. He was drafted and served in the 
army in his native conutry for five years. On the 
5th of December, 184G, he married Miss Annie 
Helguesdatter. In the spring of 1832 they came 
America, and on the 10th of September of the 
same year, Mrs. Olson died. Of three children, 
the result of the union, one is living. Mr. Olson 
first settled in Racine county, Wisconsin, and 
there married Miss Rangle Deisledatter on the 
4th of July, 1854. In 1857 they removed to this 
township and located their present farm in section 
thirteen. While in Wisconsin Mr. Olson learned 
the blacksmith trade, at which he was engaged 
until quite recently, he has devoted his entire 
time to the cultivation of his farm. Mr. and Mrs. 
Olson have been blessed with seven children. 

Ole PETEnsoN, one of the earliest settlers and 
a leading man of this township, is a native of Nor- 
way, born on the 16th of February, 1832. He 
emigrated to America in 1851, and settled in 
Illinois, first in Boone and afterward in Rock 
county. On the 20tli of December. 1852. he mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Gulbrandson, and they have had 
six children, five of whom are living. In 1856 
Mr. Peterson came to this county and selected a 
home in section fifteen, Manchester. He was a 
member of the first board of Supervisors, and 
afterward elected Justice of the Peace, taking an 
interest in all local' matters. He is President of 
the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of 
which he was also the organizer. In 1862 Mr. 
Peterson enlisted in tlie Fifteenth Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Infantry, Company K, was promoted to 
First Lieutenant, and served one year when his 
health failed, on account of which he was dis- 
charged and returned to his family, having since 
made this place his home. 

IvER A. RoDSATEU wa8 bom in Norway on the 
18th of September. 1845. He received a good 
education in his native place, and in 1856 emi- 
grated to America, first settling in Wisconsin. 
In the spiing of 1857 he moved to Worth county, 



Iowa, and the same sommer came to this place. 
He was married on the 27th of October, 1867, to 
Miss Ingeborg Anderson, and have since made 
their home in section ten. Mr. Rodsater was 
elected Town Treasurer in 1869, served till 1871, 
and was then elected Town Clerk, having since 
held the offices. He has been a member of the 
bi^ard of County Commissioners since 1877, and 
has held school offices; has also been Secretary of 
the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Man- 
chester since its organiaation. Mr. and Mr.s. 
Rodsater have had seven children, six of whom are 
living. 

S. B. SsiiTH, more familiarly known as Uncle 
Sam. is one of the earliest settlers and organizers 
of Manchester. He was born in Renville, Lick- 
ing county, Ohio, on the 16th of July, 1818, and 
moved with his parents to Portage county in the 
same State in 1832. When twenty-one years old he 
was united in marriage with Miss Sabra S. Dewey, 
the ceremony taking place on the 16th of June, 
1839. She was born on the 16th of December, 
1819, in Westfield, Hampden county, Massachu- 
setts. In 1844 they moved from Ohio to Indiana, 
and remainad tintil 1850, then resided in Illinois 
for several years. In the summer of 1857 Mr. 
Smith came to Manchester, and has since been in- 
terested in the improvement of the town and of 
his own home. His wife died on the 27th of 
March, 1869. She bore him two children; Will- 
iam A., and Helen J., both of whom are now dead. 
The son enlisted on the 18th of August. 1862, in 
the Sixth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Company 
E, and served his country until 1865; and the 
daughter died on the 12th of November, 1876. 
On the 27th of August, 1870, Mr. Smith was 
joined in wedlock to his present wife, Mrs. Sarah 
J. Gray. This union has been blessed with two 
children, both girls. 

Paul J. Spilde, youngest son of Sivert iiiid 
Annie .Johnson, was bom in Norway on tlie 24th 
of December, 1849. He came with his parents to 
America at the age of eight months, and has 
always lived with them, they now making their 
home on his farm in section twelve. He was 
joined in matrimony on the 29th of January, 1874, 
to Syneva Guttormson, who has borne him four 
children, three boys and one girl. Mr. Spilde is 
one of the Directors of his school district. 

John Sippei,, deceased, was a native of Ger- 
many, born on the 28th of September, 1807. He 



MANCUKSrEB TOWNSIITP. 



483 



was married on the 26th of June, 1838, to Miss 
Margaret Wenzel. The result of the union was 
ten children, eight of whom are still living. Mr. 
Sippel brought his family to America in 1855, 
lived for three years in Wisconsin and in June, 
1858, became one of the pioneers of this place, 
staking out a claim in section twenty-seven. He 
died on the 27th of May, 1871. His son Dennes 
Sippel was born in Germany on the 27th of July, 
1845, and now resides on the old homestead. Hi- 
was joined in matrimony on the 4th of May, 1871, 
to Miss Ida Tida and they have had six children, 
four of whom are living. 

Gtinne Thykeson, who built the first log house 
in this place, was born in Norway on the 22d of 
March, 1832. He was united in marriage on the 
1st of May, 1853, with Miss Singa Olson, and the 
same year they came to America. They resided 
in Winneshiek county, Iowa, until coming to this 
place in 1856, taking a claim in section nine, 
which is still their home. They have had eight 
children, six of whom are living. 

RoLLOP Thykeson, one of the pioneers of this 
place, was born in Norway on the 27th of Feb- 
ruary, 1837. In 1852, he came to America and 
directly to Dane county, Wisconsin, where he 
remained until 1854, then moved to Winneshiek 
county, Iowa. In 1856, he came to Manchester 
and staked out a claim in section fifteen upon 
which he lived several years, then moved to his 
present home in section sixteen. On the 20th of 
January, 1862, he enlisted in the Fifteenth Wis 
consin Volunteer Infantry, Company K, and 
served till the close of the war, having partici- 
pated in four battles. After his discharge he 
returned to bis farm in this place, and on the 25th 



of July, 1866, married Miss Annie ElUngson. Of 
nine children born to this union, eight are living. 
Mr. Thykeson has been a member of the board of 
Supervisors several times and has held school 
offices. 

O. J. Taylor, a native of New York, was born 
in Hamburgh, Erie county, on the 2l8t of March, 
1832. In 1845, he 'jioved with his parents to 
Milwaukee,Wi8consin, where he grew to manhood, 
and on the 15th of August, 1862, enlisted in the 
Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
Company C. He was in several important 
engagements and returned to his home at the 
close of the war, without a scratch, having received 
an honorable discharge. Before entering the 
army, on the 6th of February, 1860, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Emily A. Gibson and they have been 
blessed with one child, Ervin O. Mr. Taylor has 
been a resident of this place several years, his 
farm being located in section thirty-five. 

Sevebt Thoreson, a native of Norway, was 
born on the 14th of November, 1849. He came 
with his parents to America when five years old 
and settled on Jefferson prairie in Boone county, 
Illinois. On the 12th of August, 1862, he enlisted 
in Company M, of the Twelfth Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry and served till the close of the war, par- 
ticipating in a few small skirmishes. In 1866, he 
removed to Iowa, which State he made his home 
two years, then came to Manchester and selected 
a farm in section nine. He was married on the 
30th of May, 1869, to Betsy, widow of Halver 
Peterson, and the mother of four children. Mr. 
and Mrs. Thoreson have had six children. He is 
at present Postmaster and has held other local 
offices. 



484 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN GOUNTY. 



MANSFIELD, 



CHAPLER LXVI. 

DESCRIPTIVE — EARLY SETTLEMENT — EVENTS OF IN- 
TEREST POLITICAL STATISTICAL — SCHOOLS — 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

The townshij) bearing this old, time ht)Uored 
name, receiving it, as did so many towns through- 
out the United Kingdom, in honor of Lord Mans- 
field, is a full congressional township embracing 
the territory of Town 101, Range 23. It is the 
southwestern subdivision of Freeborn county, its 
contiguous surroundings being, Alden on the 
nortli; Nunda on the east; Faribault county on 
the west; and the state of Iowa on the south. 

As to the surface and physical features, not 
much can be said of this that would not readilj' 
apply to almost any other prairie town, and this 
is one in the full sense of the word. However, 
there are a few patches of timber here, the most 
of which is domestic, and located mostly in sec- 
tions seven, eight, ten, and thirty- six. The north- 
western part of the town is high and rolling, furn- 
ishing some of the finest farming land immagin- 
able; but, as you go southward and to the east it 
becomes more level and low, with numerous 
marshes and sloughs, which makes the locality 
less valuable for farming and agricultural pur- 
poses, although there are many fine farms in this 
as well as other portions of the town. In the ex- 
treme southeastern corner, a ridge of high land 
abruptly pushes its way through the surface of 
the prairie, which inaugurates the area of the 
tableland, commeucing here and extending east- 
ward through Nunda and other towns. 

The soil is a dark loam, with a subsoil of sand 
and gravel, as a rule; but this is not invariable, 
for in places a marked tendency to a lighter na- 
ture is visible, with a clayey subsoil. 

Mansfield has no lakes within its borders, nor 
has it any streams of much importance. The 
largest in the township is Steward's Creek, which 



rises in Alden and crossing a corner of section two 
passes through the center of section one and 
twelve, forming a miniature lake in section one. 
ti>uches a corner of thirteen and leaves the town 
on its way to Bear Lake, in Nunda. Lime Creek 
crosses the southeastern corner of the township. 
Another small stream, not as yet dignified with a 
name upon the map, rises in section eight, and 
Howing northward through section five, leave.-! the 
town and enters Alden. 

The geologicil and natural history survey of 
county of Freeborn, by N. H. Wiuchell, State 
Geologist, published in 187.5, says of Mansfield: — 
"This town is nearly all prairie, a small patch of 
oak openings ooeuring in sections three, ten, and 
fifteen. The northwestern part of the township is 
rolling, and the southeastern is level and wet with 
marshes. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

The earliest steps leadings to the founding and 
subsequent development of this thriving town- 
ship commenced early in 1856, which was about 
the time that the w'estern fever actually set in, and 
found root in the minds of the eastern people. 

The first settlers in Mansfield were the Tunell 
brothers, John and Henry, who came from Illinois 
by the way of Iowa, with their families, and with 
teams, arriving on the 23d of June, 1856, and lo- 
cating on section eight. Here John remained 
until 1873, when he went to Oregon, where he 
now resides with his family ; while Henry still 
occupies the place he originally secured in section 
eight, and is one of the prominent men of both 
town and county. These brothers brought with 
them about one hundred head of cattle, and 
shortly after their arrival commenced putting up 
hav, seiuring enough to carry them safely through 
the winter; but a prairie fire came rolling along 
and destroyed all the fruits of their labor. For a 
time the prospect looked seriously dubious, but 



UAXS FIELD TOM-ysHIP. 



485 



they finally managed to purchase enough hay 
from parties in Iowa to title them over the winter, 
without a loss of more than half their stock, as 
the poor brut.es suffered considerable from the 
severe cold and deep snow. 

Shortly after these parties made their appear- 
ance, Henry Schmidt and Henry Jahnke arrived 
and secured tracts of the government domain; 
Henry Schmidt located on section ten, where he 
remained until that insatiable enemy of immortal- 
ity, Death, called him hence. Mr. Jahnke made 
himself at home in section ten, and still holds 
forth there, a prosperous and prominent farmer. 

After this there were no arrivals for some time, 
but gradually the attention of incomers was 
turned this way, and the government land began 
to disappear. Messrs. Stenvaldson and Kittleson, 
natives of Norway, came in and located where 
they still live, on valuable farms in section fifteen. 
Shortly after this we notice the arrivals of a num- 
ber of additions to this littlement of Norwegians; 
H. Knutson, Nels Nelson, John Kraiis Haar, and 
others who are yet occupying their places. 

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

It is claimed that the first birth in the township 
was the minor arrival of Louisa Schmidt, on tlie 
10th of October, 1856. 

Among, if not the very first marriages in the 
township, occurred in 1864, and united August 
Heintz and Miss Louisa Yost in the holy bonds of 
matrimony. 

The first death of a matured person was the 
demise of Mrs. Henry Schmidt, who was called 
away on the 20th day of December, 1862. She 
was first buried on the farm, but her remains 
■were subsequently removed to the Mansfield 
cemetery. 

The first religious services in the township 
were held in 1859, by Eev. Mr. Smith, an itiner- 
ant preacher from New Ulm. 

MANSFIELD POST-OFFICE. 

This luxury was established about 1875, the 
first Postmaster being Mr. James M. Emerson, 
who held the office until the 8th of March, 1878, 
when the present Postmaster, Henry J. Smith, 
was commissioned to handle the mail, and still 
acts in that capacity. The location of the office 
is at the Postmaster's house in section ten, and it 
supplies a ^ood area of country with its postal 
matter, proving a great convenience to the far- 



mers, who would otherwise be obliged to go out 
of the township for the news from friends. 

Lutheran Church. —This society effected an 
organization as early as 1874, and in that year 
they erected a neat and commodious church edi- 
fice in the southeastern corner of section thirty- 
six, at a cost of about |.3,300. The denomination 
belongs to the conference of Blinnesota. Their 
first pastor was Rev. B. B. Gelduger, who was 
succeeded by Eev. Mr. Nelson, and next came 
the present officiating clergyman, Rev. Mr. Ostrop. 
It is one of the strongest societies in Freeborn 
county, having about three hundred members. 

There is a cemetery in connection with this 
church, located just south of it, on a high spot 
of land, which contains about thirty graves. This 
was laid out about the time of the organization 
of the society, and is one of the most beautiful 
grounds for the purpose in Mansfield. 

Mansfield Cemetery. — This burial ground is 
located in the northeastern part of section sixteen, 
containing one acre, which is neatly fenced and 
well improved. This "village ot the dead "con- 
tains many members of the earliest settlers in 
Mansfield, and among the gleaming head boards 
we see the epitaph of the father of Henry Tunell, 
one of the first and most honored settlers. 

POLITICAL. 

In earlier days Mansfield was merged into sur- 
rounding towns for local government, and the 
records of it as a separate organization do not 
commence until 1866, when they state that the 
first meeting was held in Henry Schmidt's house. 

The first officers elected were: Supervisors, 
Henry Tunell, Chairman, John Kraus Haar, and 
John B. Oleson; Clerk, John Tunell; Assessor, 
Nicholas Stenoldson; Treasurer, John Tunell. 
At present, meetings are held in the schoolhouses 
throughout the town. 

Mansfield has always been in good hands, so 
far as its officials are concerned, and public mat- 
ters have been attended to with a zeal and 
honesty that is indeed commendable; it is out of 
debt, has voted S400 for road and bridge fund, 
and has never voted any railroad bonds to beggar 
the people and enrich monopolists. 

STATISTICAL. 

We will say, as an introductory remark to this 
article, that, as a rule, statistics are rather dry 
reading to one who is merely perusing a work for 



486 



HISTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



pastime, as they go too much into fine detail to 
suit mere fancy; but to one who is searching for 
facts coaoerning a locality which he has in con- 
templation for a future home, they are everything 
and all important. They determine for him with 
accuracy the resources of a country; the class of 
people with wliich it is settled, giving the amount 
of their productions, and they are indisputable. 
In fact, all vital matters concerning the wealth, 
prosperity, and welfare of a locality are embodied 
in a careful summing up of the statistics of values, 
cultivation, and prt>dnction. We have, therefore, 
compiled a statement of such for this township, 
taken from the County Auditor's report to the 
commissioner of statistics of Minnesota for 1882, 
and elsewhere, which we herewith present. It 
must be remembered that although the report 
was made in the year 1882, the acreage and num- 
ber of bushels raised was in the year 1881. 

Wheat— 1,844 acres, yielding 22,611 bushels; 
average 12.25 bushels per acre. 

Oats — 399 acres, yielding 12,162 bushels; about 
33 bushels per acre. 

Corn— 534 acres, yielding 19,480 bushels; 363^ 
bushels per acre. 

Barley — 33 acres, yielding 740 bushels; 22i-'2 
per acre. 

Potatoes— 29 acres, yielding 3,075 bushels; 106 
per acre. 

Sugar cane — 51^ acres, yielding 670 gallons of 
syrup; 127 gallons per acre. No sugar reported. 

Hay — 30 acres, yielding 60 tons; per acre, two 
tons. Wild hay, 1,230 tons. 

Other products, about five acres. 

Total number of acres cultivated in 1881, 2,879. 

Apples — 867 growing trees, 141 bearing; yield- 
ing 20 bushels. 

Sheep — 82 sheared, yielding 292 pounds 
of wool; over three pounds and a half per head. 

Dairy — 210 cows, yielding 10,800 pounds: 
averaging over fifty pounds each. No cheese 
reported. 

Bees and honey — 3 hives, yielding 12 pounds 
of honey. 

This closes the report for the year 1881. Prom 
the report of Assessors, for the j^rcsent year, 1882, 
we have gleaned the following which wiU be of 
interest : 

The Year 1882.— Acreage sown to wheat, 1,801 ; 
oats, 423; corn, 834; barley, 22; rye, 1; potatoes, 
35>^; sugar cane, 3)^; cultivated hay, 30; other 



I produce, 3. Total acreage cultivated in 1882 — 

I 3,2] 3. 

Other items for the same year: growing apple 
trees, 1,162; bearing apple trees, 406; grape vines 
in bearing, 13; milch cows, 205; sheep, 229; wool, 
807; whole number of farms reported, 35. 

FoiTLATiox. — In the year 1860, the population 
of Mansfield may be said to be almost nothing. 
In 1870, the census report gives it 379, and at 
the last census, in 1880, we find the ))opulation to 
be 552; showing an increase in ten years of 173. 

; SCHOOLS. 

Educational facilities in Mansfield are up to the 
average of towns in the count}', having six dis- 
' tricts, all in good condition and well managed. 
If the territory were equally divided in the town- 
ship, this would give an area of six square miles ' 
to each educational sub-division. The districts, 
, with numbers and location of sehoolhouses, are 
, as follows: No. 41, building in section thirty- 
two; No. 74, in section two; No. 84, in section 
twenty-six; No. 86, in section thirty -five; No. 87, 
in section eight; No. 92, in section ten. Below is 
given a short sketch of the organization, growth, 
and present condition of the various districts. 

District No. 41. — Embraces the territory lying 
in the southwestern part of the township. It was 
organized at an early day, but as to the actual 
date there are many confiictiug reports, and as we 
have failed in seeing the records we cannot here 
decide the question; but, it is certain, however, 
that about the year 1872 their schoolhouse was 
erected in the northern part of section thirty-two, 
at a cost of about .$100, the size of it being 12x16. 
The first school was instructed by Miss Hattie 
Coblett, to nine scholars. The attendance at the 
present time is sixteen. 

District No. 74. — Effected an organization 
about 1870, and held school in the private resi- 
dence of John Kraus Haar in section two, with Miss 
Bhoda Gripman as teacher and twelve pupils to 
answer the roll call. In 1872 their schoolhouse 
was erected in the southwestern corner of section 
two at a cost of S!!400. the size of which is 18x30. 
The school has not increased much in numerical 
strength. 

District No. 84. — This district commenced its 
existence by erecting a school edifice in section 
twenty-six, the size of which is 16x24 and cost 
$300. The first teacher was C. H. Emmons with 
an attendance of about twenty-five, which has 



MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP. 



487 



increased to about thirty-five pupils. This dis- 
trict embraces the territory southwest of the center 
of the townshij^. 

District No. 86. — Effected an organization in 
1872, the first school being taught in Mr. Hellek 
Knudson's house in section thirty-six, the teacher 
being Miss Jennie L. Eomanson, with twenty-five 
students present. In the year 1874, two years 
after organization, the school building now in 
use was erected in the southeastern cornet of sec- 
tion thirty-five, at a cost of about .f 200, the size 
being 18x24. This district is really a union one, 
as it embraces as part of its territory several sec- 
tions in the state of Iowa. 

DiSTEiCT No 87. — It is claimed by .some that 
this educational subdivision came into existence 
in the year 1867; and the first school was taught 
by Miss Ivey Thomas in John Tunnell's residence 
with fourteen pupils present. The following year 
their school edifice was erected in the southwestern 
part of section eight, size 16x24 at a cost of S400. 
The lumber from 'this house was hauled from 
Austin. 

District No. 92. — This district is presumed to 
have been organized about 1875, for in that year 
we find their school house was erected in the 
southwestern part of section ten, at a cost of .S400, 
size 18x24. Mr. Ambrus Morey was the first 
teacher, to an enrollment of twenty-one scholars. 
The district is in good condition and now has an 
attendance of about twenty -five. 

BIOGKAPHICAI/. 

BEN.IAMIN H. Dillingham was born in Maine 
on the 27th of December, 1841. He was raised 
on a farm and attended the Friends' Seminary, lo- 
cated in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1862, he 
was joined in marriage to Miss Emma J. Mc- 
Curdy, who was born in his^native State. They 
came to Iowa in 1866, and engaged in farmfng 
three years, since which time Mansfield has been 
their home, taking a quarter in section thirty -two. 
Their children are, Henry E., James S., Charles 
H., Oliver E., George A., Mary F., Millard F., 
Lilian, and an infant not named. Mr. Dillingham 
takes a deep interest in educational matters, was 
one of the leading men in starting the public 
schools in this place and has been Clerk of the 
school board eight successive years. 

John Kbaus Haab, an old settler in this place, 
is a native of Germany, born in the village of 
Shlenklfeldt, near Frankfurt-on-the-Main, on the 



15th of April, 1817. He received a good educa- 
tion in the public schools of the village, and when 
fourteen years old began the trade of a cabinet- 
maker, and after four years at the same was en- 
gaged in the manufacture of the celebrated Kraus 
Haar pianos and organs. In 1842 he came to 
America, located in Erie county, Ohio, and fol- 
lowed his trade two years, then to Berlin Centre, 
and afterward to Litchfield, Michigan. In 1844 
he was married to Miss Sarah Beck. After some 
years at his trade in the latter place his health 
failed and he came to Kock county, Wisconsin, 
where he resided on a farm five years and then 
moved to Mitchell county, Iowa. Since 1863, he 
has been a resident of this place, taking land in 
section two. He is a respected citizen, has always 
taken an active part in all school and local mat- 
ters, and assisted in the organization of the 
township, having since held a number of the 
principal town offices. His children are George 
H., Mary L., Samuel H., Elizabeth C, Isaac N., 
John C, and Sarah M. 

William Jost was born in Waldeck, Germany , 
on the 27th of August, 1842. In 1864,^he came 
with his parents to America, and directly to Min- 
nesota, locating in section nine, Mansfield. He 
now owns two hundred and eighty-four acres, 
about half of which is under cultivation, having 
a good house and barn. In 1870 he was joined 
in matrimony with Miss Caroline Frese, also a na- 
tive of Germany. They have five children; Fred- 
eric, Fredrica, Mary, Augusta, and Emma. Mr. 
Jost's father died at the advanced age of eighty- 
two years, and his mother still lives, aged seventy- 
two. 

Henry Jahnke, one of the first settlers in 
Mansfield, is a native of Meoklinburg, Germany, 
born on the 1st of August, 1822. He there grew 
to manhood, attending school, and in 1852 came 
to America, first locating in Illinois. He was 
married in 1852 to Miss Mary Miller. Two years 
later they came to this township, and under the 
homestead law took one hundred and sixty acres 
in sections three aad ten, which is still their home, 
having a desirable farm well cultivated. Mr. amd 
Mrs. Jahnke have had six children, five of whom 
are living, John, Mary, Christ, Mina, and Louisa. 

Valentine Katzdng, a native of Germany, was 
born on the 6th of January, 1844. When eleven 
years of age he came with his parents to America 
and located on a farm in Rockford, 111. 1 rom 



488 



HTSTORY OF FREE BORN COUNTY. 



thenoe thev moved to Kilbonrn City, Wisconsin, 
and shortly after cume to Minnesota and located 
in Blue Earth City. In 1864 Valentine enlisted in 
Company F, of the First Minnesota Volunteer In- 
fantry, was in the service one year and then honora- 
bly discharged. In 1867 he married Miss Christiana 
Yost, who was also born in Germany. They have 
a family of seven children; August, Edward, 
William, Ferdinand, Herman, Bertha, and Erncs- 
tina. Mr. Katzimg's farm is situated in section 
nine. 

D.\viD Lavai.I;E, one of the old and substantial 
citizens of this place, was born near Lake Cham- 
plain in Canada in 1839, He grew to manhood 
in his native place and in 1860, married Miss 
Louisa Pearmsolt, who was also raised in Canada. 
In 1865, Mr. Lavalle came west and three years 
later located in Mansfield, upon the farm which 
is still his home. He has a family of six children; 
Elizabeth, David, Milda, Hulda, Eva, and John 
O. His father, PaulL. Lavalle, lives with him and 
is a well perserved man of seventy-three years, 
enjoying the comforts of life with his children's 
children. 

John Niebuhr was bom in Hanover, Germany, 
on the 22d of November, 1828. He received his 
education there and in 1864, married Miss 
Catharine King. They emigrated to America in 
1872, coming directly to this place and locating 
in section seventeen which is still their home. 
Mr. Niebuhr now owns five hundred and seventv 
acres of land, about half being under cultivation, 
and has one of the largest dwelling houses in the 
place. He is an energetic farmer, keeping a fine 
lot of stock and also raising small grain He has 
a family of ten children; Dora, Mary, Eliza, Kate, 
Henry, William, Louisa, Maggie, Minnie, and 
George. 

Rev. p. G. Ostbt was born in Trysil, Norway, 
on the 12th of August, 18.36. He received a good 
education and at the age of twenty commenced 
teaching school, and after two years entered a 
high school, similar to our Normal schools, where 
he remained two years, then returned to teaching. 
In 1868, he came to America and attended the 
College at Paxton, Illinois, and afterward at 
Marshall, Wisconsin, where he passed a theologi- 
cal course and was ordained as a Lutheran minis- 
ter. He was Chaplain for C. L. Clausun at Ht 
Ansgar, Iowa, for one year, then moved to Austin, 
Minnesota, and was pastor of the Norwegian 



Lutheran church there for seven years. In 1871, 
he married Miss Garo B. Thoruby, and they have 
a family of five boys; Johannas G., Bernhard I., 
Paul I. D., Selmar O., and James (). C. In 1878, 
Mr- Ostby came to Mansfield as pastor of the 
Lutheran Cliurch of this place, and through his 
energy and benevolence it is now in a prosperous 
condition. 

Ole I. Opdahi, was born near Bergen, Norway, 
on the 5th of January, 1853, and came with his 
his parents to America in 1865. After a residence 
of a short time in Iowa the family removed to 
Minnesota and located in Nunda. In 1874, Ole 
was united in marriage with Miss Betsy David- 
son, also a native of Norway, and the same year 
came to Mansfield, buying land in section eleven 
which has since been their home. Mr. Opdahi 
takes an active part in the advancement of educa- 
tion, has held school offices and was a member of 
the board of Supervisors three years. His farm 
now contains three hundred and twenty acres and 
is well improved. He has five children ; Louisa, 
Emma, GiUa, Eva, and David. 

Alexandeu Peterson was born in Uddevalla, 
Sweden, on the 8th of August, 182i). At the age 
of fifteen he went to Norway where he received a 
good education. He was married in 1853, to Miss 
Enger Serena Norby, a native of Norway. In 
1864, they came to America and resided in Iowa 
for three years, then moved to this place, settling 
in section twenty-four. His farm now contains 
two hundred acres of well improved land. Mr. 
Peterson is always intcrestetl in local matters and 
has held difl'ereut offices, is at present Town Clerk 
and also school clerk. His children are; Mary, 
Hanna, Caroline, Carl, Peter, Otto, and Alphons. 

Hiram M. Pettit was born in Crawford county, 
Pennsylvania, on the 18th of July, 1833. He was 
raised on a farm, and in 1853, came we.st to Iowa, 
where he resided two years, then located in Min- 
nesota, but returned to Iowa in a few years. He 
was joined in matrimony with Miss Elisif Dibble 
in 1859. In 1861, he enlisted in the Twenty- 
seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company I, and 
after a campaign through to Mississippi, was tak- 
en sick and confined in the hospital at Jackson, 
Tennessee, five months, after which he was honor- 
ably discharged. In 1864, he entered land in 
section one, Mansfi(>ld, and now has it nearly all 
under cultivation, making a good home. He has 
filled a number of school and town offices. Mr. 



MOSCOW TOWNSHIP. 



489 



aud Mrs. Pettit have four ehildren; Edison, Hud- 
son, Elmer, and Mary. 

HiEAM J. Steward, a native of Maine, was 
born near Bangor, on the 2l3t of September, 
1831. At the early age of twelve years he began 
working by the day, following the lumber busi- 
ness twelve years. In 1855, he was married to 
Miss Mary E. Steward, who was also born in 
Maine, and they settled on a farm near Saint Al- 
bans. In 1862, Mr. Steward enlisted in the 
Twenty-second Maine Volunteer Infantry, Compa- 
ny K, went New Orleans and at the battle of Port 
Hudson, June 13th, 1862, was wounded in the 
right knee where the buckshot still remains. Aft- 
er a service of eleven months, he received an hon- 
orable discharge and returned to his home. In 
1806, he came west to Iowa, remained three years 
and then came to Minnesota, taking land in sec- 
tion twelve where he still lesides. He has a fine 
farm, and the tidy appearance of his home gives 
evidence of his eastern education and habits. Mr. 
and Mrs. Steward have three children; PhedoraC, 
Lizzie M., and Hiram H. 

Henkt J. Schmidt was born near Joliet, Illinois, 
on the 26th of August, 1853, and when three 
years old came to Mansfield with his parents who 
were among the first settlers in this place. Henry 
was married in 1878, to Miss Caroline Leonhardi, 
also a native of Illinois. They have had two 
children; Henry and Arthur, the former having 



died when one year old, and tlie latter on the 23d 
of September, 1882. Their farm contains two 
hundred and eighty acres with the greater portion 
under cultivation. Mr. Schmidt has been school 
Clerk six years, Town Treasurer four years, Post- 
master for a time, and is at present Treasurer of 
the school district. His parents are both dead, 
his mother having died when thirty-eight years 
old, and his father at the age of sixty -seven. 

Henry Tunedl was born the 29th of June, 
1826, near Hanover, Germany. When seventeen 
years old he enlisted in the army as a Volunteer, 
serving seven years and one mouth. In 1850 he 
married Miss Dora Olmyer and the same year 
emigrated to America. They located near Bloom- 
ing Grove, Illinois, and after farming there six 
years, came to Minnesota, settling in Mansfield on 
section eight, where he has a farm of four hun- 
dred and twenty acres, all cultivated. He has 
eight children; William 0., Henry J., Charles, 
George J., Alvina D., Gustavus, Robert, and Ed- 
ward, all of whom are grown. Mr. Tunell is one 
of the intiuential citizens of this place; has been in 
the Legislature two terms; Chairman of the board 
of Supervisors fifteen years; school Director ten 
years, and Clerk of the, school board of Trustees. 
After the Sioux Massacre in 1863, he was com- 
missioned Captain of a Militia company for home 
protection. 



MOSCOW. 



CHAPTER LXVII. 

Location and topography — early settlement — 

THE honored dead — STATISTICS RELIGIOUS — 

VILLAGE OF MOSCOW — SUMNER VILLAGE EVENTS 

OF INTEREST MANDPACTUBINO, SOCIETIES, ETC. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

This is one of the eastern towns in Freeborn 
county; one lying between it and the northern 
boundary. Its contiguous surroundings are as 
follows: Mower county on the east; Oakland on 
the south; Riceland on the west; and Newry on 



the north. Moscow is a full congressional town- 
ship of thirty-six sections or square miles, con- 
taining 23,040 acres. 

The greater part of the township is what is 
called burr oak opening land, that is, small patches 
of burr and black oak timber, interpersed with 
natural meadows and prairies. Along the Turtle 
Creek, in sections seven, eight, seventeen, eight- 
een, twenty-one, and twenty-two, considerable 
heavy timber is found, among the varieties being 
white, red, and burr oak, white and black ash, 
bass and elm, and on section twenty-six there was 



■100 



iiisniny of freehokn county 



■A fine growth of heavy oak timber, where the 
first claim in the township was taken. 

Turtle Creek is the princijjal water course in 
the town, entering from Ricelaml by way of sec- 
tions seven and eighteen, ami taking a southeast- 
erly course, eroasos the town and leaves through 
section thirty-six to enter Mower county. This 
stream furnishes an excellent water-power in sec- 
tion twei,ty-two, which has been improved to 
some extent, and greater improvement is now in 
contemplation and will probably be carried out. 
Deer Creek is a small stream whiee rises in Newry, 
and taking a southerly course, makes a conH\i 
ence with the Turtle in section eighteen. 

The soil is a clayey loam, dark in places 
and again of a lighter nature, with a tendency to 
sandiness in many places. It is well adapted to 
agricultural purposes, and is productive if prop- 
erly tilled. 

e.\rijT settlement. 

Tliere seems to be a preponderance of testi- 
mony that the first claim in the township was 
taken in May. 185.5, by a man named Nathan 
Hunt, who located in section twenty-six, and re- 
mained for about one year and sold to Alexander 
Schutt, who in turn sold to the present proprietor, 
Henry Fero. 

The next to put in an appearance after Hunt, 
was a party composed of various nationalities: 
Robert Speer, a native of New York State, Thom- 
as R. Morgan, and Thomas Ellis, natives of 
Wales, who came from Wisconsin where they had 
been for a few years, and accomplishing the jour- 
ney with ox teams by camping on the way, ar- 
rived here on the first 'of June, 1855. It should 
be chronicled to the credit of the parties, as it is 
unusual to such journeys, that they did not travel 
on Sunday, and made the trip in one month. 

Mr. Speer took a claim in section twenty-two. 
where he pitched a tent to live in while he was 
breaking, and he still holds forth on the same 
spot. 

Mr. Morgan drove his stakes upon a place in sec- 
tion twenty-eight, and lived upon the pl.ice until 
1881, when he rented and moved to Austin. 

Mr. Ellis also took a tract of land in section 
twenty-eight, where he lived in comfortable cir- 
cumstances up to the time of his death, which oc- 
curred in 1874, and his family are now in Dakota. 

.Tames Bush, .John ft. and .Tames Dunning, soon 
after arrived, all being natives of New York State, 



having stopped for a time in in Wisconsin and 
secured homes. Bush took his farm in section 
twenty-seven, where he erected a log house cov- 
ered with bark; but he soon built a better one 
and still lives upon his pl.ice. James Dun- 
ning halted in section twenty-seven, where he 
lived until 1876, and then removed to Kansas, 
where he now lives. John (i. Dunning took a 
claim in sections twenty-two and twenty-seven, 
and continued his sojourn here until 1872, when 
he removed to Oregon. 

Evan Morgan was another of the fifty-fivers. 
He was a native of Wales, ha^^ng become Ameri- 
canized in Wisconsin, and after his arrival in 
Moscow tarried a while in section twenty-one; but 
soon sold that place and removed to section 
twenty-two, where he may yet be found. 

This is about a complete list of the arrivals in the 
year 1855. The year following there were a great 
many to make their appearance upon the pro- 
gressive scene in Moscow township, and as many 
of them as can be remembered will be chronicled. 

Stephen N. Frisbie,a native of Connecticut, came 
rom Wisconsin early this year and secured a farm 
in section thirty-five, where he is yet to be found. 

Nathan S. Hardy, a school teacher from the 
Empire State, arrived and kept Prisbie company 
by securing a place and erecting a habitation in 
the same section, where he yet holds forth. Will- 
iam Pace, an Englishman, who had been natural- 
ized in Wisconsin, joined this little settlement by 
taking a jilace in section thirty-four, where he 
ri>mained iintil the time of his death in September, 
1882. 

Henry Fero, a native of New York, drifted in 
and took a slice from Uncle Sam's domain just 
north of this little settlement, in .section twmty- 
six, where his light still holds out to burn. Two 
others in the persons of George W. Dearmin and 
Benjamin Martin, originally from North Carolina, 
but late of Indiana, extended the neighborhood 
above treated, westward, by securing and sub- 
duing claims in sections twenty-eight and twenty- 
nine. The former still resides in section twenty • 
eight, but the latter, after a sojourn of two years 
returned to Indiana. 

Ashabel Barnhart, from the Buckeye State, 
pushed the neighborhood northward and selected 
his territory in section twenty -one, where he re- 
mained until his death in 1872, and his family 
now reside in Dakota. 



J/0-sCOll' TOWNSHIP. 



i'.n 



Rufus K. Crum, a native of Pennsylvania, came 
from Indiana and took a claim in section twenty- 
eight. He remained for a number of years, lay- 
ing out a town site, and finally removed to Iowa. 
With Crum came George W. Davis, of the Buck- 
eye State, who took land in section twenty-eight: 
but one Minnesota winter was enough for him, 
and he pulled up stakes and left for Iowa, where 
he has since died. 

A. A. Webster, of the Empire State, drifted in 
add anchored in section twenty-three, lived there 
awhile and then sold and removed to section 
fourteen, where he remained until 1879, and now 
lives in Dakota Territory. 

About the same time David Gates, of the same 
descent, made his appearance, coming direct from 
Wisconsin, and located upon a place in section 
thirty-three, which he still owns; but in 1875 he 
removed to Austin. 

Hiram C. Porter, a native of Vermont, came 
from Iowa this year, and settled just north of 
Gates iu section twenty-eight, and lived here up 
to the time of his death, which sad event occurred 
in 1868. His .son now occupies the place; while 
his widow became the wife of John G. Dunning_ 
and now resides in Oregon. 

Another of the arrivals this year was George 
Watson, a native of Pennsylvania, who selected 
his portion of Government land in section thirty. 
He was a member of the State Constitutional 
Convention; was elected a Senator to the first 
Minnesota Legislature; was the first Postmaster of 
the Sumner Post-office, and in 1863, received a 
Government appointment at St. Paul, where he 
now resides. He was joined, soon after his arrival 
to Minnesota, by Josiah W. Hardy, a native of 
New York State, who came from Iowa, and plant- 
ed his stakes upon a farm iu section twenty-five. 
He lived here for about one year, when he returned 
to Iowa, and in May, 1864 gave up his life in St. 
Louis, in defense of his country. 

The Vanderwurkers, father and son, natives of 
Michigan, arrived this year, and commenced pio- 
neer life upon claims in Moscow, but both have, 
since 1878, pulled up their claim stakes, and re- 
moved; the former to Wisconsin, and the latter to 
Lyon county, Minnesota. 

Robert A. Dearmin was another to arrive this 
year, locating in section twenty-eight; he may yet 
be ound upon the original homestead, at this 



writing, overturning the land for the crop of 
1883. 

Four Englishmen came in about this time, in the 
persons of Messrs. Bridle, Prey, Hallenback, and 
Galpin, who all took claims with the avowed in- 
tention of making this their future home: but the 
severe winter succeeding their arrival apparently 
satisfied them, as they all soon after pulled up 
stakes and left for parts unknown. 

A. B. Lizer, George Balton, and Leonard Web- 
ster were also among the arrivals of 1856, and 
took farms. Lizer came from Wisconsin and locat- 
ed in section thirty-five, remaining until 1879, 
when he went to Kansas, Balton established him- 
self in section tljirty-tbree, where he remained 
until called upon by the angel of death. Web- 
ster first settled upon a farm in section twenty- 
three, and remained in the town until 1880, when 
he went to Dakota. 

Tollef Oleson and Ole ToUefson, whose names 
indicate their nationality, arrived late in this year, 
and squattad in section twelve, where they lived 
for a number of years. The son is now dead, and 
the father is living in Lau^iing, it ia said, at the 
age of ninety-seven years. 

Michael Murphy, an Irishman, also arrived this 
year, and took a place in section tweuty-flve, 
where his smiling visage is still on exhibition. 

In 1857, we note the arrival of several pioneers; 
among whom were Francis Hardy, father of N. S. 
and J. W. Hardy; Daniel S. Ingraham; Samuel 
Degood; Samuel G. Lowry, and soon after, his son, 
Theophus Lowry; David M. Farr; and Leonard 
Ware. 

THE HONORED DEAD. 

David M. F.vbr was an early settler in Moscow, 
having dawned upon the western scenes in section 
twenty-two, in the township of Moscow, in Sep- 
tember, 1856, and the next year got his family up- 
on the spot where they lived at the time of his 
death, which took place on the 8th of July, 1878, 
in Texas, at the age of 55 years. He was born in 
Orleans county, New York, on the 2d of Decem- 
ber, 1822, and was liberally educated. On the 
20th of July, 1843, he was married to Miss Han- 
nah Robbins. His ability was recognized where- 
ever he was known, and he served in almost every 
local office. Was Justice of the Peace, Town 
Clerk, Postmaster, Supervisor, and for years was 
known as the model Assessor of Freeborn county. 
He was a good, careful, and correct surveyor, and 



■t'.l-J 



lIlsTonr OF FliEEBnRN COUNTY. 



a very useful man in the community. He left a 
wife and four children to bewail his sudden taking 
ofl', which was. as above mentioned, away from 
home. 

Hiram J. Bice moved into this county in 18")7, 
and securing a foothold in section thirty-six in the 
town of Mobcow, remained there up to the year 
1876, when lie went to Floyd county, Iowa, and 
there died, in Septemlier, 1877. He enlisted in 
the array, was a faithful soldier, but lost his health 
and never fully recovered. 

Thomas Ellis died in the town of Moscow on 
the 13th of September, 1871, having fought the 
good fight and finished his course. He was a 
native of Wales. Oncoming to America lie stop- 
ped a while in Ohio, and then pushed on to Wis- 
consin where, catching the tide that was setting 
so strongly into the new territory of Minnesota, he 
was brought out here in 185.5, securing a place 
where he remained through life. He was in the 
army during the war, was a kind father and hus- 
band, and was sadly missed. 

Israel N. Pace. — The year 1840, and Benning- 
ton, Wyoming county, New York, claims the sub- 
ject of this sketch as the time and place of his 
birth. From the age of two years he lived in 
Wisconsin, coming to this place in 1856. He was 
married on the 9th of December, 1867, to Miss 
Bosaniia Farr. For three years he served his 
country in the Union army, in the Tenth Minne- 
sota Regiment, and was slightly wounded at the 
battle of Nashville in September, 1864:. He was 
a good citizen, friend and neighbor, and left a 
wife and five children. The bugle call that 
sounded the rereilU for his rising in the other life, 
was on the 17th of April, 1879. at the age of 38. 

Mrs Mary T. Cheadle terminated her earthly 
journey on Monday evening, the 10th of Novem- 
ber, 1879, at the age of 54 years. Entering upon 
the activities of this life in Rockvale, Indiana, on 
the 7th of October, 1825, she, at an early day, 
married Mr. Cheadle, and with him lived and 
reared her family. During the war her husband 
volunteered in the army and left his bones to 
lileach on southern soil. Several years ago she 
came to this county and located near her rela- 
tives in Moscow. She was an exemplary member 
of the Presbyterian church. 

J. S. Harris. — The balance sheet of this life 
was struck on the 8th of December, 1879. He 
was bom in the Old Dominion, in Augusta coun- 



ty, in 1823, and was one of the seven children who 
removed to Rockwell, Illinois, in 1844, and about 
that time he joined the Presbyterian church. Was 
married to Miss Ella Elsley in 18.")3, and in 1H56, 
removed ^vith his wile and one child to Iowa. In 
1859 he came to Moscow. He was a constant 
and devout worshipper at the clmrch of his 
choice. 

STATISTICAI.. 

The year 1881. — The area included in this re- 
port takes in the whole town as follows: 

Wheat— 3,842 acres, yielding 41,525 bushels. 

Oats— 1,131 acres, yielding 32,700 bushels. 

Corn — 998 acres, yielding 33,723 bushels. 

Barley — 380 acres, yielding 7,641 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 4 acres, yielding 30 bu.shels. 

Potatoes — 58* acres, yielding 5,637 bushels. 

Beans — 4=8, yielding 56 bushels. 

Sugar cane — 3J acres, yielding 450 gallons. 

Cultivated hay — 415 acres, yielding 590 tons. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881 — 6,813 %• 

Wild hay— 1,235 tons. 

Timothy seed — 45 bushels. 

Clover seed — 15i bushels. 

Apples — number of trees bearing, 649, yielding 
591 bushels. 

Grapes — 4 vines, yielding 105 pounds. 

Tobacco — 70 pounds. 

Sheep — 150 sheared, yielding 984 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 308 cows, yielding 19,830 pounds of 
butter, and 15,050 pounds of cheese. 

Hives of bees — 2, yielding 50 pounds of honey . 

The year 1882: Wheat, 2,732 acres; oats, 
1,183; corn, 2,058; barley, 298; buckwheat, 16: 
potatoes, 85J; beans,2.V; sugar cane, b%; culti- 
vated hay, 81; flax, 306; total acreage cultiva- 
ted in 1882— 6,768-5. 

Apple trees— growing, 1,521: bearing. 96: 
grapes vines bearing, 3. 

Milch cows — 275 

Sheep — 226, yielding 1,236 pounds of wool. 

Pori'LATioN — The census of 1870 gave Moscow 
a population of 592. The last census, takeu in 
1880. reports 650 for this town; showing an in- 
crease of 58. 

REIiIGIOOS. 

The earliest settlers of Moscow were mostly 
Americans, with strong religious tendencies, rep- 
resenting various creeds or denominations, includ- 



MOSCOW TOWNSHIP. 



4!i;! 



ing the Congregationalists, Methodists, Baptists. 
Campbellites, and Presbyterians, which faiths were 
held to with a Puritanic tenacity. All felt the 
need of religious instruction, and when a preacher 
of the gospel put in an appearance he was hailed 
with joy. The first to dawn upon the scene was 
"Elder" Phelps, a yoxmg man fresh from the dis- 
cipline of the theological college, who had located 
at Austin. He first preached in Rufus K. Crum's 
house, in section twenty-eight, in 1856, and ho 
occasionally preached in this vicinity until March, 
18.57; but no society was formed. Later in the 
same year he preached in Samuel Degood's house 
in section thirteen, and a class was formed with 
about fi.fte9n members, with Isaac Vanderwnrker, 
leader. A Sunday school was organized about the 
same time, which was continued until 1880, Sam- 
uel Degood being superintendent a number of 
years. The last school was held at the school- 
house in section thirteen. Elder Reynolds was 
the regular preacher, and as most of the original 
members of the class have either removed to other 
localities, or died, it has been discontinued. 

During the winter of 1856-57, Daniel Ingra- 
ham, an itinerant exhorter not identified with any 
denomination; but, as be said, "anything to beat 
the devil," preached in private houses, among 
them George Bolton's and William Paul's. A 
class was organized at Bolton's house in 1857, 
with George Bslton as leader, and the same year 
Elder Mapes held services in various places, and 
also held a series of protracted meetings, the 
result of which was an organization. In 186.5, 
when Elder Tice was preaching here he started 
the project of building a church, which was 
accordingly erected in section twenty-two. This 
was the Methodist Episcopal society, and for a 
time religious matters prospered and the church 
grew; but finally, interest began to wane, the 
members, many of them, moved away, preaching 
became irregular, and then discontinued, and the 
organization was declared iitorihimd. 

PRBSBrTEBiAN Church. — The first services by 
this denomination were held during the fall of 
1857, at the house of the reverend gentleman who 
ofllciated, S. G. Lowry. The society effected an 
organization soon after, under the name of the 
Sumner and Moscow Presbyterian church. Mr. 
Lowry continued to preach at his house and in 
school buildings for about two years, when the 
Rev. Mr. Morse, a follower of the Congregational 



faith, took the religious training of the community 
in charge, and continued preaching once every 
two weeks for about one year. 

In 1858, Theophus Lowry organized a Sunday 
school at the schoolhouse in section thirty-one, 
and acted in the capacity of superintendent. This 
school continued in active work until 1878. 

Congregational CunRCH. — The first minister 
of the gospel following this faith, to hold services 
in this township, was Rev. Stephen Cook, of Aus- 
tin. He preached in the schoolhouse of district 
No. 31 in 1859, and on the 8th of April. 1860. a 
society was organized at the same schoolhouse 
with eleven members. The second preacher was a 
brother of the first. Rev. Nelson Cook. As most 
of the original members have either died or moved 
away, no services have bee i held since 1875. Rev. 
A. Morse, of Austin, was the last pastor. 

A Union Sunday School was organized at the 
house of William Pace, in March, 1857, which 
was about the first school of this kind formed in 
the township. Money was very liberally sub- 
scribed and a good supply of books procured. 
The organization started its good work under the 
most favorable auspices, with S. N. Frisbie as 
superintendent, and continued its efficiency for 
many years. 

Fairview Cemetery. — Was platted and re- 
corded on the 4th of June, 1875. It is in the 
southeast corner of the southeast quarter of sec- 
tion twentj'-nine. The trustees were J. S. Harris, 
T. B. Morgan, S. W. Pitts, N. F. Earle, W. Maun, 
and N. B. Vausthouse. A. C. Spicer was the sur- 
veyor. 

VILLAGE or MOSCOW. 

In June, 1857, this little burg was conceived, 
and was laid out in lots and blocks by Daniel 
Johnson, surveyor, for the proprietors, Nathan 
Owens, Benjamin Lindsey, and David M. Farr. 
It is located near the center of section twenty- 
two, or, to be technical, the northeast of the 
southwest of section twenty-two, on the bank of 
Turtle Creek. 

A Post-office under the name of Moscow was 
established at the village in 1858, with John G. 
Dunning as Post-master, and office at David 
Farr's house, in section twenty-two. In 1860 
David M. Farr was (roramissioned, and held the 
office for two years, when the present incumbent, 
Evan Morgan, was appointed to liandle the maih 



494 



HISTORY OF FltHEJJdliN CdUXTY. 



wliicli arrives twice eaoh week from OaklaiKl. Tlie 
office is kept at tbe house of tlie Postmaster. 

In 1866, Joseph James, John Chandler, and 
James Dyrlyii, put in machinei y and commenced 
operating a steam saw-mill near the main part of 
the village. They continued to pile up saw-dust 
ior about four years, when timber began to get 
scarce and they sold the concern, which was fin- 
ally removed to Waseca county. 

In 1879. Arthur Sanderson and bisson, Creorge, 
erected a two story frame building for a store 
and tenement, and in January. 1880, put in a 
good stock of general merchandise, which they 
still continue to manage. This is what has long 
been needed by the village and surrounding 
country, and it is to be hoped the farmers will 
sufficiently appreciate the enterprise to make it a 
fiiiaucial success to the projectors. 

.SUMNEB VILLAGE. 

lu 1857, a village was laid out iuto lots in sec- 
tion thirty-one by Bufus K. Crura, and recorded 
under this caption. A Post-office was also es- 
tablished the same year, with George Watson as 
Postmaster, which was continued until 1876, 
Aarou McKune being the last mail-handler. In 
1858, Mr. Crum, the projector of the embryo 
city, erected a house on the village site, and used 
to entertain travelers. But all of no avail; grad- 
ually the interest, even of the town proprietors, 
weakened, and the village of Sumner became a 
thing of the past, and the fond hopes for lots, 
blocks, stores, scht)oIs, and Churches, were aband- 
oned, and the surer and more practical plan of 
making money, by transforming the imaginary 
lots and blocks iuto fields of corn and wheat, 
was resorted to. 

VAKIOrs MATTEKS OF INTEREST. 

It is claimed, and upon good authority, that the 
first birth in the township took place on the 26th 
of December, 1855, and ushered into existence 
Sophia Matilda, a daughter of Evan and Sarah 
Morgan. The little girl grew to womanhood; and 
on the 12th of May, 1879, married A. M. Lee, 
and now resides in Sibley, in the northwestern 
part of Iowa. 

About the next minor arrival was the birth of 
Eva Maria, daughter of Robert and Mary Speer. 
She was married in 1875 to DeForest Lincoln, and 
in 1881 died at Alexandria, lea^'iug one child. 

Alfred Silas, a son of Henry amd Mary A. 



Fero, was also among the early births, in Mo.scow, 
Ills natal existence dating back to the 29tli of 
October, 1856. He now lives in Dakota. 

The earliest marriage occurring within the lines 
of Mo.-cow and of residents of the town, took 
place in October, 1856, and united the future for- 
tunes of George Bridle to Miss Galpin. Rev. 
Stephen Cook, of Au.stin, performed the ceremony 
at the house of the bride's parents in section 
thirty-two. In 1877 the happy couple returned 
to Illinois. 

Another early marriage took place on the 17th 
of May. 1859, the high contracting parties being 
George W. Dearmin and Miss Lucia Campbell' 
the knot being tied by Rev. Theophus Lowry. 
The parties still live in section twenty-eight of 
Moscow. 

Nathan S. Hardy and Amelia A. Pace were 
united in the holy bonds of matrimony on the 10th 
of August, 1859, by the Rev. Stephen Cook, at the 
residence of the bride's parents in section thirty- 
four. 

FiusT Death. — This sad event made its impress 
on the minds of the members of the scanty com- 
munity, and long it will be ere it will be effaced 
from their memories. A child of an Englishman 
named Galpin, living in section thirty-two. was 
the first victim, and quietly passed away in 1856. 

Another early event of this kind was the demise 
of Harriet, wife of James Bush, at the age of 
thirty-five, on the 25th of December, 1858. 

First Store. — In 1856, Elbridge Gerry, a 
Yankee from the Green Mountain State, opened a 
general store in section twenty -eight, in a little 
log house. The building had been erected by 
the neighbors as an inducement to business men, 
and during its erection Gerry furnished whisky to 
keep the popvluce in a good humor. When the 
store was completed Gerry put in a limited stock 
of dry goods, boots and shoes, and groceries, and 
an unlimited stock of poor whisky, which was his 
stajjle article. He did a very brisk business for 
about one year; but finally left and returned to 
his former home in Vermont. The building he 
used is now in the village of Hayward, used as a 
barn, and belongs to Mrs. E. J. Campbell. 

First Mill. — In 1857, Messrs. Lindsey k 
Owens put up a steam saw-mill in section twenty- 
one, eijuippiug it with a circular saw and power 
sufficient to cut 3,500 feet per day. In 1858 a 
burr for the purchase of grinding feed was at- 



.iruSCOW TOWNSHIP. 



495 



tached and the mill run for both a saw-mill and 
feed grinding. Thus the industry continued until 
about 1866, when the machinery was removed to 
Wisconsin. 

FiKHT Blacksmith Shop. — This enterprise 
originated through the energy of Eobert Speer, 
who in the fall of 185.5 erected a small slianty, 
put in tools, and during the winter following did 
considerable blacksmithiag. In 1856 he put up a 
substantial log building in which to carry on his 
business, and the pioneers came all the way from 
Blue Earth county for plow-sharpening. Mr. 
Speer carried on the business until 1877. 

SoRGHUJi Mill — J. H. Mclntire, in 1877, put 
in machinery and commenced operating a mill of 
this description for tlie manufacture of syrup, and 
since its construction, as regularly as the season 
rolls round, this mill is found to be in operation. 
A good article is manufactured and the enter- 
prise is of great benefit to the neighboring com- 
munity. 

WooDL.wvN Grange. — This society of the Pat- 
rons of Husbandry, effected an organization in 
1873 or '74, with about twenty charter member's, 
among whom were George King, Samuel Degood, 
Abijah Webster, and James H. Mclntire, and 
Abner Vanderwurker was chosan Worthy Master. 
The organization continued in active existence for 
about two years, and in fact, the charter has 
never been formerly surrendered; but one by one, 
the original and enterprising members moved 
away, or lost interest, until the lodge finally died 
from inappetency for success. Meetings of the 
order, while it was in force, were held at the 
houses of Mr. Vanderwurker and George King. 

Moscow Grange. — This lodge effected an or- 
ganization a few weeks after the Wood lawn 
society, and among the charter members we 
notice the names of Henry Fero, Evan Morgan, 
James Bush, Kobert Speer, John Ruh, Joseph 
James, and James Dunning. The first Master 
was Mr. John Ruh. Meetings were held at the 
schoolhouse in section twenty-two. It is said that 
this Grange broke up in a quarrel after a brief 
existence of about two years. 

I. O. OP G. T. — This society was organized at 
Henry Fero's house in April, 1876, with seventeen 
charter members, among whom were flecry Fero, 
Evan Morgan, G. W. Edwajds, H. C. Lee, Mary 
Fero, R. G. Speer, William Rogers, and L. M. 



Fero. The society flourished for a time but is 
now defunct. 

BIOGKAPHIIAL. 

William L. Bliss was born in Montpelier, 
Vermont, on the I'Jth of September, 1818. He 
learned the shoemaker trade and when twenty- 
two years old moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, 
where he bought an interest in a restaurant and 
conducted the same two years. He then went to 
New York City and engaged in the wholesale and 
retail liquor traffic. In 1848, he was married to 
Miss Alraina O. Spaulding. They have four 
children; Gilbert R., Almina O., George S., and 
Ida ^lay. Previous to his marriage he traveled 
through New York, Vermont and Canada, selHng 
jewelry and dry goods and afterwards settled in 
Clinton county, New York; but in 1856, went to 
California, and engaged in mining, remaining 
sixteen months. On his return he traveled along 
the Pacific slope selling honey-bees and introduc- 
ed the first ones in Oregon and Washington terri- 
tories. After an absence of two and a half years 
he returned to New York, and in 1859, again start- 
ed for California, but upon reaching this county 
stopped at Moscow and concluded to settle, taking 
a claim in section thirteen where he still lives. 

James Bush, one of the earliest settlers of this 
place, was born in New York on the 5th of Sep- 
tember, 1828. When young he worked for a time 
at the shoemaker's trade and before leaving his 
native State married, in 1844, Miss Harriet Gates. 
In 1855, they came to Dodge county, Wisconsin, 
and the following year to Moscow, taking a claim 
in section twenty-seven. In February, 1857, his 
wife died at the age of thirty-two years. She 
bore him four children, two of whom are living. 
In 1859, he married his second wife, a sister of 
the former, and she died on the 30th of August, 
1881, leaving a family of nine children. In 1874, 
Mr. Bush built a tine frame residence in which he 
now lives. 

George W. Dearmin, one of the pioneers of 
this place, was born in North Carolina, on the 
30th of October, 1828. When he was a small 
child his parents became pioneers of Indiana, 
where George resided until 1847, when he en- 
listed in the Fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 
Company E, participating in the Mexican war, and 
serving till its close. After his discharge he came 
to Indiana, and in 1855 came to Iowa; resided in 
Mitchell county until the spring of 1856, when 



406 



IirSTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



he came Jto this township aud took a claim in sec- 
tion eight, but soon after sold aud bought in sec- 
tion twenty-eight. In March, 186.5, he enlisted 
in Company F, of the First Minnesota Volunteer 
Infantry; was sent to Washington aud remained 
in service until the following July. He was 
united in marriage in May, 1859, with Miss Lu- 
cia Campbell. Of eight children born to this 
union, only three are living: Jessie F., Orra A., 
and Mary E. 

Stephen N. Frisiue, one of the pioneers of 
this place, was l)orn in Guilford, New Haven 
county, Connecticut. His mother, Miss Amada 
Scranton, was a descendant of John Seranton, who 
came with twenty-five other families from Eng- 
land, and settled in the latter town in 1639. His 
father was a sea faring man; aud when Stephen 
was ten years of age he went to live with his 
uncle on a farm, with whom he remained until 
twenty-t>ne, then removed to Genesee, Waukesha 
county, Wisconsin. On the 30th of August, 1848, 
he was married to Miss Theresa M. Castle.formerly 
of Colesville, New York, aud the issue of the un- 
ion was live children — three sons and two daugh- 
ters. In 1850, they moved to Beaver Dam, 
Dodge county, and resided there until 1853, thence 
to Leeds, Columbia county. In June, 1856, he and 
his family started with ox teams, and on the 23d 
( if .July, arrived in this township and staked out 
the claim upon which he now lives. Mr. Frisbie 
enjoys the esteem and confidence of his towns- 
men in a large degree, having been repeatedly 
elected to fill offices of trust and honor. In 1857, 
he was appoiuted one of the commissioners to 
organize Freeborn county, and that fall, at the 
fir.st general election, was made one of the County 
Commissioners, aud again in 1877 elected to the 
same office. He has been Chairman of the board 
of Supervisors, Assessor, Town Treasurer, and Jus- 
tice of the Peace, in which latter capacity he now 
officiates. In 1878. he was honored with a seat 
in the House of Kepresentatives. Although his 
business has been farming, he has engaged to 
some extent in other occapations; from the fall of 
1869 till 1S75 he handled grain, first for Bassett, 
Hunting .V: Co., and afterwards for other parties; 
subsequently kept a lumber yard on his own ac- 
count. In religious views he is a Congregational- 
ist, aud when the ITnion Sabbath School was or- 
ganized in this place he was apj)ointed its .Super- 
intendent. A Congregational church was organ- 



ized here in 1859, of which he was a member; 
but meetings in it have since been disccmtinued, 
and he joined the church at Austin. He is a 
staunch Republican, and has always been a x.eal- 
ou.s advocate of its principles. He was appoiuted 
Postmaster in 1858. the office being kept at 
his house until August. 1877, when it was re- 
moved to the railroad station, aud its name 
changed to Oakland. Mr. Frisbie's first wife 
died on the 25th of June, 1875, after a long aud 
painful illness, and he married his present wife on 
the 9th of .August. 1877. She was formerly Miss 
Sophie A. Little, of Oberlin, Ohio. 

John Guy, a native of Ireland, was born in Don- 
egal in 1845. In 1869, he left his birth place 
and emigrated to America, landed in New York, 
and came directly to Minnesota. He resided for 
a year and a half with his uncle in Oakland, and 
in 1871 bought land in this jjlace in company 
with bis brother. Mrs. Guy was formerly Miss 
Mary Taylor. Jlr. Guy has been a member of 
the Presbyterian church since quite young; is a 
Republican and takes an active interest in j)oli- 
tics. 

N.iTH.^N S. H.VRDY, one of the old settlers of 
Moscow, was born in Essex county, New Y'ork, on 
the 10th of January, 1833. ktter teaching school 
for a time in his native State in the spring of 

1854, he moved to Illinois, engaged in farming 
during the sunimer and in the fall clerked in the 
store of L. S. Felt, in Galena. In the autumn of 

1855, he returned to New York, and in the spring of 
"5(), again started west, locating in this townshij) 
the 1st of July. He was married on the Idth of 
August, 1859, to Annette, a daughter of William 
Pace, and the union has resulted in four children; 
Lovina S., Adda F., Louis E., and Milton J. 

Rev. Theophis Lowry, deceased, the eldest 
son of Bev. Samuel G. Lowry, was born in Nicholas 
county, Kentucky, on the 9th of September, 1821. 
His father, after preaching tor some time in Lew- 
is county, Kentucky, moved to New Richmond, 
Clermont county, Ohio, in 1823, thence, two years 
later, to Decatur county, Indiana, and afterward, 
in 1832, to Putnam county. In 1835, he went to 
Crawfordsville, the location of Wabash College, 
where Theophus graduated in 1843, and in 1846, 
graduated from Lane Seminery, in Cincinnati, 
Ohio. In the latter year he was married to Misa 
Nancy T. Elsey, of Parker county. He was or- 
dained by the Presbytery of Ciawfordsville. 



AlO/iCOW TOWNSHIP. 



497 



After preaching two years at Danville and other 
points in Hendricks county, he was compelled to 
retire to a farm for a year. At the end of 
that time he took charge of the Bethany church, 
Owen county, but after a year, was obliged to give 
up the ministry and engaged in farming for some 
five or six years. In the spring of 1857, in com- 
pany with his father and other friends, he came to 
Minnesota and located a claim in section twenty- 
nine, Moscow, where he died, on the 23d of April, 
1874. For some eight years before his death, he 
was able to preach again, and supplied the church- 
es of Sumner and Woodbury. His wife survives 
him and resides on the old homestead, with her 
adopted son, Eugene Lowry. 

Edward Ltigg, a native of England, was born 
in the parish of St. Martin, county of Cornwall, 
on the 14th of August, 1834. He was brought 
up as a farmer, attended school in his youth, and 
at the age of nineteen joined tlie Wesleyan Metho- 
dist church. On the 11th of April, 18.58, he left 
his birth place and sailed for America, landed in 
Quebec, Canada, and came directly toRacine coun- 
ty, Wisconsin. He came to Freeborn county in 
1859 and settled on a claim in Bath township, 
which was afterward jumped. In January, 1862, 
he married Miss Almira Williams. They soon after 
moved to Riceland and rented a farm for a year, 
thence to Brush Creek, Fairbault coun'^y In Au- 
gust, 18(54, Mr. Lugg enlisted in Company E, Tenth 
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, went South and 
joined the army of the Cumberland at Memphis 
and remained in service until the close of the war. 
Oh his return he settled on railroad land in Rice- 
land. In 1874, he came to Moscow, and rented a 
farm for three years, then purchased his present 
in section twenty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Lugg 
have had six children, four of whom are living ; 
Charles H., James E,, Samuel R., and Laura Z. 
Maggie, born on the 8th of November, 1863, died 
on the 6th of October, 1870, and Zelda, born on 
the 15th of December 1867, died on the 11th of 
September, 1870. 

Michael McCorRT, one of the early settlers of 
Mower county, was born in county Down, Ireland, 
in October, 1880. In 1847, he came to America 
and settled in Rochester, New York, where he was 
employed in agricultural pursuits eight years. He 
married, in 1855, Miss Ellen White, and they spent 
a short time in Canada, then came to Clinton 
county, Iowa, and the following spring to Minne- 
32 



sota, locating in Nevada, Mower county. He lived 
there until 1868, when he sold and came to this 
place which has since been his home. Mr. Mc- 
Court is the largest individual landholder in the 
place. In the spring of 1881, his stable was 
burned with sis head of horses, a colt, all the har- 
nesses, and considerable farm machinery. He has 
a family of six children ; John, Michael, Thomas, 
Stephen, Mary, and Daniel. 

Evan Morgan, one of the pioneers of this 
county, is a native of Wales, born on the 10th of 
March, 1805. He was married before leaving 
Wales to Miss Winiflekl Reese, and they emigrated 
to America in 1838. They located on a farm in 
Portage county, Ohio, and remained until 1848, 
when they moved to Rock county, Wisconsin. In 
1855, they sold their interest in the latter place 
and came to this township. Mr. Morgan bought 
land in the town site and also some adjoining, all 
of which he still owns. His wife died leaving six 
children, three of whom are now living. His 
present wife was formerly Sarah L. Thomas and 
the marriage took place in 1862. Of seven chil- 
dren born to this union, five are living. Mr. 
Morgan has held offices of trust since his residence 
here; in 1866, was sent to the State Legislature 
and is at present Town Clerk. 

William Pace, deceased, one of the oldest set- 
tlers of this place, was born in Sussex county, 
England, on the 10th of March, 1803. He learned 
the miller trade in his native place; emigrated to 
America and for years worked at liis trade in New 
York. He was married in 1831, to Miss Amelia 
Ridge and they had two children, one of whom 
is living, a son. Mrs. Pace died in 1834, and in 
1836. Mr. Pace married Miss Lavina Castle. In 
1842, they came to Waukesha county, Wisconsin, 
and after a residence of nine years moved to 
Dodge county. In 1856, Mr. Pace became a pio- 
neer of this county, taking a claim in section 
thirty-four, Moscow, which was his home until his 
death which occurred on the 6th of September, 
1882. He left a widow and five grown children. 
He was a member of the Congregational church 
at Austin; was a good citizen and neighbor and 
respected by all who knew him. 

Philo Pace, a native of Genesee county, New 

York, was born on the 2d of August, 1843. 

When he was thirteen years old his parents moved 

to this place which Philo has ever since made his 

i home. In 1863, he was engaged in selling farm 



498 



HISTORY OF Fli.'jaBOlilf COUNTY. 



machinery, afterward in carpentering and now 
divides bis time between mercantile and farming 
pursuits. He was joined in marriage in 1874, 
witli Miss Mary Sculliu and tliey have four chil- 
dren; Clara Nellie, Hattie Lou, Genevieve, and 
IvyB. 

Robert G. Speer. one of the pioneers of this 
county, was born in Seneca county. New York, on 
the 12th of April, 1820. When be was five years 
old his parents moved to Washtenaw county, 
Michigan, where Robert learned the blacksmith 



trade when quite young. He was married in 
1847, to Miss Mary E. Hutchinson. In 18.50, they 
moved to a farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, and 
five years later settled in this place. Mr. Speer 
erected a blacksmith shop, the first in the place, 
and followed that occupation until 18*i2, when he 
enlisted in the Second Minue.sota Cavalry and 
served as blacksmith for the regiment eleven 
months when he was discharged for disability. 
Mr. and Mrs. S])eer have had seven children, five 
of whom are living; Mary E., Dewitt C, George 
W., Generva, and Amanda. 



NUNDA 



CHAPTER LXVIII. 

Location and Description — Early Settlement 
— -Events of Interest — Statistics — Business 
AND other Matters — Religious — Twin Lake 
Village — Mediums of Eduoation^ — Biograph- 

ICAL. 

The sul i-division of Freeborn county bearing 
this name lies in the southern tier of towns, and 
within one of the western boundary of the county. 
Its contiguous surroundings are, Pickerel Lake 
on the north; Freeman on the east; Mansfield on 
the west, and the state of Iowa on the south. It 
is constituted as origmallj' surveyed, of 36 sec- 
tions, or 23,040 acres. 

Nunda is, locally speaking, a prairie town : al- 
though the eastern part was formerly what is called 
"oak oj^ening" land, and there were some fine groves 
of maple, butternut, bass, iron wood, and occasion- 
ally walnut, about the lakes; but this has all or 
nearly all been long since removed. The north 
and west parts of the town are made up of roll- 
ing prairie, with a soil of dark loam, underlaid 
with a sub-soil of clay. The southern and east- 
ern part of the township is more given to soil of 
clayey nature, and quite rocky in places. There 
has been considerable lime-stone, of the variety 



known as "Floating," picked up and burned to a 
limited extent by B. H. Carter; but there has 
never been any ledges discovered. 

This town is well watered by numerous brooks, 
rivers, and lakes, which diversify the scenery, and 
make of Nunda a picturesque and beautiful town- 
ship. Bear Lake, the largest in the township, is 
a beautiful sheet of water, covering about 1,5110 
acres in the western portion of the town, while a 
i stream known as Lime Creek is its outlet, and 
takes a southwesterly course to finally empty into 
the Shell Rock River. Lower Twin Lake is a 
body of water lymg in the northwestern part of 
the town, containing several islands of a few 
acres each. This is connected by a stream called 
" The Inlet," with the Upper Twin Lake, which 
infringes on this townahijj to the extent of about 
220 acres in section two. We suppose the lakes 
received the names of Upper and Lower Twin 
Lakes from the fact of their similarity in size. 
(xoose Creek constitutes the outlet of theee lakes, 
*nd tiows through sections twelve and thirteen on 
its way eastward to Freeman township, eventually 
to help swell the Shell Rock. State Line Lake, 
which name was suggested by the fact that the 
extreme southern ])oint of the lake touches the 



NUNDA TOWNSHIP. 



499 



Iowa and Minnesota State lines; is the smallest in 
town, covering about iOO acres of land, mostly in 
section thirty-three; from this flows a creek bear- 
in;; the same name and entering Iowa. All of 
these lakes abound in fish of various species, 
among which we notice pickerel, sucker, bass, 
and bullhead, and are much frequented by pleas- 
ure seekers in quest of "finny sport." 

Almost all of the land in the town is under a 
high state of cultivation, and as the soil is rich 
and well adapted to the crops and modes of cul- 
tivation of the day, as a natural sequence, the 
farmers are all in comfortable circumstances, not- 
withstanding they have had serious drawbacks in 
the last decade in the way of drought, failure of 
wheat crop, etc., and they are now turning their 
attention more toward stock — which exist almost 
solely on the rich prairie grass — with the most 
satisfactory results. 

EAKLY SETTLEMENT. 

The early or earliest settlement of Nunda dates 
back to 185(5, and was rapid and constant until all 
the vacant land was secured and occupied. 

As it nearly always gives rise to controversy 
and contention in a work of this kind, to state 
that any one of a party, made a claim or secured 
a farm, first, we have adopted the plan, for this 
township at least, of merely giving the date of 
arrival of early settlers as given to our interview- 
ers; so that one reading it can come to his 
own conclusion as to who was first, etc. 

Among, if not the first settlers in the township, 
were James Wright and Anthony Bright, who 
came in the winter of 1855-56, and commenced 
what was known as the Bear Lake Settlement. 
Wright took a claim on section sixteen and 
remained until 1857 when he sold to John V. 
Wohlhuter who still occupies it. Anthony Bright 
took a place in section twenty-one, south of 
Wright, and in 1857 sold out and left. 

Patrick Fitzsimmons, a native of Ireland, made 
his appearance from Winneshiek county, Iowa, 
and joined this settlement in May, 1856. He took 
a claim in section sixteen, where he lived up to 
the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th 
of July, 1866. It was he who named the town- 
ship Nunda, in honor of towns of the same name 
in which he had lived in New York aud Illinois. 
He was a prominent man in the township aud his 
death was much regretted by all who knew him. 

About the same time came Fred McCall, another 



native of the Emerald Isle, who made himself at 
home about one mile east of his fellow-country- 
man, in section fourteen, where he still lives, one 
of the pulilic-spirited men of this locality, and one 
of the oldest settlers in Nunda. 

Nels Bergeson and Nels Walaker, natives of 
Norway, came to Miunesotain 1856; the first came 
direct to this town and took a place in section 
twenty-eight; the latter did not arrive here until 
1860. 

It should have been mentioned in connection 
with the above, that Charles Fitzsimmons and Irvin 
Elsworth came in the early part of 1856, and it is 
claimed by some that they were the first. Fitz- 
simmons placed his signet upon a quarter 
of section sixteen, where he remained until 1868 
and then removed to Martin county, Minnesota. 
Elsworth enriched himself by pre-empttng a place 
in section fourt(«n, where he lived for about one 
year when he sold, and now sojourns in California, 
from last accounts. 

In the fall of this year, 1856, Harry Brown 
drifted in and made a habitation in section seven, 
where he remained until 1858 when he sold out. 

Seneca Stockdale was a native of Ohio, having 
been born on the 26th of March, 1801, and after 
attaining the age of fifty-five came to the township 
of Nunda, where he was among the first; arriving 
on the 14h of July, 1856. He took a farm in sec- 
tion one, where he remained for about thirteen 
years, and then removed to section three, remain- 
ing here until the 7th of February, 1871, when, at 
the ripe old age of seventy years, he passed peace- 
fully away to that land where the "wicked cease 
from troubling and the weary are at rest." 

A few more came in this year, but they were 
merely transients, and only remained a short time, 
and their names have been forgotten. 

The following year, 1857, the emigration to this 
locality seemingly commenced in earnest, and, 
although to name them all would be almost im- 
possible, as many of them as are remembered will 
be given. As will be seen, there were already 
several settlements in the town, and those coming 
this year were not subjected to that, (as an old set- 
tler termed it) "solitary confinement" inevitable 
to the pioneer times of those who were already in, 
and waiting for the neighbors whom the arrivals 
in 1857 furnished. 

Nelson Boughton, a native of New York, came 
this year and took a farm in section thirty-five, 



500 



HISTORY OF FEKEBORN COUNTY . 



where he lived until 1859, when he was murdered 
by a man named Kreigler, which is mentioned in an- 
other place. 

Alonzo White, of Vermont, came about the same 
time and settled iu the same section, where be 
lived until 1859, and then went back to the East. 

James Carle, of the same nativity also came at 
the same time and took land in sections thirty-four 
and thirty-five, wliere he lived until 18t50 when he 
sold and followed his friend east. 

Lafayette Hall, of New York, came and settled 
in this vicinity; in 1860 he went to the easteni 
part of the State, where he now lives. 

Michael Donahue had arrived in the spring of 
1857, and settled a mile or so north of this little 
settlement, in section twenty-three, where he still 
holds forth. 

Martin Forljes also came at tlie same time an3 
settled on the same section. 

John Honan, a native of Ireland, came iu 18.57, 
an settled on section tventy-tour. 

John M. Geissler, a native of Germany, and one 
of the pioneers of Freeborn county, came to Nun- 
da in 1857, and selected the place he now occupies 
in sections three and ten. He has probably been 
the most prominent man in the township in public 
matters and has held many offices of trust and 
importance. 

John V. Wolilhuter, a native of Germany, came 
to America in 1847, and in the fall of 1857 to this 
township and purchased the farm he now occupies 
near Bear Lake. 

E. A. White made his appearance in the spring 
of this year, and settled on section nine, where he 
still remains. William White came to this coun- 
try at the same time. 

George Hall and Johnson Hall, from the eastern 
States came to Nunda in the spring of 1857, and 
took farms in sections three and four, where the 
latter lived for a time and tlien went east. Mr. 
George Hall is still on his farm. 

John Donahue, originally from the Emerald 
Isle, but late from Illinois, arrived in July, 1857, 
and settled with his parents on section fourteen. 

There miy have bsea others who came this year, 
but this is enouoh to indicate the rapidity with 
which the unoccupied land was taken. A few of 
those who have since arrived will be noted. 

In 1858, Mr. Cunningham, a native of the land 
of the Shamrock, made his appearance and secured 
land in section twenty-three. 



Narve Esleson, of Norway, lost no time in secur- 
ing a habitation in section thirty-thrte, where he 
now lives. 

Knudt Oleson, in 1861, had also secured land, 
and has since been joined by a small army of his 
countrymen. 

John McGuire, a native of Ireland, on the 23d 
June, 1860, made his apjjearance, and settled on 
section fourteen. 

B. H. Carter, a native of the eastern States, ar- 
rived in Nunda in 1861, and made himself at home 
in section one, whore he still lives, a prominent 
man in the township. 

This (juite extended list embraces the most of 
the early settlers, and many of them who are not 
found here will be seen under the head of Bio- 
graphical. 

E.VRIjY KETTl/ERS WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY. 

William White, one of the pioneers, was in- 
ducted into this life on the 8th of September, 
1796. at Bemis Heights, on the battle field where 
the English, under (xeneral Burgoyne, surrendered 
to General Gates, in the town of Saratoga, New 
York. When two years of age his father went to 
Clinton county, in the same State. In the war of 
1812 he served as a teamster, and so received a 
bounty land warrant. In 1814 his father and 
himself went to Tioga county, and on the Sus- 
quehana he was in business for forty-one years. 
He married Margaret Love, and they had four 
sons and five daughters, all living when he died 
on the 17th of January, 1876. He came to Nunda 
on the 7th of June, 1857, so that he had been a 
resident of the town for nineteen years. A few 
daj's before his death he was seized with a sensa- 
tion of numbness in his left foot, in which the 
circulation stopped, and gangrene sui)ervened 
with a fatal result. An able and prominent man, 
he was for six years County Commissioner, a Jus- 
tice of the Peace, and in other public positions. 

Erick Erickson. — Mr. Erickson commenced 
building in section thirty-three in the town of 
Nunda, on the 25th of June, 1856, and there he 
wrought up to the time of his final exit from this 
sphere of existence, which occurred on the 14th 
of December, 1877, at the age of 55 years. He 
hac o|)e!ied a fine farm and was an honest and 
upright man. 

Thomas Morrison, having nearly filled up the 
measure of bis one hundredth year, was gathered 
with the innumerable host from whence no tidings 



NUN DA TOWNSHIP. 



501 



come, on the 8th of November, 1876. His birth 
was in Belfast, Ireland, on the 12th of Septem- 
ber, 1777, and came to America in 1811, and was a 
soldier in the war of 1812. In 18f51 he came to 
Minnesota. He was a member of the Baptist 
church and had six children. His wife had pre- 
ceded him but two mouths. 

Fkedekick H. White came with his father in 
1857, and captured a farm in Nunda. Himself 
and two brothers were in the war of the rebellion. 
He was next to the youngest of thirteen child- 
ren. While in the service he contracted a cough 
which finally terminated fatally. His kind dis- 
position and gentle manners bad drawn to him 
large numbers of friends. It was on the 17th of 
February, 1879, at the age of 32, the recall was 
sounded for him for the last time. 

Mrs M.4.BT Walker, wife of Hon. Asa Walker, 
aged 60 years, went through the final transposi- 
tion on the 20th of January, 1869, at Nunda. 
Mrs. Walker was one of the pioneers, and a faith- 
ful member of the Congregational church, and 
had a firm faith that "it is not all of life to live 
nor all of death to die." 

EVENTS OP INTEREST. 

Eakly Births. — One of the first births in the 
town was the ushering into existence of Louis H. 
Emmons, on the 30th of December, 1856, who is 
still in the land of the living. 

On the 24th of February, 1858, a similar in- 
stance occurred and brought into existence John 
David McCall, who grew to manhood and still 
lives in the town. 

Early Marriage.^. — It is reported that the first 
couple to be joined in wedlock within the limits of 
the township, were Mr. Louis Proebstein, (or some 
such name) and Elizabeth Banning, in the fall of 
1856. This date is pretty early early; but we 
give it to our readers just as given to us. 

Another early marriage was that of Isaac Ken- 
dall to Miss Christina Clark, in April, 1858, by 
Frederick McCall. 

Deaths. — An early, it not the first death in the 
township, occured on the 23d of March, 1858, 
and caaried Jacob Zimmerman, age 23, to that 
land "from wlience no traveler returns." He was 
the first person buried in the Brush Hill Cemetery. 

Hulda, wife of Patrick Fitzsimmons, died on the 
28th of November, 1858. 



TOWNSHIP organization. 

Politically speaking, the residents of Nunda 
first came together in 1857, late in the fall, for 
the election of a representative in the territorial 
legislature, and in the spring following, an organ- 
ization of the township was effected, whereupon, 
on the 11th day of May, 1857, they again as- 
sembled, and made their organization substantial 
by the election of town officers. 

Among the first officials were: Supervisors, 
Patrick Fitzsimmons, Chairman, J. V. Wohlhuter, 
and Henry Tunell; Clerk, William B. Spooner. 
This meeting was held in John Hofl'man's house, 
in section twenty-two. 

In government, the township has run along 
very smoothly, with no jars, embezzlement, or in- 
efficiency to disturb the tranquility of matters, 
and the management has always been in capable 
and honest hands. 

At the 24th annual meeting, held in the spring 
of 1882, the following officers were elected: Su- 
pervisors, L. Marpe, Chairman, E. T. Yeadon, 
and John F. Wohlhuter; Clerk, John M. Geissler; 
Justices of the Peace, H. Easmussou and E. A. 
White; Treasurer, John Donahue; Constables, 
T. Sw€nson and Hugh Donahue; Assessor, T. 
Swenson. 

statistics. 

The object of presenting these few figures id 
not so much on account of the intrinsic import- 
ance of knowing how much was raised this par- 
ticular year, or the kind of crops cultivated, al- 
though this knowledge is valuable, but more as a 
basis of comparison in future years. 

The Year 1881. — Showing the acreage and 
yield in the township of Nunda for the year 
named : 

Wheat — 3,962 acres; yielding 40,698 bushels. 

Oats — 744 acres; yielding 23,082 bushels. 

Corn — 942 acres; yielding 30,662 bushels. 

Barley — 50 acres; yielding 954 bushels. 

Potatoes — 90 acres; yielding 7,248 bushels. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881, 5,788. 

Wild hay— 3,086 tons. 

Apple trees growing — 1,704; trees bearing, 249; 
apples, 90 bushels. 

GrajM vines bearing — 8. 

Tobacco — 126 pounds. 

Sheep— 257 sheared; yielding 1,028 pounds of 
wool. 



502 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



Dairy — 499 cows: yielding 44,594 pounds of 
butter. 

The Year 1882.^Wheat,3,834 acres; oats, 734; 
corn, 942: barley. 50; potatoes, 96; total acreage 
cultivated in 1882, 5,756. 

Apple trees growing — 1,662; trees bearing, 244; 
grape vines bearing, 8. 

Milch cows — 551; sheep, 297, yielding 1,148 
pounds of wool. 

Whole number of farms in 1881— lOU. 

Population.— The census of 1870 gave Nunda 
a population of 675. The last census, taken in 
1880, reports 777 for this town; showing an in- 
crease of 102. 

BUSINESS AND OTHER MATTERS. 

A manufacturing establishment, in which the 
man with the anvil and bellows manouvers, was 
commenced in the spring of 1866 on section four, 
in a shop 12x16. The proprietor of this was 
William Pickle, and times have evidently been 
flourishing with the establishment, as it is still 
there, now occupying a shop 10x20. 

In 1876 a similar institution was started in a 
building erected for the purpose, in the north- 
eastern part of section thirty, by H. H. Edwin, 
■which is still in full blast. 

In September, 1880, a general merchandise 
store was started by George Emmons, in section 
thirty-two. This was continued until the 6th of 
December, 1881, when it was moved to Norman, 
Iowa. 

A blacksmith shop was established in the south- 
western part of section nine, by John Bettner, in 
1875, and it is still in good running order, with 
Mr. B. still at the anvil. 

In the spring of 1872, Mr. George Reim erected 
a shop and commenced blacksmithing in section 
eight. He still continues the business, now be- 
ing in a shop 16x20 feet, which was erected in 
1881. 

A sorghum mill was started in section eight in 
1873, which is still on the ground, having a ca- 
jjacity of about forty gallons per day. 

The first Post-office in the township was estab- 
lished in the spring of 1859, and Patrick Fitz- 
simmons was appointed Postmaster, with the office 
at his house in section sixteen, where mail arrived 
once each week. Here the office remained until 
the 2l8t of June, 1806, when Frederick McCall 
was appointed mail handler, and the office was re- 
moved to his tesidence in section fourteen, mail at 



this time being carried once each week by Albert 
Davis. In 1877 it was again removed, this time 
to Twin Lake in section twelve, and on the first 
of July, 1881. the name was changed from Nunda 
to Twin Lake, under which name it is now known. 
Mail now arrives twice each day. When the office 
was moved to the village, in 1877, B. H. Carter 
was appointed Postmaster, and held it several 
years, when Mr. McCall was again appointed, and 
is stUl the incumbent. 

State Line Post-office. — The citizens of the 
southern portion of the town first indulged in this 
luxury in 1864, on the first of -August, in which 
year this office was established by Congress, and 
Mr. H. G. Emmons was appointed to handle the 
mail, with the office at his house in section thirty- 
two, mail arriWug once each week from Albert 
Lea. In November, 1879, Mr. Emmons resigned 
his position as Postmaster, and the office" was re- 
moved to Norman, Iowa, where it is now kept by 
Mr. Thomas Wangsness. 

RELIGIOUS. 

German Lutheran Church. — The first services 
for this Society were held in the summer of 1862, 
at the residence of Mr. John Wohlhuter, in section 
sixteen, by Rev. Mr. L. Scheor. The Society was 
organized in 1866, with John Wohlhuter, John 
Tunell, and Mr. Fink as Trustees. Services were 
held in private houses until the schoolhouse of 
District No. 42 was erected, and this was then 
u.sed until the summer of 1881, when their pres- 
ent neat church was erected near the center of 
section four, size 28x40, at a cost of about $2,300. 
Ai organization the Society had thirteen members, 
it now has. thirty, the present pastor being the 
Rev. Ferdinand Tiede. The Trustees are John M. 
Geissler, August Liuderman, and Henry Drom- 
merhausen. 

Lutheran Cemetery. — This ground was laid 
out in December, 1875, by .John M. Mertz, near 
the center oi section four, containing 126 lots, 
10x15 feet. The first burial here was William 
White, who died on the 14th of January, 1876. 

Brush Hill Cemetery. — The land for this 
ground was donated as a cemetery ground by 
Christian Hogen in 1859, the first burial being 
Jacob Remmermaud, in March, 1858. Although 
the land was given, verbally, no deed was made, 
and the farm changing hands the new proprietor 
refused to recognize former arrangements, and in 
1879 the land was purchased at a cost of $100. 



NUNDA TOWNSHIP. 



503 



The ground is located about the center of section 
fifteen. 

Bear Lake Cemetbkt. — This was platted on the 
8th of December, 1875, and recorded on the 8th 
of March, 1876. The trustees were R. J. White, 
William P. Pickle, S. F. Foster, William P. 
Spooner, and John M. Geissler. 

State Line Cemetery. — This burial ground is 
located on the Iowa and Minnesota State line, in | 
section thirty-two, containing about one acre of 1 
land surveyed into lots. The ground was platted 
and laid out in 1861, on the land of Mr. T. Nel- 
son, but did not receive an occupant until Febru- 
ary, 1863, when Christina Emmons passed to that 
unseen world, and her remains were interred in 
this as her last earthly abode. 

Catholic Society Cemetery. — Located in the 
central part of section twenty-four, was laid out 
and dedicated to burial purposes on the 29th of 
August, 1876, land being donated by John Honan; 
and was divided into 126 lots, 2ix2J, in all two 
acres and a half. The first person so unfortunate 
as to need burial here was John Honan, who 
passed away on the 9th of September, 1876. 

TWIN LAKE village. 

This is the only village in the township, and is 
located iu the northeastern part of Nunda, at the 
outlet of the lower lake bearing the name of the 
village, in section twelve; and although its growth 
up to this time has been slow, being situated upon 
a main railroad thoroughfare, it has a chance yet 
of making a healthy and moderate sized village. 

Its Early Days. — The land upon which the 
village now stands originally belonged to Mr. Wil- 
liam Wilson and Mr. Tanner. The first plat came 
into existence in 1858, at the instigation of Augus- 
tus Armstrong, and was laid into lots on the land 
of William Banning, but as no growth was devel- 
oped, and no interest in the little burg manifested, 
the lots and blocks were finally reclaimed as a 
farm. Matters ran along in this way, nothing 
being done in regard to it, until 1869, when a 
surveyor again made his appearance and the lots 
and blocks of the village were again brought into 
existence, about eighty rods north of the old plat, 
on land of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Tanner as above 
stated, and in the fall of this year John Donahue 
and William Knudtson erected the first business 
house and opened a stock of groceries aud general 
merchandise. 

A store was opened by Frederick MoCall, in 



March, 1863, at his residence in section fourteen, 
and the original Twin Lake Post office was also 
kept here. In 1877, the business was moved to 
the village,- and for a time groearies were kept; 
but finally all was discontinued except the tin 
shop. The Post-office is also kept here. 

In the fall of 1875, Peter Donahue laid the 
foundation of his present general merchandise 
store by placing a stock of groceries upon the 
shelves. 

In 1870, Mr. William Beatty assisted in the 
growth of the village and erected a hotel which he 
ran until 1877, and then sold it to Ole Nelson who 
still continues it as a boarding house. 

In 1868, a building was erected and a black- 
smith shop put into operation by a Norwegian 
whose name is forgotten. In a few years it was 
transferred to the Booth brothers, who ran it for a 
year and then sold to B. H. Carter and John Don- 
ahue, who operated it for several years in partner- 
ship, and then Mr. Donahue purchased the entire 
business and still manages the concern. 

A mill was erected at an early day, and later, a 
schoolhouse. The railroad pushed its way through 
the village, and a depot and elevator followed, with 
the accompanying advantages, until the place now 
contaics three general stores, one grist mill, an 
elevator, depot, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, a 
shoe shop, and ten or twelve dwelling houses. 

Twin Lake Mill. — In 1857, a saw-mill was 
erected in the northern part of the southwest 
quarter of section twelve, where the village was 
afterwards laid out, by William Banning and a 
Mr. Forbes, and commenced operations with a 
forty horse water-power, making a capacity for 
cutting 1,000 feet per day. Matters got compli- 
cated with the managers and the mill remained 
idle most of the time until 1863, while the propri- 
etors engaged in a long legal controversy out of 
claims of each upon the mill site. In 1863, David 
Perry, who owned an interest in the mill, took 
charge of it, employing B. H. Carter to straighten 
it up, increasing the capacity to 1,500 feet per 
day. After running it a short time he transferred 
it to Augustus Armstrong and J. M. Tanner. 
After this Mr. Tanner ran it ■ for a time and in 
1868 sold one-half interest to Mr. William Wil- 
son, and soon after the other half was also trans- 
ferred. The latter gentleman at once commenced 
the erection of a flouring mill which was comple- 
ted in due time and is now a valuable enterprise 



504 



HISTOBT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



in the village; having a capacity for grinding 120 
bushels of wheat per day. 

The mill is equipped with modem machinery, 
deriving its power from the Goose Creek, which 
furnishes a power of forty horse, or 18 J2 feet of 
water head. Altogether the mill is the main and 
principal enterprise in the surrounding country. 

MEDirMS OF EDUCATION. 

Realizing that "knowledge is power" the citiz- 
ens of Nunda have forti&ed themselves against 
that curse to civilization, ignorance, by dividing 
their territory into eight school districts, with 
numbers and locations of schoolhouses as follows: 
No. 42, with building on section four; No. 43 on 
section sixteen; No. 44 on section thirty-two; No. 
45 on section twenty -four; No. 76 in Twin Lake 
village; No. 99 on section six; No. 105 in 
section thirty-four; No. 108 in section four- 
teen; a short sketch of each of which is given 
in connection herewith. It is unnecssary to 
state, knowing the enterprise of the people here, 
that the districts are all in good financial condi- 
tion with neat buildings, and ably managed. 

District No. 42. — Embraces the territory in 
the northern part of the town toward the center. 
The first school was held by Miss Mary Ann 
White, in the winter of 1858-59, at the residence 
of Samuel Clark in section three, with twelve 
juveniles upon the hard benches. School was 
continued iu the houses of various farmers 
throughout the district until 1870, when the pres- 
ent frame building was erected at a cost of $550 
in section four. Miss Eva Morey first opened 
school here with thirty-five scholars in attendance. 
The present officers are: R. A. White, Clerk; 
August Linderman, Director; and William Lenz, 
Treasurer. 

District No. 43. — The first school held within 
the territory comprising this district, was at 
the residence of John Hoffman in section 
twenty-two, in the spring of 1858, by Joseph 
White, with an attendance of twenty schol- 
ars, and the district effected an organ- 
ization by the election of the following officers: 
Clerk, P. Fitzsimmons; Director, John V. 
Wohlhuter; Treasurer, Michael Donahue. In 
1868 the present school edifice was erected in the 
western part of section sixteen, at a cost of .f 400, 
where the first teacher was Isabell Wilson. The 
present school board consists of: Alfred Emery, 



Clerk; Christian Yost, Director; and Fred H. 
Yost, Treasurer. 

District No. 44. — It is stated by some that 
this district effected an organization in 1858, the 
first clerk being D. G. Emmons, and the same 
year the first school was taught by Miss 
Sarah Emery in an empty house belong- 
ing to N. Asleson on section thirty-two. After 
this school was held iu private residences 
uhtil about 1870, when they erected a 
frame schoolhouse in the northeastern part of 
section thirty-two, at a cost of S650, in which 
Miss Robinson first called school to order. The 
present officers are: Messrs L. Emmons, A. Free- 
mott, Nels Nelson, respectively Clerk, Director, 
and Treasurer. 

District No. 45. — Effected an organization in 
the fall of 1861, and embraced the territory now 
included in district No. 76. The first officers 
were Messrs Rupson, Donahue, and Berrj'; but as 
nothing was accomplished by this board, the fol- 
lowing year Patrick Kelly and John McQuire 
took their places, and in the fall of 1862 a log 
schoolhouse was erected in the northeastern part 
of section fourteen by contribution of labor, and 
and school was taught in the following summer 
by Eliza Eaton with twenty scholars enrolled. 
This building was used until 1871- the district 
having been divided in the meantime — and a new 
frame house was constructed at a cost of $400 in 
the western part of section twenty-four. This 
building served its purpose until the 9th day of 
June, 1881, when it was destroyed by fire, and in 
the fall of the same year the present neat frame 
building was erected on the old site at a cost of 
.S770, in which Miss Leda Hewett first called 
school to order, with an attendance of forty-six 
juveniles. Matters have ran along pleasantly and 
the present school officeiB are: Patrick Kelly, 
Martin Forbes, and Patrict Honan, respectively 
Clerk, Treasurer, and Director. 

Since the above was written the Albert Lea 
Standard of September 7th 1882, says: — "School 
district 45 held their annual meeting last Satur- 
day and elected M. Conors director, and H. Dona- 
hue clerk. Also voted ^1% tax for current expen- 
ses and also to have seven months school — four 
in the winter with a man teacher, and three in the 
summer." 

District No. 76. — The territory now comprised 
under this number was formerly embraced in Dis- 



NUNDA TOWNSHIP. 



505 



trict No. 45. In 1863 this district was set off and 
organized by the election of Mr. B. H. Carter, 
Clerk; Elof Knudtson, Director; J. M. Tanner, 
Treasurer. In 1865 a schoolhouse was erected in 
the village of Twin Lake at a cost of $500, in 
which the first school was taught by Isabella 
Wilson to an attendance of forty scholars. This 
house was used until March, 1881, when a pass- 
ing engine set it on fire and it was destroyed. 
The railroad comnany refused to pay any dam- 
ages, and upon being sued by the district the 
courts rendered a judgment in favor of the district 
of about .S450 for the building, and $110 for the 
lot, making a total of .f 560 and costs. 

In the spring of 1881 a new schoolhouse was 
erected on a lot purchased of William Wilson, for 
•S60, and is a neat frame building having cost 
$1,000. The school has at present an attendance 
of about forty scholars, the officers being John 
Donahue, Clerk; Henry Eaton, Treasurer; B. H. 
Carter, Director. 

District No. 99. — This district effected an or- 
ganization in 1875, the first officers elected being : 
Clerk, W. J. Morey; Director, Fernando Fessen- 
den; and Treasurer, E. T. Yeadon. In the spring 
of 1876 the present neat schoolhouse was erected 
in the southwestern part of section six, at a cost 
of $475, in which the first school was instructed 
by Miss Louisa Rodgers, with eighteen scholars 
enrolled. At the present time the school officers 
are: Clerk, Loren Fessenden; Director, William 
Barnes; Treasurer, F. Reimen. 

District No. 105. — Effected an organization in 
1864, and the first school was taught in the house 
of Peter Knutson in the spring of this year. In 
the spring of 1866 a small building was erected 
in section thirty-five at a cost of about SlOO, the 
labor being donated by the residents. This 
building was used until 1879, when the present 
house was erected upon the same site at a cost of 
$300, in which the first school was taught by 
Priscilla V. Hemou, with an attendance of thirty 
scholars. The first officers were: Clerk, Silas 
White; Treasurer, Peter Knutson ; Director, Helga 
Larson. The present officers are: Ole N. 
Gvephvim, Helga Larson, and J. Sorenson. 

District No. 108. — This district is really a 
division of, or it might be called a reorganization 
of No. 84, coming into existence as a separate 
organization in 1879 by electing John Larson, 
Clerk; Knute Hovland, Director, and Hogen Kas- 



musson, Treasurer. In 1881 a neat sehool build- 
ing was erected in the southern part of section 
nineteen, at a cost of $350, and in which knowl- 
edge is still dispensed. The first school in this 
house was taught by a lady teacher named Eslen 
Nerverson. 

BIOGRAPHIfiAL. 

B. H. Carter was born in Cayuga county, New 
York, on the 9th of January, 1823. He resided 
at home and attended school until 1842, when he 
began to learn the wheelwright trade,and finished 
in 1845. On the 22d of October in the latter 
year, he was married to Miss Helen Eaton. The 
same year they moved to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, 
where he was engaged at his trade two years, then 
came west to Dodge county, Wisconsin. In 1859 
they removed to this county, purchased a farm in 
Freeman, and resided there until 1861, when they 
came to Nunda, taking a claim in section one. In 
1863 Mr. Carter was commissioned Second Lieu- 
tenant, and enrolled a large portion of the men 
of Nunda and Freeman for a draft; he served in 
the Fifth Minnesota Regiment from 1864 till the 
close of the war. After his return he engaged in 
farming three years and then built a wagon shop 
in the village of Twin Lake, but in 1879 returned 
to his farm, which has since been his home. 
He has held several offices of trust, and was 
Court Commissioner three years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Carter have had fifteen children, those living are: 
Henrietta, Eva, Theda, Daisy, Jerome, Glide, Lillis, 
James, Ada, Anna, and Asa. Three died in 
infancy. 

Jerry Callaghan was born in the North Parish 
Chapel in the city of Cork, Ireland, in September, 
1829. He attended North Manestry School ten 
years, after which he engaged in delivering milk, 
and in five years was employed as a waiter. In 
1848, he emigrated to America, located in Schen- 
ectady county. New York, where he farmed one 
year, and came to Racine county, Wisconsin. In 
1856, he removed to Freeborn county, and pur- 
chased a farm near Albert Lea, resided there until 
1864, and bought his present farm in Nunda, sec- 
tion twenty-three. He was married on the 14th 
of October, 1859, to Miss Mary Honan, and in 
1864, enlisted in the army, served nine months and 
returned home. On the 20th of December, 1870, 
as he was returning home from Albert Lea, he lost 
his way, was out all night and was so badly frozen 
as to necessitate the amputation of the left leg six 



506 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



inches above the ankle, the toea from tlie right 
foot and the fingers from both handa. Mr. Callag- 
han has eight children: Joseph, Mary, Ann, Cath- 
arine, John, Wilham, Bridget, and Jennie. 

H. H. Edwin was born in Norway on the 7tli 
of January, 1841. When fifteen years old be com- 
menced to It am the blacksmith trade, serving an 
apprenticeship of three years. He then went to 
Denmark; two years later to Germany, and in one 
year returned to Norway, working at his trade in 
both places. lu ISC'), he emigrated to America, 
first located in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, engaged in 
the blacksmith shop of Devon, Smith & Co. until 
1867. On the 6th of October in the latter year, 
he married Miss Martha Thompson, and they 
removed to Jackson, where Mr. Edwin was em- 
ployed at his trade until 1874. He then removed 
to Nunda and purchased a farm of one hundred 
and twenty acres on section thirty, where he still 
resides. He has a family of seven children; Car- 
oline, Theodore, Martinis, Amelia, Dorothy, Nels, 
and Hannah. 

H. G. Emmons, one of the early settlers of Free- 
born county, was born in Norway, on the 16th of 
October, 1828. He emigrated to America in 1850, 
directly to Rook county, Wisconsin, where be 
engaged in farming and railroading. In 1854, he 
married Miss Christina Larson, and two years 
later they removed to Minnesota, driving the dis- 
tance with a yoke of oxen. They located in 
Nunda, where Mr. Emmons now owns five hun- 
dred acres of laud. They lived in their wagon 
two months when a shanty was completed, and in 
1861 built a portion of their present dwelling. 
He has held local offices, being a member of the 
board of Co)inty Commissioners si.x years, fo\ir 
years of which lie was chairman, and in 1877 and 
1878, was in the State Legislature. His farm is 
supplied with good outbuildings, barn, granary, 
etc. Mr. and Mrs. Emmons have had eight chil- 
dren, five of whom are living. Two children died 
at the age of two years, and Charles while attend- 
ing school at Carlton College, on the 12th of April, 
1882, at the age of twenty-three years. Mr. Em- 
mons has filled the office of Postmaster fifteen 
years and Justice of the Peace fourteen years. 

Ellef Evenson, a native of Norway, was born 
the 9th of September, 1847, and reared on a farm. 
When nineteen years old he served an apprentice- 
ship at the carpenter trade, at which he worked 
until 1868, in his native country. In the latter 



year he came to America, direct to Watonwan 
county, this State, and located a claim. In 1872, 
he sold his farm and engaged on the Winona and 
St. Peter railroad for one year, and at the end 
of that time went tn Winnebago county, Iowa: 
followed farming until 1874, then came to this 
place, and in 1878, purchased his present farm of 
one hundred and seventy-three acres, in section 
tliirty-three. He was married to Mrs. Sarah Ever- 
son, on the 14th of February, 1878. 

Alexander Freemott is a native of Germany, 
born on the 9th of Decemljer, 1822. At the age 
of fifteen years he commenced to learn the trade 
of carriage painting, serving as an apprentice 
four years. In August, 185.3, he came to America, 
and on the 31st of .January, 1854, was joined in 
marriage with Miss Minnie Hundredmark, in Chi- 
cago, Illinios. In I860, they moved to Batavia in 
the latter State, and he was engaged at his trade, 
as foreman, until 1876. Then he came to Nunda 
ana purchased his present farm of one hundred 
and forty acres, and built a large frame dwelling. 
Mr. and Mrs. Freemott have had eleven children, 
two of whom died in infancy: those living are; Al- 
bert. Amelia, Henry, Edward, Alexander, Lucy, 
Edith, Anna, and Lena. 

George Hall is a native of Licking county, 
Ohio, born on the 21st of July. 1837. In 1848, he 
moved with his parents to Green county, Wiscon- 
sin, and thence to Winneshiek county, Iowa. He 
came to Nunda in the spring of 1857, located a 
claim in section four and remained one season, 
then returned to Winneshiek county and .settled 
on a farm. He was man-ied on the 11th of Au- 
gust, 1858, to Miss Eliza A. Stockdale. In 1864, Mr. 
Hall sold his farm in the latter place, and again 
came to Nuuda,taking land in section tlirce, wljich 
is still his home. He has a family of nine children; 
William, Ruth, James, Lenora, Mary, Rosa, Burt. 
Flora, and Flossa. 

J. R. Jones, a native of England, was born in 
March, 1824. He resided at home, assisting in 
the farm labor and attending school until the age 
of fourteen years, when he began farming for 
hiuLself, In 1848, he was employed by an En- 
glish nobleman as groomsman, and remained with 
him until he emigrated to America in 1852. He 
was married the previous year to Miss Elizabeth 
Hughes. They first settled in Green county, Wis- 
consin, where he carried on a farm a number of 
years. On the 18th of May, 1854, Mrs. Jones 



NUNDA TOWNSHIP. 



507 



died leaving one son, who is now a doctor living 
in Iowa. Mr. Jones was married to bis second 
wife in 1857. She was formerly Savilla Kelley, 
and bore him six children; Charles, David, Lau- 
ren, Mary, Clarence, and William. In 1866, they 
moved to this county, and after residing in Free- 
man for a short time, came to Nunda in the spring 
of 1870, and located on his present farm. His 
wife died on the 25th of September, 1874. 

Helge Larson is a native of Norway, born on 
the 9th of June, 1834, and remained at home un- 
til twenty years of age. He then engaged in 
farming on neighboring farms, and in 1860, emi- 
grated to America, coming direct to Nunda and 
locating in section thirty -six, where he now owns 
two hundred acres of laud. He was married on 
the 11th of April, 1861, to Miss Barbara Esselson, 
and in 1874, erected his present frame house, hav- 
ing previously lived in a log shanty. Mr. and 
Mrs. Larson have been blessed with ten children. 

LouLS Mabpe, a pioneer of Freeborn county, 
was born in Germany in 1832, and after finishing 
school was engaged in a wholesale grocery house 
five year.s. In 18.54, he emigrated to America, 
located on a farm in Genesee county. New York, 
and in the fall of 1856, removed to this county, 
settling in Pickerel Lake township. He was mar- 
ried in 1857, to Miss Caroline Yeost, and in 1863 
they came to this place, first erecting a log house, 
but now has a fine frame house in the process of 
construction. He had eight children, two of 
whom are dead. His wife also died on the 17th 
of January, 1875. On the 15th of October 1876, 
he was again married, his bride being Miss May 
Fulton, who bore him two children, and died on 
the 7th of Ssptember, 1881. 

TosTEN Nelson was born in Norway in the 26th 
of November, 1816. When fourteen years old he 
learned the shoemaker's trade and was engaged at 
the same four years. He then, in company with 
his father, started a taa yard and carried it on 
until the death of his father. Tosten then took 
charge of the homestead until coming to America. 
He married when twenty -sis years years old Miss 
Susan Johnson, and in 1850 they emigrated to 
this country, locating in Columbia county, Wis- 
consin. They purchased a farm there but in 
1858, sold and removed to Mitchell county, Iowa. 
In 1863, they removed to Nunda, and bought a 
farm in section thirty -one which is still their home. 
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson had eight children; Nels, 



the eldest died in the army in 1863, aged twenty- 
two years; Martha, the second; Johanes died 
when two years old ; John, Mary, Martin, Carlin, 
and Andrew. Mrs Nelson died on the 11th of 
May, 1866, at the age of fifty -one years. On the 2d 
of June, 1869, Mr. Nelson again married, his bride 
being Miss Betsey Peterson. He has held num- 
erous offices of trust in the town. 

Iver O. Opdal, a native of Norway, dates his 
birth the 10th of August, 1825. He spent ten 
years in the army in his native country, and in 
November, 1851, married Miss Isabelle Dahlen. 
In 1864, they emigrated to America, came to Dane 
county, Wisconsin, and in a short time removed 
to Winnebago county, Iowa. He came to Nunda 
in 1865, and purchased land in sections thirty and 
nineteen which is still his home. Mr. and Mrs. 
Opdal have had two children. 

Knudt Olsen was born in Norway, on the 7th 
of August, 1829. His father died when Knudt 
was but eight years old, and he remained on the 
farm with his mother until 1860, when he came to 
Amtrica and directly to this township, buying 
eighty acres of land in section nineteen, where he 
now owns one hundred and twenty acres. He 
was joined in matrimony with Miss O. Thompson 
in January, 1872, and the issue of the union is 
two children. 

William Pickle was born in New York, on the 
31st of December, 1834. His younger days were 
spent on a farm and in school, finishing his edu- 
cation at a select school in Wisconsin. At the 
age of eighteen year.? he was apprenticed to the 
blacksmith trade in what is now known as the 
"Upton Manufacturing Works" at Battle Creek, 
Michigan. In 1855, he was engaged in a shop 
at Marshall in the same State and in 1857, went to 
the Rocky Mountains, where he found employ- 
ment at his trade and mining, remaining until 
1859. In that year he came to Freeborn county, 
locating in Freeman township, and in 1862 en- 
listed in the Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, 
served three years and two months, being muster- 
ed out the 7th of April, 1865, and returned to his 
farm. He sold his farm in Freeman and purchas- 
ed one hundred and sixty acres of land in this 
township on section four, and has his farm sup- 
plied with a fine frame dwelling and numerous 
out-buildings. On the 27th of May, 1865, he was 
joined in matrimony with Miss Mary Kranshoor, 
and they five children; Lillian, Walter. Martin, 
Etta, and Ralj)h. 



508 



HISTORY OP FREEBORN COUNTY 



Hor.AS RASsirssoN, one of tlie old settlers of tbis 
township, was born in Norway, on the 29th of 
March, 1835, and came to this country with his 
parents in 1857. They located in Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, and in 1858, Hogan came to 
this township and stakea out a claim in section 
thirty, where he now owns two hundred and forty- 
six acres. of land. He was married on the 10th of 
October, 1858, to Miss Isabelle Anderson, and 
they had three children. Mrs. Rasmussou died 
on the 24th of May, 1865, and our subject was 
again married on the 21st of April, 1867, his bride 
Vieing Miss Christina Nelson. This latter union 
has been blessed with seven children, one of whom 
is dead. Mr. Kasniusson has held many local 
offices in the place. 

Ole Tar.\ld.son is a native of Norway and dates 
his birtli the 8th of May, 1827. He was married 
in 1859, to Miss Alena Mikkelson, the ceremony 
taking place the 25th of December. In 1862, he 
learned the carpenter trade, and in 1867, came to 
America, directly to Nunda, where he has a farm 
of one hundred and sixty-six acres. Mr. and Mrs. 
Taraldson have a family of six children; Theodore, 
Martin, Alena, Ole, Christina, and Tena. 

Andrew A. Tompson was born in Norway in 
1836, and remained at home until eighteen years 
old, then went to work for himself on a farm. He 
was married in 1864, to Miss Martha Oleson, and 
the same year they emigrated to America locating 
in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin; a year later they re- 
moved to Mitchell county, Iowa, being engaged in 
farming in both States. In 1868, he came to this 
township, purchased a farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres in section nineteen, where he still 
resides. He has tour children: Ole, Mary, Amy, 
and Betta. 

N. N. Walaker is a native of Norway, born on 
the 16th of April, 1830, and when seventeen years 
old learned the shoemaker's trade. In November, 
1854, he was married to Miss Carrie Lewis, and 
two years later they came to America. For sev- 
eral years they lived in Dane county, Wisconsin, 
where he farmed during summer months and 
worked at his trade in the winter. In I860, he 
removed to Nunda, section twenty-nine, building 
first a log house, and in 1874, erected his present 
commodious dwelling. He has a family of four 
children; Anna. George, Nicholas, and Louis. Mr. 



Walaker has held many offices of trust in the 
place since his residence here. 

' John V. Wohlhuter, a pioneer of this county, 
, was born in France, on the 29tli of September, 
1827. In the spring of 1847, he emigrated to 
America, went to Buffalo, New York, where, for 
seven months, he was engaged on the Erie Canal; 
from there went to Peru, Indiana, and thence, in 
1849, to Chicago. Illinois, and found employment 
at teaming. On the 28th of February, 1853, he 
married Miss F. Fort man and the same year 
removed to Fayette county. Iowa; remained until 
the fall of 1857, and then came to this place, 
locating in section sixteen, where he Las two hun- 
I dred and seventeen acres of land. He was one of 
the first officers here and has held many offices 
since. He has four children. 

R. A. White, one of the oldest settlers of this 
i place, was born in Tioga county, New York, on 
the 11th of January, 1840. He came here with 
hif parents in 1857, and on the 11th of October, 
1861, he enlisted and was appointed Sergeant of 
the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Com- 
pany F, serving until the 22d of December, 1864, 
when he received an honorable discharge. He 
returnedto Nunda and has since been engaged in 
farming, owning four hundred and twenty-eight 
acres of land, which is all well improved. He was 
married on the 26th of March, 1873, to Miss Jen- 
nie M. Rudler, and the result of the unioL is four 
children; Belle M.. William M.. Allen R., and 
Ferris L. 

Chbist. Yost was born in Germrny on the 15th 
of September, 1837. He attended school seven 
years, and afterward engaged in teaming until 
1857. In the latter year he emigrated to America, 
located near Chicago on a farm, and in one year 
removed to that city where he again engaged in 
teaming. On the 11th of May, 1862, he married 
Miss Elizabeth Lucas, who was born in (termany 
on the 17th of July, 1843. Later, Mr. Yost was 
a street car conductor, and in 1866, purchased a 
farm in Nunda, and brought his family here. In 
1875, he sold his land in section twenty-two, and 
bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres in section sixteen. His children are; Fred- 
erick W., Mary L., Katie A., Margaret A., and 
Louis J. 



NEWBY TOWNSHIP. 



509 



NEWRY. 



CHAPTER LXIX. 

DESCRIPTIVE — EARLY SETTLEMENT — TOWN ORGANI- 
ZATION STATISTICAL MATTERS OF INTEREST — 

RELIGIOUS — SCHOOLS — BIOGRAPHICAL. 

This is the uortheast corner township of Free- 
born county, and is therefore one of the most 
prominent towns as to the location. Its boundaries 
are as follows: Steele county on the north; Mower 
county on the east; Moscow township on the 
south; and Geneva on the west. It is a full con- 
gressional township of 36 sections or square miles, 
embracing the territory of township 104, Range 
19. 

The surface of the town is ([uite rolling and 
is made up mostly of oak ojsening land. The 
greater part of the prairie land is found in the 
northern part of the town, while the southern 
part is chiefly covered with timber of the varieties 
of black, red, and burr oak, poplar and black wal- 
nut, although the latter has now been mostly 
removed. 

The .soil is different as you change localities ; the 
west, north, and eastern parts being mostly a 
dark loam of from two to three feet in thickness, 
and underlaid with a subsoil of blue clay ; and the 
southern and central part is more of a sandy 
nature or, as it is called, "black sandy loam," with 
a subsoil of gravel. 

There are not so many water courses or lakes in 
this town as in a majority of its neighbors, yet it 
is not altogether devoid of them. A small body 
of water lying in section two is known as Newry 
Lake Oak, or Johnson's Lake, lies in section 
twenty -six, and from it flows a substantial little 
stream which empties into Deer creek in the 
northern part of section thirty-four. The popula- 
tion is almost entirely Irish and Norwegian, there 
being no Americans and only three German fami- 
lies in the township. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

The early settlement of this township com- 
menced in 1854, and was about the second settle- 
ment started in Freeborn county. Eliot Kinet- 
son and family, natives of Norway, were the first 
to arrive, making their appearance in 1854, and 
claiming a place in section twenty-five, where 
they remained until 1874, when Mr. Kinetson 
died and was buried in Mower coiinty. The 
family, with the exception of the youngest son, 
Halver Ellofson, removed in 1876 to Otter Tail 
county where they yet reside. The young man 
still remains in the township, living on section 
twenty-sis. These were about the only actual 
settlers in this year. 

In 1855 quite a number of emigrants thronged 
in. Christian Erick Rukke and family, natives 
of Norway, who had stopped for a time in Illi- 
nois, were among the number to arrive this year, 
and they took a claim in section thirty-six, where 
they remained until 1868, when they secured the 
place they now occupy in section twenty-six. 
Helge Oleson came at the same time from the 
same place, and planted his stakes in section ten, 
where he has since been living. 

In the spring of 1856 a colony of Irishmen 
came from Illinois and secured homes. The party 
consisted of Thomas Fitzsimmons, William and 
John Bell, John Breunan, aul Patrick Creegan, 
and all of the party settled on land near the cen- 
ter of the town where they yet remain, with the 
exception of Thomas Fitzsimmons, who died 
upon the 11th of April, 1867. 

About the same time, or probably a little later 
than the above arrivals, Ole O. Thorson, a native 
of Norway, came from Dane county, Wisconsin, 
and secured a home in section thirty-sis, where he 
remained until 1857, when he removed to Olmsted 
county and still lives there. 

The year following the settlers came in so rap- 



.•JlU 



HISTORY OF FUBEBOUN COUNTY. 



iilly that it is impossible to trace them in 86- 
(luence, and by ISliO all of the government land 
in the township that was really valuable had been 
taken, and claims must be purchased according to 
the amount of improvements that had been made, 
instead of getting them free from Uncle Sam. 

TOWN OKGANIZATION. 

When this locality first began to be colonized, 
liy common consent or usage, it took the name of 
Dover, more as the name of the locality than the 
township. Thus it was at the time of the first 
town meeting on the 11th of May, 1858, at the 
house of William Bell, iu section twenty-one, and 
the first matter upon the program was to take 
into consideration the propriety of changing the 
former order of things and give the township a 
j)ermauent a])pellatiou. It had been proposed by 
some one to call it "Liberty" instead of Dover, 
and there was quite a following to this idea; but 
all of this was dispelled by Thomas Fitzsimmons, 
who stated that he was in favor of the name of 
Newry, iu remembrance of a little town in Ireland 
from whence a number of the pioneers hailed, and 
80 that name was bestowed by vote. 

The first officers elected were as follows: Sup- 
ervisors, John Brennan, Chairman, Daniel Holly- 
wood, and WiUiam Bell; Clerk, Thomas Fitzsim- 
mons; Treasurer, C. E. Johnson; Assessor, Patrick 
Creegan; Justice of the Peace, Thomas Holly- 
wood. 

Tlie present officials of the town, serving in 1882, 
are as follows: Supervisors, John Herron, Chair- 
man, Peter P. Haugen, and Micliaol Dowd ; Clerk, 
Thomas A. Helvig; Treasurer, Ole Easton; As- 
sessor, Ole C. Johnson; Justices of the Peace, 
Thomas Herron and Patrick Creegan: Constable, 
Andrew O'Leary. Elections are held in school- 
houses. 

STATISTICAL. 

The year 1881. — The area included iu this re- 
port takes in the whole town as follows : 

Wheat — 4,224 acres, yielding 56,212 bushels. 
Oats— 1,012» acres, yielding 31,132 bushels. 
Corn — 755 J^ acres, yielding 21,816 bushels. 

Barley -116| acres, yielding 3,307 bushels. 

Potatoes — 47^ acres, yielding 5,113 bushels. 
Sugar cane — \ acre, yielding 50 gallons. 
Cultivated hay — 123^ acres, yielding 816 tons. 
Total acreage cultivated in 1881, 6,277.', acres 
Wild hay— 2,703 tons. 
Timothy seed — 3 bushels. 



Apples — Number of trees growing, 319; num 
bearing, 87; yielding, 36 bushels. 

Grapes — 10 vines, yielding 100 pounds. 

Tobacco— 276 pounds. 

Sheep sheared — 177, yielding 479 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 405 cows, yielding 29,250 pounds of 
butter. 

Hives of bees — 31. 

The year 1882.— Wheat, 4,035 acres; oats, 
909; corn, l,079-'4; barley, 129.i; buckwhe.-it, 9; 
potatoes, 55.1 ; beans, .', ; sugar cane, \ ; cultivated 
hay, 158; other produce, \; total acreage cultiva- 
ted in 1882— 6,376.V; 

Api)le trees — growing, 395; bearing, 77; grape 
vines bearing — 8. 

Milch cows — 383. 

Sheep — 187, yielding 505 pounds of wool. 

Forest trees planted and growing, lO^ acres. 

PoPUiyATioN. — The census of 1870 gave Newry 
a population of 596. The last census, taken in 
1880, reports 737 for this town; showing an 
increase of 141. 

MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

The first birth in the township occurred at four 
o'clock a. m., on the 9th of February, 1856, and 
ushered into existence Tingne, a daughter of Chris- 
tian E. and Randi N. D. Johnson who resided 
upon section thirty-six. The child grew to woman- 
hood in the township and on the 6th of February, 
1876, was married to .John G. Quamm and now 
resides in Dakota. 
■ The first marriage ceremony was performi'd by 
Rev. C. S. Clauson on the 5th of June, 1858, and 
united the destinies of Halver Elofson and Caroline 
Fingerson, and, sad to say, the happy bride men- 
tioned, ere six months had elapsed, was called 
upon by the hand of death and passed to the 
unknown shore, making the first death in the 
township. 

The first title to land witliin the boundary of 
Newry township was acquired by Oliver R. Au.stin 
and W. R. Lincoln, who proved upon lands iu sec- 
tions four and five on the 4th of of September, 
1856. 

Newry Grange Lodge No. 99. — This society 
or order efl'ected an organization on the 9th of 
December, 1873, at the schoolhouse of District 
No. 79, under the auspices of Messrs Butler and 
King, of Albert Lea, with fifteen charter mem- 
bers, and C. E. Johnson was elected Master. The 



yEWMT TOWNSHIP. 



511 



lodge flourished, holding meetings once each week 
until 1875, when the charter, thirty members, and 
fifteen dollars which was in the treasury, were 
merged with the Albert Lea Lodge. 

Newry Post-office. — This office was estab- 
lished upon a petition from the citizens in 187i, 
with John Herron as Postmaster and office at 
his house in the northwestern part of section uine. 
Mail arrived by way of the Bloomiuy Prairie and 
Geneva route, and is yet carried to this point from 
the former place. The business has amounted to 
about $3 per quarter. The office, location, and 
Postmaster are the same at present as when first 
established. 

BEIilGIOUS. 

The first services held in the township, of a re- 
ligious character, were in the fall of 1856, at the 
house of Ole Thorson, in section thirty-six, and 
Kev. C. L. Clausen and Eev. O. Pierce were the 
ministers who officiated, both being followers of 
the Lutheran faith. In 1857 C. L. Clauson or- 
ganized the Norwegian Lutheran Church at a 
house in section thirty-six, owned by C. E. Rulcke, 
with thirty-six members, and the society com- 
menced holding services at private residences, 
which they continued until 1874, when they 
erected a fine church building just over the coun- 
ty line in Mower county, adjoining section twenty- 
four, which cost $6,000, and is a credit to the so- 
ciety. Tht^ church now has a membership of over 
two hundred, and is known under the title of Red 
Oak Grove Norsk Lutheran Church. 

EDITCATIONAl. 

For educational purposes this township is 
divided into six school districts, which are all in 
good financial condition, and have a fair average 
attendance in each. Their numbers are 1, 2, 73, 
79, and 106. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Thomas A. Helvig is a native of Norway, born 



on the 14th of September, 1845. He emigrated to 
America in 18G1, and settled in Fayette county, 
Iowa. On the 27th of February, 1864, he en- 
listed in the Ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and 
participated in the battles of Kenesaw Mountain, 
Atlanta, .Jonesboro, and several others. In the 
winter of 1865 he was sick about a month, but 
afterwards returned to service and was sent to the 
regiment at Goldsborough, North Carolina, on 
the 2d of March, 1865. They marched from 
there to Washington, and after about three weeks 
was sent to Clinton, Iowa, where he received his 
discharge, and reached home on the 1st of July, 
1865. On the 29th of November, 1867, he came 
to this place, and just two years after was joined 
in marriage with Miss Dora Benson. Tlie following 
December Mr. Helvig purchased a farm insection 
thirteen, which has since been his home. In 1870 
he was chosen a member of the board of Super- 
visors, and again in 1878; in 1876 was elected 
Town Clerk, and again in 1880 still filling the 
office. He is also clerk of his school district. 

Christian Eriok Rukke was born in Norway on 
the 18th of July, 1822. He learned the stone- 
mason trade in his native place, and worked at the 
same more or less until coming to America. He 
was married on the 14th of April, 1852, to Miss 
Randi Nelsdatter Sustegard, who has borne him 
fifteen children, eleven of whom are living, five 
boys and six girls. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. Rukke 
emigrated to this country, arriving in Rock 
county, Wisconsin, on the 9th of August. The 
following year they moved to Stephenson county, 
Illinois, and in the spring of 1856 once more 
changed their place of residence, coming this 
time to Newry, where they were among the first 
settlers. Mr. Rukke was the organizer of school 
District No 79, and had control of it a number 
of years. He was the first Town Treasurer, and 
has been elected to different offices since but would 
not accept. 



J12 



niSTORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



OAKLAND 



CHAPTER LXX. 

Descriptive — Early Settlement — Official 
Record — Oakland Village — Statistics — Re- 
ligious — Schools — Biographicu.. 

This is one of the eastern towns of Freeborn 
county, and is boumled as follows: Moscow 
township on the north, Oakland on the south, 
Mower county on the east, and Hayward town- 
ship on the west. It is a full congressional town- 
ship, the integrity of the original government 
survey remaining unchanged, as in all the towns 
of the county. 

Unlike all other of Freeborn county's sub- 
divisions, this has no lakes or water courses; but 
water can be obtained by boring to a reasonable 
depth. A little brook is marked upon the map as 
rising in the northern part of section six and 
(lowing northward into Moscow. 

The entire western part of the town is made up 
of what is termed "oak opening" land, or prairie 
and natural meadows dotted with groves of small 
growth burr and black oak timber, and there is 
also considerable moderately heavy timber; al- 
thongh this has been greatly diminished as in 
comparison with what it was in early days. The 
eastern part is, as a rule, jjrairia land with the 
usual pleasant and beautiful rolling tendency, 
which, as you go toward the south, becomes rather 
Tow and marshy, yet, not sufficiently so to be 
wliolly impractical for agriculture. In section 
fourteen considerable burr oak timber is found. 
The soil is a rich dark loam, with a subsoil of 
clay and gravel, and the entire township is well 
fitted for the crops and modes of farming of the 
|)resent day, yielding abundant and profitable 
crops to the energetic and industrious. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

An absorbing interest is always manifested in 
regard to the very first pioneer who venturtd into 



any locality to establish a home, and it would 
seem that while parties who were cotemporary 
with the first settlers are still living, it would not 
be difficult to promptly arrive at the fact, but for 
various reasons which it may not be necessary to 
state, this is not the ease, and there is much more 
uncertainty in this respect than would be sup- 
posed by those wlio have not undertaken to gather 
this kind of information. It is quite certain, 
that the first settlement in the township of Mos- 
cow was made in 1855, by a party from Illinois. 
This party consisted of G. W. Carpenter and fam- 
ily, and W. L. Carpenter, with Joel Bullock and 
family and Lemuel Bullock. George W. Carpen- 
ter located in section ten; W. L. Carpenter, a 
young man, secured a piece (jf land in section 
three,; Joel Bullock with his family made himself 
at home in section four, and Lemuel Bullock made 
a claim in section three. 

The next settlement was made near the center 
of the town by a party of Irishmen, who arrived 
in July, 185(3. Cornelius Kenuevan, together 
with his family, among whom were three sous, 
came at this time, and located upon a good farm 
in section twenty-two, where he remained until 
the time of his death, which occurred in 1880, 
and his three sons still remain in the town in com- 
fortable and prosperous circumstances. John 
Murano, a native of the Old Emerald Isle, ar- 
rived at the same time and located in section 
twenty-seven. He remained upon his original 
liomestead until 1874, when he gave up the 
ghost, and his family still occupy the place. 

Within a few weeks after the arrival of these 
Irishmen, a couple of Norwegian brothers in the 
persvniiii of Ole and George O. Gunderson, late 
of Wisconsin, made their appearance upon the 
scene and took claims just north of the above 
mentioned parties, in and about section nine. Ole 
took a claim of 160 acres in this section, brought 
his family, and erected a log hut among other 



OAKLAND TOWNSHIP. 



513 



improvements; he remaiaed here until 1877, when 
his earthly career was abruptly terminated. 

Francis Merchant, Sr., a Frenchman, was also 
among the arrivals of 1856, and settled in sec- 
tion one. The old homestead is still in the hands 
of members of his family. 

Eeuben Babcock was among the arrivals of 
1856, coming ia November of that year from Illi- 
nois, and filed upon 160 acres of Uncle Sam's do- 
main in section fifteen, where he located his fam- 
ily, erected a log house, and remained until 1859, 
when he sold his place and i-emoved to Albert 
Lea. 

Asa Bullock, Jr., a native of Vermont, arrived 
in Oakland iu the latter part of October, 1856, 
and pre-empted 160 acres, where he erected a log 
house and remained until 1864, when he was 
called upon by the Great Overseer to report upon 
the other shore of the valley of death. Mr. Bul- 
lock was highly esteemed by his neighbors, hav- 
ing held many public positions of trust and res- 
ponsibility, discharging the duties with credit to 
himself and satisfaction to his constituents. 

Others among the early settlers were A. D. 
Weight, Jerry Griffia, Henry Holleushead, James 
Bobinson, and in the southern part of the town 
a great many Bohemians, whose names have 
been forgotten. 

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

The first birth in the township was that of a 
child of Samnel Bullock and wife, iu February, 

1856. The parents of the child had settled in 
section three in 1855, having come from Wis- 
consin. 

The first marriage of parties living in Oakland 
took place in the winter of 1855 and '56, and uni- 
ted W. L. Carpenter to Miss Prudence Bullock; 
and L. E. Bullock to Miss Yuba Carpenter, be- 
ing a double wedding. As there wiiia no one in 
the township licensed to marry, the parties went 
over the line into Mower county, where the cere- 
mony was performed by Squire Beach. 

Another early marriage was that of Oscar Mil- 
ler and Miss Bullock, in September, 1857. This 
ceremony was performed by George Watson, 
Esquire, in the township of Moscow. 

It is claimed that the first death in Oakland 
took place in the spring of 1858, and carried to 
that great unknown shore Asa Bullock, the father 
of a large family of early pioneers, who had, in 

1857, located in section nine. 

33 



W. L. Carpenter and L. E. Bullock turned the 
first sod in the way of breaking in the township, 
in section three, in the spring of 1856. They 
also put up the first dwelling houses in Oakland, 
of logs. 

From the oflBcial records we glean that the first 
title to land was acquired by George N. Crane, to 
the northeast quarter of section thirty, on the 15th 
day of August, 1856. 

OFFICIAL RECORD. 

The first election or town meeting held within 
the boundaries of Oakland, and, in fact, at which 
the town organization was efl'ected, took place on 
the 5th of April, 1857, at the house of Thomas 
Kiley in the northeastern part of the town. The 
gentleman, at whose house the meeting was held, 
was made clerk, and Asa Bullock was chosen mod- 
erator. After the usual preliminaries the matter 
of electing township officials for the ensuing year 
was turned to, and after the polls were closed it 
was found there were 31 votes cast, and the fol- 
lowing officers were declared elected: Supervisors, 
Asa Bullock, Chairman, Willard L. Carpenter, and 
Henry Hollenshead; Clerk, Cornelius Kennevan; 
Collector, John Murane; Assessor, John Murane; 
Justice of the Peace, Cornelius Kennevan; Consta- 
ble, James Kobinson ; Overseer of the Poor, James 
Robinson; Pound Master, Asa Bullock, Jr. 

Public matters have been attended to with zeal 
and honesty, and through the capability of the 
gentlemen who have officiated there has been no 
waste of public funds; but economy has tempered 
all expenditures. At the last annual town meet- 
ing, held in the spring of 1882, tLie following 
gentlemen were made officers for the ensuing 
year: Supervisors, Frank Merchant, Chairman, 
D. C. Kennevan, and A. Lesum ; Clerk, A. G.Wise- 
man; Assessor, Edward Cotter; Treasurer, John J. 
Roylston; Justices of the Peace, E. B. Earl and 
William Chester. Town meetings are held alter- 
nately at the schoolhouses of districts thirty-two 
and thirty-three. The town now registers 160 
voters, although at the last election only 43 votes 
were polled. 

In 1864, bonds were voted to the amount of 
$1,000 to pay bounty to volunteers to till the 
quota assigned the town and thus prevent a draft. 
In the spring of 1865 another special meeting was 
held and again bonds were voted. 

OAKLAND VILLAGE. 

This is located upon the line of the Southern 




Tsx Izaa 1*1.— Tie 
^Bftvet sisss 3K 'ace -visefe 

Tieac — LJ71 itsr^s^ jisu£s« 
Oteia — 9\fl xss. jisiSaiS ±SLSeS 

®"^^ — ^** *="st. Tid^Bg CJ&t: baAefe. c^bA «ai i i ^ UM Mi tte ■■IhiiB ant 

gyi^»S »g^ r^fcg Mt ^'""^'' ^ «fser<iMi««LataeartofSMML3ae3txtOfEet: 

rl,:&Ki 111 kill ^MwwAiB^ed totkBehKdibT ICsL^sx. 



Mane- easae — frt -uses. -^tAjcsjc 14 g aaeiL . „i,f , | t. i. j. .a-j ,_ , , _ , n i.j, ^mm ,--,.— ,, 

eeskzafiaiiBl^gl — a^T^aaes. ,^b«S^ MviitVBBev-. X. CL &eai,^fke 
fear— MM; 




14j6* 

icicfeeeK. afsaeHileB. Tk^ are all b >ood I 

of koacT. ''I"*"ifii bovvig a £ur aven^QC 

MIC aoes; «*&. 979: eon. 14^ tfee wkate the wlTKin —lfanlitieaciOaM— dare 



4i: to«al aereaee «>BnKa b »*— — 5^ «L— life f^hn«s Ike twritay m 



^^^ — CJSa. 1^ MBrkiMiiiii pat tt. Ike i iiiiiM H i p. ««a a 

Antefi»eiD«Be-Ufi3:beBneM6. BhooftoBe k«tod « fte wsta« part ot sertw 

Gc^evneelKsine— 13. t-eiie. Tkv datmt w oraanred m 18S7. tke 



3<^<^(»**— 3^- Snt sAoal ■iilBi fa^K keU at tfe kowe o€ 



j^p^dteurw^i MitcfcellCtafcCfcitJofcalagMy.Jr.z-rreasw- 

oTfaas cdtnated m. IfiSS— ^^ j,.g. g,,^ f^ KfcoolkoMe wa» erected 

^- sotM afterrad, ne UxlS feet. bame. Tfae fint 

Forert tnei pia^ud ari gio«^— «7| aerea. eefcool waa taia^ by lAhie Pheifi^ with eigbt 

Pctrauns — Ike n aiiM «f 1^0 gave Oik- pvpik ■■ ultra iliaer The pttatal cfieos are 

iMdapeiMdatiaKor^UL Ikeht ttawa. tak^ Jaoa Borfatim. JaMa lastly, aad Joha J. 

m l<;iBil,re|sacta6S«f:T tfcf?-^" -'--Tnagaaia- Bv^rtoa. Thelatf temwaa taagktby IGv Abb 

c:emt o< 217. TTmMIi tke \ 



OAKLASD TOWSBUIP. 515 



DisTBici So. 32. — VStt*»A aa avgamEatioB ae iios ^SadteA aa ' JtgjuMMU oe b 1^6. ^ad dsxiaig 
1866. and tiieir edioaiboase «ae eieeted sk ifae saae vcar &e hamB -was vseteA at las. aae. 



16x30. at a ecKt d 9600. ia tlie eaeteiB ]nrt of leixUS feet a Oe c i artrni part «C aeetaoB sevoi, 
■eetion twoity-tvo. Tbe fiist Board of sebool and seated to ^ tu m—wliitp iveEXj-pe BE&alHS. 



nta^ up of Jofan MniaBE;. Adan Hhe feit ofieos voe, S. BbDocz, C. 
Cliista, and Peter Tom>^. vlw eM^ored Use ^ aad S. JUAast. Iba Sist fcfaooi vae tea^^ bf 



J. CIihU to teadi tiae fiist tent of ecbool, the Katie Didort, a tte boMe of H. Wjaoit, «i& 
j f«yiwiMi«P beiiig Vtiatj^tse Pf*^ ^1^^ ^^'i" "^ tfastaaa «<fh>-^y pneeeat, riK leeesrsBs 913 per 



sdiool ««e hdd in a pch-ate boose is 1SS5l Ibe Koeth fer ber serneee. I%e]bst1 

preaeBt offieeis are as idSSaws: Ssreetxic, Falziei br Cassie To 

Cottg; Cfak. J. Pmeeil; Treaearer. J. K tgmeijfe . -s-s^ee 923 per aaoaft. lie peeseiHt 

Hie iHt sefaool taagfat in tfak d^ziet had aa at- ae £giIo«s: Disacfei*; Hesnr Vtaot; Cieik. Oie 

fcMwim«. of £orfv^«e pa{HkL. Jobaeoa: TnaMins, G. O. G^idecsca. 

DiszKiCT Xo. ^. — This .Tiijjif* vae set apart soesilPEIcsx. 

from Xo. .^ not long aOET &e orgaaiatiiM cf As**a> F. DissK »« teat is BBia»a «■ fe 

tbat di^net. aad it is eisdaed Ae fiirf aeteol j^^ ^ Aag«L 1854. Whm fet »:ffi^ S« 

■Beliag«8hddat tbekoaseof InFailaLiB ^W fefepsaSB fesi boA&d, aadte^»E 

tfaefaOof 1861: TBt sane ecaitia<&ttfa>B^at^ ;q, b^ aa a«fe «*d «-e to 

neat bx ad±^ tfae qaestaoa, -Hww eaa it be tbai ^^ WkeoMBL At tfce a«e cf 

Di^»; Xou 33 hdd ife &^ laa^iag i- 1961, ^.i,^^^ a hl.^.^ cfee at lfearf«^ CSt. 

wben Xo. 33 «ae not or-aaaad «til 9e<Bal jgar ,5^ ^^ aad —ae -ortte ^rae arat to 




-reois afterwarJ?" It e futaiw. aowwia:. uui ^^.^^^^^^ ^^^r^mk 

tlie&^sdioal^asiaasldiatfaefidiof ISPSI. at j^ ^.g^^^ ae^ea ^^a^ Oa tie 34* rf A»- 

fbehcseof George OsipeateE. by Tl»ei^ Bar- -^s. 1?;^ ke««iid3&B Adda C. IH^jaL a 

ko. witfa tbiiteeii seiiafais OB tbe bmeb^ "Qe ^-^^ ^ Caaadji^ Altar laatas iae above omu 

pieaeid ateoODi^ was esated of loes in ^ pas^. Me. Dadbr aagaged is braaes »**. J. J. 

aortfaea^eni part of aeetiaa aae, eailj IB Ae Sg^ ,B»d p«6^a«DK»si^ as Jfawwr. «■ 

■M-«oflg65.3«el6i24SBeL -netesAoca x,^ (^^^ a* a «« rf SM«*: afac- b.at » 

taagfat bTETaFOsin. to aa ataesdaBeeci 3,^^ ^ j^g ,ifea^ e( OaWaad. wiafe Apt 



eixteeB 9(iulais. Ae necni^ Sorbs sEETieeF tao i«u fte mD bai^ b«BBd ■ Aas^:. 18S2. It- 
perHMib. Tbe pp^oit board of srinolofieas jjajbr ,^ .oWMSed Ite^aBS^ ■ l^i* 



KaBfalkm: Siiwtac; C B. Ws^hb; IjsaE- jriH Mfe tS« .^mel Hfe »as s^c to sek I;«^a- 
mrr. A. T. Vssaa: Clai. A. Toaas. tare at 1ST9 aai aga» » 1S»1- 

Dezkkt Sol T5. — GSarCed aa oi a' aaimt MB i=: F-t=.-v B. Sasi. k a aatiie of J<=S=nssm essiSj, 



18^ aahrariag ^ feedteirr b Ae soahwesBa^ X«v Tr^rk. bnm oa tbe Ckfa of Xscis. ISfti. ^ 
port of tbe township. Ibe €i9t sebaoi p%.>ti"wg paateBflp e^ae to tbe t Maatj a ISK. aad be xe- 



-vasbddattfaelvKeaC IliaBidE£BaeiaB.«atbe ^Jed^ia&tibaaaata^&EBigKlSeii 

27ib of Ihicfa, la^ ^ vbkk tbe foBoviag ofi- K. of fbe FobA 

eeis ««« efected: Diieetoi^ £. BL Eaaie: Cfait ami 11 riipfr IT T* Ifrimrr: 

A. D. Wait. Jr.; KeaeaicE. A. B. Waate, Sr. Tbe -rnarTyd in aavxe ^rtS Iteeesfco' lieS. vbsa be 

fiist acbool v^ beld nt Ae s^ae phrr as vas ibe ^ras Mattastky diechai&td for de^sSsj. He 

MtjUia g. br W. E. Wait, vitb ox sebofaas pees- letKKd to kk bone aad (be aiA <£ 

o^ ^^sebooifaoaBeBovmaBB^nsca^AtwSBd iaSLBHi»d3EBS^BsbeA.LasiaiT. Ibes 

ia ISGS. beiK: a fi laa 16x±dt aad oaA ISSOl to ^qb^ ^ bo^M a Sons oa seta jl rv^sLij- 

vbiefa a 10 foot adifitina bae beea ande ^ace. Os^faad tovs^p. vbere le 

Tbe keatiaa of tbe bnlSaseAe southwest part ^aee a^kd to ^1 Scat pKAaae. fi? 

of aertaoa tacat y^aae. The piutud rdBrra^ are: J^^xe ed tbe PeMse deva 

I>iieel<Mv Fater Sorkob: Ke^aia^. Joeeph Bay- jjj^ee yeaas. « veesat bcA^ag Ae i 

aoad: Ckrk. E. B Bade. Tbe 2a^ taa of ]^ -^ iei -^ -_^,^ - 3*ci :< May, ISSU leawsis 

sAoal vas acaeaded by Sorty-^K pafsis. So^ekfll- i H- _^-- -_ llr -.c«eiBt -w^e. sr- 

DEmcrXo. S3l— Tks 'Wi-~tir-.i swb^iis. . jseiH- E.1 1. Z ~ _i 1 -. -. A 'yksxc- ISSi 




616 



HTsronr of frbeboun gounty. 



Francis Mekchant, Jr., one of the early sellers 
of this place, was horn in France on the 20th of 
September, 1842. He came with his parents to 
America when seven years old, resided in Oneida 
county, New York, until 185G, when they removed 
to Wisconsin, and a year later to this place, locat- 
ing a farm in section one, which is still their 
home. In 1862, Francis enlisted in Company C, 
of the Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry; was 
appointed First Lieutenant, sent south, and at the 
close of the war, returned to Fort Snelling, where 
he received a Captain's commission and was hon- 
orably discharged. He then returned to his 
homo, and on the 11th of November, 1866, mar- 
ried Miss Annie Lamping, formerly from Illinois. 
They have five children. Mr. Merchant bouglit 
his father's farm in 1877, and now carries on the 
same.his parents living in Walla Walla, Washington 
Territory. 

As.\ Rowley is a native of the Empire State, 
born on the 12th of October, 1830. He moved 
with his parents to Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
in 1846, and on the 11th of October, 1856. mar- 
ried Miss Hutchison Smith. They lived on a farm 
in Adams county, Wisconsin, for three years, tlieu 
retummg resided on a farm adjoining his father's 
until 1864, when they came to Oakland and home- 
steaded in section six. He has since added to 
his farm and makes it his home; he has held town 
offices, also church offices, being a member of the 
Presbyterian Church. Hee is the father of four 
children, two sons and two daughters. His eldest 
son was graduated from the State University in 
1881, and the younger is now in the junior class 
in the same institution, and his daughters are 
both prorament teachers in this county. 

William T. Spillane, a native of Pennsylva- 
nia, was bom in Potter county, on the 22d of Jan- 
uary, J 856. When he was sixteen years old he 
came to .\lbert Lea, and was employed by H. 
Rowell in an elevator for three years, then moved 
to Dubuque, Iowa, and attended school for one 
year. He subsequantly took a trip through Kan- 
sas and Missouri, returning to this county in 
1877. He was engaged in buying wheat for Car- 
gill & Co., being at different stations on the road 
until the autumn of 1879, when he took charge of 
the elevator in this place and has since held the 
position. 

Jame>j ToRRE^"s was born in Ireland on the 15th 



of October, 1831, and when eighteen years old 
emigrated to .\merica. He lived in New York, 
then in Michigan, and in 185i>, started to Minne- 
sota, but on arriving in Illinois, stopped and re- 
mained through the winter. He was married on 
tlie 4th of July, 1858, to Miss Charlotte J. Finlon. 
E;irly in the spring they came on to this State, and 
located a farm in this township, which conta ins 
two hundred and forty acres, and is well improv- 
ed. Mr. and Mrs. Torrens have a family of t«n 
children, all but two of whom are at home. 

Alonzo p. Warren, a native 'of the Empire 
State, was born in Genesee county, on the 2d of 
September, 1823. When he was fifteen years old 
he came to Racine, Wisconsin, where he worked 
at the carpenter trade for two and a half years, 
then returned to his native State. After a resi- 
dence of three years he again came to Wisconsin ; 
bought a farm in Dodge county, which he carried 
on for a few years and then came to Waupun and 
opened a harness shop. He was married on the 
13th of April, 184K, to Miss C. B. Rogers. They 
conducted a hotel for one year ia Algona, Winne- 
bago county. For a time they lived in Alma, 
where his wife died, on the 14th of September, 
1851, leaving a son and a daughter. The 8(m en- 
listed in the army, and was killed in the battle of 
Atlanta. Mr. Warren was married to his present 
\vife, formerly Miss C. E. Fuller, on the 9th of 
October, 1866. 

Henry Wyent, one of the pioneers of this 
place, was born in Pennsylvania in 1822. His 
father died when Henry was fifteen years old and 
he soon after moved with his mother to a different 
lacality in the same State, and worked at various 
occupations, finally renting a farm which he car- 
ried on for four years. He was married in the 
autumn of 1849, to Miss Eliza Showese and they 
have four children, three boys and one girl. In 
the fall of 1845, Mr. Wyent came to this place and 
took a claim in section six, returning to Pennsyl- 
vania for the winter, aud in the spring brought his 
family. At the time of the Indian troul>le he sent 
his family back to their former home, and enlist- 
ed in Company C, of the Second Minnesota Cav- 
alry; went west and served till the spring of 1864, 
when he was mustered out at Fort Snelling. He 
tlieu went for his family, and has since made this 
place his home. He owns a good farm of three 
hundred aud twenty acres. 



PICKEREL LAKE TOWNSHIP. 



517 



PICKEREL LAKE, 



OHAPTEB LXXI. 

DESCRIPTION EARLY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZA- 
TION — ARMSTRONG VILLAGE — RELIGIOUS— SCHOOLS 
— BIOGRAPHICAL. 

The town bearing this appellation is among the 
center towns of Freeborn county, having as its 
contiguous surroundings, the township of Man- 
chester on the north; Nunda on the south; Albert 
Lea on the east; and Alden on the west. It is 
constituted as originally surveyed by the govern- 
ment officers, of thirty -six sections, or 23,040 
acres. 

The surface of the town may be said to be 
diversified, as we find both timber and prairie 
and. In early days the greater pari of the east- 
ern half of the town was timber of divers varieties, 
among which were burr and black oak, maple, 
basswood, beach, elm, butternut, and some black 
walnut, and yet there are many traces of this min- 
iature forest visible in the region of the lakes, 
some even claiming that at least one-eighth of the 
township is now covered with timber; but we 
think that this statement is a little overdrawn. 
There are, however, many spots of land covered 
with patches of oak openings and groves, as the 
town may be said to be, in a limited way, noted 
tor its beautiful landscape which is greatly en- 
hanced by these small groves of timber. The 
surface is rolling, in places given to abrupt hills 
called "knolls," which also help to make the 
scenery picturesque. One of these, known as 
"Jennings Point" in section two, rises higher than 
the surrounding country, and is the highest point 
in the county. It is claimed by a great many, 
and through Freeborn county generally believed, 
that this is the highest point of land in the State; 
but this is a very apparent mistake, for the very 
report, (Winchell's geological survey report, pub- 
lished in 1876), upon which this theory is based, 
contradicts it. There are three points in Minne- 



sota which rise to a height of 200 feet above this; 
one in Nobles, one in Mower, and one in Otter 
Tail county. It is true, however, that this is the 
highest point in Freeborn county, it being 1,342 
feet above the level of the ocean, and 667 feet 
above Lake Superior. 

The soil, in the eastern part, is a rich dark 
loam of from two to two and one-half feet in 
depth; underlaid by a subsoil of yellow clay of 
about 20 feet, beneath which lies the blue clay. 
As you go westwardly, to the more open rolling 
prairie, the soil becomes of a lighter nature, with a 
tendency to sandiness, the depth of which varies 
from eight to eighteen inches; having a gravelly 
loam and sand subsoil of twelve feet, underneath 
which is the sand bed. There is no lime or sand- 
stone to speak of, but in places there is a prof usioh 
of boulders. The best of water is found at reas- 
onable depth. 

The town is well watered by various lakes and 
streams, which are all teeming with fish, and are 
much frequented by seekers after sport of this 
kind. White's Lake lies in the northeastern part 
of the town, covering about 160 acre.^ in section 
one; this was originally known as Albert Lea 
Lake, but since 1856, when A. W. White pre- 
empted a claim touching it, the lake has been 
known under its present name. Pickerel Lake, 
after which the town was named, derives its appel- 
lation from the abundance of fish of this name 
which are found in its waters. It lies in the east- 
ern part of the town, in sections thirteen and 
twenty-four, and extends into the town of Albert 
Lea; a large tract of land northwest of this lake 
is marked on the map as overflown land and use- 
less for farming purposes. In sections twenty- 
three and twenty-six are located the Little Oyster 
Lakes, so called because of their shape, and it is 
made a joke that on wet occasions they open their 
mouths in the shape of an inlet to admit fresh 
water. Next comes the upper Twin Lake, the 



518 



UIsrORT OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



largest body of water in tho township, lying in 
the southeastern part, mostly in section thirty- 
five, and extending southward to make connection 
with its twin, the Lower L>ike,which lies in NiinJa 
township. A number of other small bodies of 
water are scattered through the town, which are 
sometimes called lakes, but more properly known 
as ponds. The lakes of this town are the headwa- 
ter of the Shell Kock River. 

FIRST SETTLESrENT. 

Charles and William Wilder (or as many spell 
it, Weilder, ) and A. D. Pinkerton, made their ap- 
pearance and located on and about section twelve 
in 1855. Charles Wilder at once commenced and 
completed the first dwelling shanty in the town- 
ship. They remained on the places for some 
years but have now all gone to other parts. 

In the following spring, 1856, John Kuble, a 
native of Pennsylvania who had stopped for a 
time in Rock county, Wisconsin, make his appear- 
ance and was the next settler in the towushij). He 
brought his family with him and settled upon 
160 acres in section twelve, where he opened the 
first farm in the township and still remains a 
prominent man in Freeborn county. 

In the fall of the same year another settler 
crowded into this section. This was A. W. White 
after whom the lake was named. He was a native 
of the Empire State, and remained upon his farm 
until 1861, when he removed to the village of 
Albert Lea, where he still resides. Section 
twenty-nine received a settler the same fall, in the 
person of Louis Marplee, of the German Fader- 
land, who settled in the section mentioned and re- 
mained there until 1866 when he removed to 
Nunda. Several of his countrymen came in this 
fall, and were the vanguard of that determine<l 
band which subsequently followed and now about 
monopolize the township. 

Henry Schneider and Frederick Fink, Germans, 
both came this fall and settled. The former drop- 
ped anchor in section fifteen where his moorings 
still remain fast, and Mr. Pink also placed him- 
self on a place in the same section, where he re- 
mained until 1H7() and then moved to his present 
place in section twenty-nine. He is a prominent 
man in public matters, 

Christian Bohle, of the same nationality, came 
about the same time as Fink and settled in section 
fifteen where he yet remains. All of these parties 



had just come from the state of New York, where 
they had sojourned for a time. 

Section eleven ,in the Ruble settlement, received 
an additional settler also about the same time as 
the last named, in the fall of 185G, in the person of 
Frederick Woodward, fresh from the "Badger 
State," who secured a habitation there and re- 
mained until 1861. when he enlisted in the army, 
and upon his return settled in Iowa, where he 
lived up to the time of his death. 

Early in the following spring, 1857, Charles 
and A. K. Norton, natives of the "Green Moun- 
tain" State, who had been whiling away a short 
time in Racine county, Wisconsin, drifted into this 
township. Charles planted his stakes on a pleas- 
ant farm in sections thirteen and fourteen, while 
his brother, A. K. Norton, bought land in sections 
thirteen and twenty-three, where he remained un- 
til 1861 when he enlisted in the army, and upon 
liis return settled in Freeborn township, where he 
still lives. 

Luther Smith also arrived this spring. He was 
a native of New York and settled in section three, 
where he lived until the war broke out when he 
also enlisted, but never returned, finding a lonely 
grave in the sunny south. His family have 
gone. 

After 1857 the ingress upon the government 
land of the town wa? so rapid and incessant that 
it is impossible to note them all, but we will try 
and give a few of the most important. 

E. Jennings, a native of New York, first made 
his appearance in this township in the spring of 
1862, but returned to Illinois for his family which 
he had left there, and did not re-arrive here until 
18(i5, when he settled on the place where he now 
lives, in sections two aid three. 

Tlie settlement in the western portion of the 
township did not commence until about 1860, 
when L. L. Lovell made his appearance and took 
a farm in or adjoining what was afterwards known 
as Lovell's grove in section eight. W. G. Bloe 
came with Lovell from the eastern States and 
took a place in section eighteen. He remained 
here until 1872 when he left the county. 

In 1863, Mortimer Whitney came and took a 
a place in section seven where he remained until 
1871, when he removed to Owatonna, and still 
holds forth in tho latter place. 

N. H. Stone, a native of Pennsylvania, was 
another early settler, arriving in 1864, and still 



PICKEREL LAKE TOWNSHIP. 



519 



lives in the town. Also Knudt Knudtson, a na- 
tive of Norway, arrived during the same year and 
still remains; it is said be is the only representa- 
rive of the Norwegian race in the (ownship. 

ITEMS OF INTEREST. 

The first death to occur in the township, was 
the demise of Mrs. Christian Bohle in January, 
1859; she had been living on section fifteen. 

The first marriage in the town took place on 
the 6th of July, 1859, and united the destinies of 
Frederick Fink and Miss Frederica Weiser; the 
ceremony being performed by B. McCarty, Esq. 
The bridegroom went to Mitchell county, Iowa, 
and from there brought his bride to John Ruble's 
place in section twelve, on foot, where the cere- 
mony took place. They still reside in the town- 
ship. 

The first birth within the limits of the town, 
was on the night of the 14th of September, 1857, 
and ushered into existence, Amelia, a daughter of 
John and Harrietta Ruble, in the old log house in 
section twelve. She still lives with her parents in 
the township, and at her birth-place. 

County Seat. — It is claimed that when the 
matter of where the county seat should be located, 
was being agitated, a meeting was held in John 
Ruble's barn yard, for the purpose of feeling the 
public pulse on the matter, and it was found that 
there were only seven legal voters in the town; but 
after the election was over, counting the polls dis- 
closed that forty -five votes had been cast. We can- 
not explain. 

INDUSTKIAL ENTEKPKISBS. 

Some years ago John Ruble erected a shop on 
his place in section twelve, and hired a brawny 
son of vulcan to manipulate the bellows. 

In the year 1868, Anson Hanf erected on sec- 
tion eleven, a 16x20 frame shop in which he did 
blacksmithing until 1876, when he made it a part 
of his barn, and in 1878 erected the building he 
now occupies in section eleven, the size 16x18, 
and does his own work. 

Several parties, in the latter part of the sixties, 
burned lime in section twelve with moderate suc- 
cess. 

OFFICIAL RECORD. 

Pickerel Lake was first annexed for local gov- 
ernment purposes to the township of Manchester- 
in its organization in 1858, and thus remained 
until 1860, when the County Commissioners, in 



answer to a petition, annulled its connection to 
Manchester and made it a part of Albert Lea 
township. Finally, at the annual meeting of the 
board of County Commissioners, held at Albert 
Lea the 8th of September, 1865, a petition was 
presented signed by William C. Pentecost and 
twenty-four other legal voters and residents of 
Pickerel Lake, asking to be separated from Albert 
Lea and made a separate political organization. 
The request was granted, and on motion of Com- 
missioner Andrews, it was ordered by the board 
that $400 of a special tax of $1,500, voted for 
roads and bridges, and for finishing the county 
buildings, be granted Pickerel Lake for roads and 
bridges. The board then selected the following 
as township officers until the time of the annual 
election: Supervisors, John Ruble, Chairman, 
J. France, and J. H. Converse; Clerk, A.W.White; 
Treasurer, E. Jennings; Justices of the Peace, R. 
C. Cady and William Schneider; Constables, O. 
Kenfield and Peter Lampman. The Clerk refused 
to qualify, but his place was readily filled by the 
appointment of R. C. Cady. 

The first annual election was held at the house 
of John Ruble on the 3d of April, 1866, and the 
following officers were elected: Supervisors, John 
Ruble, Chairman, Joseph France, and J. H. Con- 
verse; Justices of the Peace, R. C. Cady and Wil- 
liam Schneider; Assessor, John Ruble; Treasurer, 
E. Jennings; Constables, William Weiser and O. 
Kemfield; Clerk, R. C. Cady; Overseer of High- 
ways, A. C. Howe, W. C. Whitney, J. Smith, E. 
Ames, and A. C. Davis. A couple of these parties 
also refused to qualify, but their places were filled 
by the appointment of Peter Lampman. 

At the last annual town meeting, held in the 
spring of 1882, the following officers were elected: 
Supervisors, J. George Widmann, Chairman, 
Charles Schneider, and Charles Kreuger: Clerk, 
Charles H. Ruble; Treasurer, Henry Ruethe; As- 
sessor, H. S. Holt; Jtistices of the Peace, B. A. 
Cady and S. A. Foster. The Judges of this elec- 
tion were Charles Martin, George Widmann, and 
Charles Schneider.. The sum of .f 700 was voted 
tor the roads and bridges. 

The public matters pertaining to the town have 
always been in good hands and ably managed; 
there never having been any extravagance or use- 
less expenditure of public money. 

ABMSTRONG VILLAGE. 

This is the only village in the township of Pick- 



520 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



erel Lake, aud is the youngest village in Freeborn 
county, if it cau be called a village, for probably 
the name of Station would be more appropriate. 
It is located in the eastern part of section four, on 
the Southern Minnesota railroad, about Ave miles 
from Albert Lea, the county seat. 

It came into existence in 1878, at the instiga- 
tion of T. H. Arm.strong, who that year erected an 
elevator, and a store building was also built the 
same spring by Jason T. Goward. A Post-office 
was established in 1882, and G. H. Kenerson was 
appointed Postmaster, and still holds the office. 

In 1879, a Mr. Dewey erected a blacksmith 
shop, and commenced hammering the anvil: but 
he left in 1880. 

The railroad company erected the depot in 
1879, and it was opened with P. D. Barticns, sta- 
tion agent. The present agent is F. D. Babcock. 

This is about all that can be said of the village; 
it may have a future and it undoubtedly has; but 
as to what that future will be, time must deter- 
mine. 

STATISTICS. 

We have gathered from the report of the 
County Auditor to the Commissioner of Statistics, 
and elsewhere, a number of items which we pre- 
sent in this connection, to give an idea of the 
agricultural resources of the township, and from 
which the reader can determine the wealth and 
productiveness of the town. 

The Ye.\r 1881. — Showing the acreage and 
yield of the various crops: 

Wheat — 2,340 acres, yielding 29,.550 bushels. 

Oats — 460 acres, yielding 16,300 bushels. 

Corn — 517 acres, yielding 18,850 bushels. 

Barley — 50 acres, yielding 1,300 bushels. 

Potatoes-^'16 acres, yielding 4,926 bushels. 

Cultivated Hay — 6 acres, yielding 10 tons. 

Other products — 40 acres. 

Total acreage cultivated in the year 1881 — 
3,459. 

Wild Hay gathered— 2,445 tons. 

Apple trees — growing, 800. 

Sheep — 31 sheared; yielding 489 pounds of 
wool. 

Cows — 223, yielding 14,200 pounds of butter. 

Bees— Five hives. 

The Year 1882. —Wheat, 2,030 acres; oats, 484; 
corn, 827; barley, 85; potatoes, 50; cultivated 
hay, 27; liax, 20; total acreage cultivated in 1882, 
3,523. 



Apple trees growing — 300; apple trees bearing, 
100. 

Milch cows — 346. 

Sheep — 220, yielding 1,440 pounds of wool. 

Whole number of farms reported in 1881 —50. 

Forest trees — Whole number of acres planted 
and growiag, 20. 

PoPt'LATiox. — The census of 1870 gave Pickerel 
Lake township a population of 337. The last 
census, taken in 1880, reports it as having 533. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The first religious services were held at the resi- 
dence of Mr. John Kulile, in section twelve, in the 
year 1861, by a German Lutheran divine, the 
Eev. Mr. Charles Bucholz. Since that time ser- 
vices have been continued at various pla 'es in the 
township, and two church organizations have 
come into existence, a sketch of each of which 
will be given. It is stated that a Rev. Mr. Smith 
held services in the town at an early day; also in 
Mr. John Buble's house. 

Gekm.^n Lutheran Church. — This denomina- 
tion held services at an early day, and in 1874 an 
organization was effected in the schoolhouse of 
District No. 57, with fourteen members, Rev. H. 
Kretzchmer being the officiating minister. In 
1878, the need of an edifice in which to worship 
God became too apparent, aud the present church 
building used by the Society was erected. It is 
a frame building about 20x30, 12 foot posts, and 
cost i81,200, being nicely furnished. The present 
minister is Rev. J. Kettle, and the Society is now 
composed of about thirty members. The church 
is located in section eleven. 

German M. E. Society. — There are conflicting 
statements as to the organization of this society, 
and suffice it to say that it was effected prior to 
1873; for, in that year we find the church edifice 
now in use by this denomination, being erected 
by subscription on secticm twenty-tree, size 24x36, 
with 14 foot posts. The first preaching was done 
by Rev. A. Bibighansen, with twenty members 
constituting his audience. The present minister 
is Rev. A. H. Koemer, of Albert Lea. 

In connection with this church the society have 
laid out a cemetery adjoining, containing four 
acres, which is neatly fenced, well kept, and 
splendidly located. The first burial here was 
Pi'itz Brantz, in the winter of 1876, and now there 
are about thirty headstones marking the last rest- 
ing places of those departed. 



PIUKEREL LAKE TOWNSHIP. 



521 



MEDIUMS OF EDUCATION. 

As to the facilities for the gaiuing of knowledge, 
Pickerel Lake township is supplied with five dis- 
tricts, which are all in good running order, with a 
good attendance of scholars. Their numbers and 
the location of their buildings are as follows: No. 
39, schoolhouse in section 12; No. 56, in .section 
7; No. 57, in section 22; No. 69, in section 19; 
No. 102, in section 24. A short sketch of each of 
the districts is below given, showing the organiza- 
tion, and history of their progress. 

District No. 39. — Was the first district to come 
into official existence in the township, effecting an 
organization in 1862, with the following as its offi- 
cers; Directoi', John Murphy; Clerk, Charles Nor- 
ton; Treasurer, John Ruble. The first school was 
taught in John Ruble's log house, by Miss Bassett, 
with ten scholars present, and school was held here 
until 1855, when a frame house was erected on 
land owned by George S. Ruble, in section eleven, 
at a cost of .^700, which is still in use. The last 
teacher was Miss Norton, with an attendance of 
twelve scholars. The present officers are: W. C. 
Norton, Charles H. Ruble, and John Ruble, re- 
spectively Clerk, Director, and Treasurer. 

District No. 56. — Effected an organization in 
1864 by the election of: Director, Frederick Rick- 
ard; Clerk, L. L. Lovell; and Treasurer, N. H. 
Spoon. The nest year a school building was 
constructed, 14sl6 feet, at a cost of S150, which 
occupied a site in section eight until 1868, when 
it was moved to the present site in the southeast- 
ern part of section seven, of which the district as 
yet has no title. In 1879, the present school 
structure was erected on the same location, size, 
16x22 feet, at a cost of |300. The first school in 
this district was taught in the fall of 1864, in Mr. 
Lovell's house, in section eight, by Kate Nichols, 
with seven scholars present. The present officers 
are: Clerk, R. Hanf: Director, Benjamin Randall; 
Treasurer, Knute Knuteson ; Malon Howe was the 
last teacher, with twenty-three pupils. 

District No. 57. — Was the next district to 
effect on organization, which it did in April, 1869, 
with Messss. Fred Fink. Henry Weisser, and Hen- 
ry Eberhart, as its officers. The schoolhouse was 
constructed the same year, in the southeastern 
part of section twenty-three, Henry Weisser do- 
nating the land. The size is 16x20 and cost $300. 
The first teacher was Miss Nancy Ruble, and 
there were twelve juveniles upon the hardwood 



benches. The last board consisted of: Director, 
H. Drommerhauseu; Clerk, William Schneider; 
Treasurer, William Weisser, (now deceased). The 
The last teacher was Miss Hannah Daniels. This 
house has been used a great deal for religious 
purposes. 

District No. 69. — A special meeting was held 
at August Yost's house in section nineteen, on 
the 16th of Aprd, 1881, at which bonds were vot- 
ed to the amount of #300 to build a schoolhouse 
and organization was effected by the election of 
the following officers: Director, Fred Fink; Clerk, 
August Yost; Treasurer, H. Sohulenburg; there 
were ten votes cast. In the same year the house 
was erected on land belonging to C. M. McKee, 
size 16x24, at a cost of |316. The first school was 
taught by Katie Everhardt, to an attendance of ' 
twelve; the last was taught by Miss Ella Ruble, 
with thirteen, The same officers still manage the 
affairs of the district. 

District No. 102.— The finst taught was in the 
summer of 1876, in a carpenter shop on Mr. 
Widmans land, by Katie Eberhart, with eight- 
een or twenty scholars. The following year, 1877, 
a neat frame house was erected in the southwest- 
ern corner of section twenty- four, at a cost of 
$300. The district was organized by the elec- 
tion of the following officers: Clerk, George 
Widman; Treasurer, Mr. Jeklin; Director, F. 
Schneider. The present officers are, Messrs. L. 
Jeklin, Director; George Widman, Clerk; and 
John Kaemmer, Treasurer. Miss Carrie Norton 
was the last instructor, to an attendance of about 
thirty scholars. 

BIOGBAPHICAIi. 

F. D. Babcock, is a native of Iowa, born in 
Bradford, Chickasaw county. He attended 
school there until eighteen years old,then removed 
to Herseyville, Wisconsin, and completed his edu- 
cation, residing with his grand-parents for a year 
and a half. He returned to his native State, but 
in a year returned to ^Visconsin and remained six 
years. He then came to Minnesota, resided in 
Hokah, Houston county, Hayward, and Arm- 
strong, in this county, returned to Whalen, Hous- 
ton county, and in July, 1882, came again to 
Armstrong, where he now resides. He is station 
agent and telegraph operator, having learned tel- 
egraphy in Wisconsin. He was married in the 
latter State, in Herseyville, in December, 1880, to 
Miss Frankie C. Palmer, a native of Virginia, in 



522 



irisTonr of fkbebohn county 



thiit State. Her fatber was killod iu the army 
and her mother still resides iti Wisconsin. Mr. 
Babcock's father died in South Carolina in 1881, 
aged fifty years, and his mother resides in Wis- 
consin, aged forty-nine. He and his wife are 
members of the M, E. Church. 

B. \. Cady, was born in Saratoga county, New 
York, in 1849, and removed from his native State 
when two years old, coming to Omro, Wisconsin. 
He attended school in the latter State and finished 
his education in Minnesota, having come to Pick- 
erel Lake in 1861. He was married in Albert 
Lea on the 7th of February, 1875, to Mary A. 
Kichards, a native of New York. When a child 
she came with her parents to Fox Lake, Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, and resided until 1872, then 
moved to Albert Lea, and remained until her mar- 
riage. She is a member of the Catholic church. 
Her parents still live in the latter place. Mr. 
Cady's father is a native of New York, and now 
lives in Kansas. His mother was liorn in Ver- 
mont, and died in Pickerel Lake in 1878, aged 
fifty-nine years. He has a brother living in Al- 
bert Lea, who has been employed in the Post- 
office there for several years. 

Barbara Eberhaudt is a native of Germany, 
born in 1838, and emigrated with her jjareuts to 
America when seven years old. They located in 
Wisconsin where Barbara received a common 
school education, and at the age of twenty-two 
years was married to Henry Eberhardt. He was 
born in Germany iu 1838, and came with his par- 
ents to America when ten years old. At the age 
of nineteen years he entered the ministry, preach- 
ing for three years in a German Methodist clmrch 
in Wisconsin. He was then married and moved 
to Des Moines county, Iowa, where he preached 
five years and in 1865, returned to Wisconsin ; but 
two years later, his health failing, he came to 
Pickerel Lake, in section twenty-three, and en- 
gaged in farming. After a time his health was 
restored and he returned to the ministry, removed 
to Hokah and was pastor of the M. E. church 
three years when his health again became impair- 
ed and he returned to his farm where he died in 
1875, aged thirty-seven years, and is buried in the 
cemetery near his home. He left a widow and five 
children; Annie K., twenty -one years of age; Ed- 
ward H., eighteen years; Emma E., fifteen; 
Amelia, twelve; and Alfred, aged seven years. 
Mrs. Eberhardt has kept her children all together, 



educated them and carried on the farm. She is a 
member of the M. E. church in this place. 

Anson Hanf, one of the old settlers 
of the county and the first to open a black- 
smith shop in .■\lbert Lea, was born in Ger- 
many on the 5th of June, 1833. When ten years 
old he came with his parents to America and first 
resided in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a short time, 
then moved to Kacine county, and in 1848, to 
Dodge county. He was married there on the 17th 
of June, 1856, to Miss Verletti Perry, and in Sep- 
tember following they went to Kansas. That 
State not suiting tliem for a home they returned 
to Dodge county, and in May, 1858, came to Min- 
nesota, locating in Mower county, but in less than 
a year moved to Oakland in this county. In 
March. 1860, Mr. Hanf removed to Albert Lea, 
and as previously stated opened a blacksmith shop 
where he continued to hammer until 1864, then 
purchased a farm in section eleven, Pickerel Lake 
township, moved to it and has since made it his 
home. In 1870, he was Chairman of the board of 
Supervisors, but since that has taken no part in 
politics. He is the father of si.x children, three 
boys and three girls. 

KoBEUT Hanf was born in Dodge county, Wis- 
consin, on the 22d of March, 1852. He resided 
with his parents until March. 1874, when he made 
a trip to Nebraska; remained during the summer, 
and iu October came to this township, buying 
land in section seven. For several years he spent 
the summers on his farm and in the fall returned 
to his home in Wisconsin, where, on the 18tli of 
July, 1879, he married Amelia Suenther. They 
have since made this place their home, and have 
been blessed with one child, Minnie. Mr. Hnnf 
is Clerk of his school district. 

EuMENES Jennings was born in Jefferson county. 
New York, on the 6th of July, 1819. He grew 
to manhood and was married in his native State 
to Miss L. C. Haskins, the ceremcmy dating the 
24th of October, 1842. In July, 1858, they re- 
moved to Illinois, locating in Antioch, Lake 
county, where they remained until coming to Min- 
nesota in the spring of 1861. They first lived m 
Olmsted county one year, then came to Pickerel 
Lake and settled in section two. The following 
September they returned to Illinois, but in tlie 
spring of 1865 again sought a home in this 
township where they have since remained. Of a 
family of nine children, seven are living. Mr. 



PICKEREL LAKE TOWNSHIP. 



523 



Jennings was elected Town Treasurer at the first 
town meeting, whicb was in the fall of 18(!5, and 
re-elected the following year. He now devotes 
his entire time to the improvement of his home. 

G. H. Kenekson was born in New Hampshire 
in 1841, and lived in his native State, attending 
school until seven years old. He then removed 
with his parents to Troy, New York, and six years 
after to Galesville, Washington county, in both of 
which places he attended school. In 1859, he 
came to Fall Kiver, Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
and completed his education. In the fall of 1860 
he removed to Mower county, Minnesota, and 
followed farming until 1875, then engaged in the 
grain business, buying and shipping. He was 
married on the Ist of January, 1868, to Martha 
Williams. She was born in Branch county, Mich- 
igan, and when fourteen years of age removed 
with her parents to Mower county, where she was 
married. Mr. and Mrs. Kenerson have had five 
children, of whom three are living; Era A., aged 
thirteen years; Roy and Ray, twins, aged seven 
years; Jessie died in infancy, and Daniel at the 
age of two years and five months. Mr. Kener- 
son's mother died in Troy, New York, at the age 
of thirty, and his father in Rochester, in this 
State, in 1878, when seventy-five years old. Mrs 
Kenerson's parents reside in Dexter, Mower coun- 
ty, and she is the eldest of their ten children. Mr. 
Kenerson came to Armstrong in the fall of 1881, 
and is engaged in the grain business, and also 
owns a grocery store. He was appointed Post- 
master in June, 1882. 

Fredrick Leonhardi is a native of Illinois, 
born in Pales, Cook county, in 1856. When he 
was three years old his parents removed to Chica- 
go, and ten years after, a short distance from there, 
to Lake View, where Frederick attended school 
six years, then clerked in the Post-office two 
years, and afterwards in a grocery store. In 
1876, the family came to this county and settled 
in Nuuda. The subject of this sketch was joined 
in marriage on the 16th of July, 1882, to Henri- 
etta Eikhorst. She was born in Wheaton, Du 
Page county, Illinois, in 1864, and resided in her 
native place until twelve years of age, then came 
with her parents to Mansfield where the marriage 
ceremony took place. She attended school in 
Illinois and also in Minnesota. Mr. Leonhardi 
moved to Pickerel Lake and settled on a farm in 
the spring of 1882. His mother died in Nunda 



in February, 1877, and his father still lives in the 
latter place. He and his wife are members of the 
Lutheran church. 

W. C. Norton was born in Chicago in 1834, 
and when four years of age removed with his 
family to Burlington, Wisconsin, where he was 
reared and educated. He was also married there 
to Bell Bradshaw, a native of Vermont. In the 
fall of 1858, they removed to Pickerel Lake, aad 
located a farm in section thirteen which is now 
their home. They returned to Wisconsin 
after living here four years, and remained six 
years, since which time this place has claimed them 
as residents. They have had four children, three 
of whom are living; Eva C, twenty-three years 
of age; Cora A., eighteen; Willie A., thirteen; 
and Mattie C, died at the age of one year and 
and eight months. Mr. Norton has been Chair- 
man of the board of Supervisors for several terms, 
Town Assessor, and a member of the school board 
several terms. 

John Ruble is one of the early settlers of 
the county, and a pioneer of this township, hav- 
ing come in the spring of 1856, and is now one of 
the most extensive farmers in the county. He is 
a native of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, born on 
the 15th of September, 1827. When he was an 
infant his parents moved to Ohio where his father 
died and the sons carried on the farm for many 
years. Mr. Ruble was married on the 20th of 
August, 1849, to Miss Harrietta Fleck, and the 
same year came to Rock county, Wisconsin, where 
they resided on a farm until coming to Pickerel 
Lake. He first took one hundred and sixty acres 
about three miles fiom Albert Lea, and it has 
since been bis home, but is at this period greatly 
changed. The homestead now contains six hun- 
dred acres with fine buildings'and a beautiful 
yard; our subject also owns a farm and milling 
interests in Martin county. In an early day Mr. 
Ruble commenced the sale of agricultural imple- 
ments, in which business he has been quite suc- 
cessful, having an office and warerooms in Albert 
Lea. He has a family of ten children. 

Charles H. Ruble, a son of John Ruble, was 
born in Wisconsin on the 13th of July, 1852. He 
came with his parents to this township when four 
years old and has since made it his home. He 
was elected Town Clerk in 1879, and is school 
Director in District No. 39. He was united in 
marriage on the 29th of of Novemlier, 1881, with 



524 



HISTORY OF FREEB0R1<1 COUNTY. 



Miss Eliza Heising. Their farm is in section two 
and is one of the finest in the township. 

WiiLiAM Schneider was bom in Germany in 
1833, received a common school education and 
learned the cabinet maker's trade in his native 
coiintrj. In 1853 he came to America and 
worked at his trade for two years at Batavia, 
New York, then came to Farraington, Iowa, and 
resided six years. He was married in 1860 to 
Julia Bruman, who was bom in New Orleans, 
where her father was the first German Methodist 
preacher. She came to Iowa when young, and 
there received her education. Her father died 
when she was three years old, and her mother 
DOW lives in this State. In 1861, Mr. Schneider 
enlisted iu Company B, of the Third Iowa Cav- 
alry, and served sixteen months; was theu dis- 
charged in Memphis, Tennessee, for disability, 
and returned to his home in Iowa. After a short 
time he removed to Pickerel Lake, and located in 
section seven, where he now resides. He owns 
three hundred and sixty-five acres of land, with 
two hundred improved, and has a new largo 
brick house and a good bam. He has held every 
local office except constable, and is now clerk of 
his school district. He organized the first Sab- 
bath school in this part of the town, himself and 
wife being members of the (Jerman Methodist 
church. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have had nine 
children, seven of whom are living; Emma H., 
aged twenty years; George A., eighteen; Matilda, 
twelve; Sarah C, ten; Willie K., eight; Walter 
S., six; and Edward H., four. Annie J. died at 



the age of one year, and William F. at the age of 
one year and four months, and both are buried in 
tlie cemetery near their liome. Emma, the oldest 
child became deaf from the effects of scarlet 
fever, and when ten years old entered the Fari- 
bault institute, and in seven years graduated. 

John Georoe Wid.man, is a native of Germany, 
born in 1844 and reared on a farm. He emigra- 
ted to America in 1863, located in Wisconsin and 
engaged in farming there nine years. He was 
married in 1869, to Annie Lampert, a native of 
that State. They came to this township in 1872, 
and settled in section twenty-three, which is still 
their home, having a farm of two hundred and 
ten acres. They have seven children ; Margaret, 
aged twelve years; Katie, ten; George, eight; 
Annie, six; Lizzie, four; Frank, two; and Lida, 
an infant. Mr. Widman has been Chairman of 
the board of Supervisors, and a member of the 
school board six years. He and his wife are 
members of the German Methodist church. 

AuousT Yost, a native of Germany, was born 
on 11th of February, 1849. He emigrated to 
America when seventeen years old, and directly 
to Minnosota, locating in this township. He was 
employed im farms, and made his home with 
Christian Pestorius, until buying his present 
place in 1876. He was married on the 1st of De- 
cember, 1869, to Mary, daughter of C. Pestorius, 
iiud they have a family of five children. Mr. 
Yost's farm contains two hundred acres, situated 
in section nineteen, and has a good frame house 
and barn. He is ('lerk of school district No. 69- 



BWELAND TOWNSHIP. 



525 



RICELAND. 



CHAPTER LXXII. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION — EARLY SETTLEMENT ITEMS 

OF INTEREST — POLITICAL — STATISTICAL — EDUCA- 
TIONAL FACILITIES — BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Rioeland is one of the eastern towns of Freeborn 
county, lying in the second tier from the north, as 
well as the eastern county line. Its contiguous 
surroundings are as follows: Geneva township on 
the north; Moscow on the east: Hay ward on the 
south; and Bancroft on the west. It is a full con- 
gressional towQship of 36 sections or square miles, 
containing about 23,010 acres. 

The western part of the town is what would be 
called burr and jack oak opening land, which is 
interspersed with natural prairies and meadow 
land. The general inclination is to rolling, and 
here and there are many egg-shaped mounds cov- 
ered with timber. At one time the lake was 
bordered with a heavy growth of timber, but these 
miniature forests have been greatly reduced. The 
heaviest timber at present is located in sections 
twelve and sixteen, which is cut up into timber 
lots and owned by various parties. The north- 
eastern part of the town is marshy and not subject 
to cultivation. A large marsh extends across the 
southwest corner, which the Indians claim was 
originally a lake of great depth and large. It is 
also said that the water, or the greater portion of 
it, suddenly ebbed away and disappeared, leaving 
boats and canoes on dry land, as if by magic. 
There are several places in this slough where it is 
claimed no bottom can be found to the water sink 
holes. 

The soil of the town is generally dark loam; but 
on the knolls there is a marked tendency to clay- 
eyness. A good acreage is under a high state of 
cultivation; yet it is somewhat below the average 
of the townships. The low lands are brought into 
excellent use as hay land and the crops raised are 
as abundant as valuable. 



Rice Lake is one of the larger lakes of Freeborn 
county, and we are in doubt as to whether the 
name of this suggested the name for the town or 
vine versa ; but it is certain the name originated 
among the Indians from the abundance of wild 
rice in this locality. The lake lies in the north- 
eastern part of the town, and several small streams 
find their way from it through the marshy tract 
to the east. 

EARLY DAYS. 

We here with present a sketch of the early 
events of the town^ which about covers the ground 
we should have filled had it not been for this. 

I It was prepared by D. G. Parker, and read by 

; him to the old settlers at their annual re-union in 

i 1877, as follows: 

"Ole C. Olson and Ole Hanson first settled this 
town in August,1856. The former put up a log house 
in the same month, and opened the first farm in 
the latter part of that season. Samuel Beardsley, a 
blacksmith, commenced business in the same year, 
and was the first mechanic. George P. Bracket 
was the first merchant, and opened business in 
1857- In 1859 Amy Baker taught in a private 
house the fir.st public school. The first school- 
house was built in 1864. In 1858 the Rev. Mr. 
Mapes held the first religious services. The 
Methodists, in 1859, established the first orgnniza 

1 tion. Stephen Beardsley and Sarah Croy were 
the first parties married, George P. Bracket per- 

{ forming the ceremony. In April, 1858, the first 
child was born, in the person of Caroline Olson. 
The first death was that of Mr. Shortledge, who 
was frozen in April, 1857. Isaac Baker was the 

j first Chairman of Supervisors, and a Mr. Snyder 

I the first Clerk. In regard to the first acquired 
title to land, there is some question whether it was 
Amy Beardsley or Victory B. Lossee. The evi- 
dence seems to be in favor of the latter, who se- 

I lected a tract upon section twelve, and proved uji 



526 



HISTORY OF FREEBORN .COVNTT. 



May 7, 1856. The town was organized at the 
January session ot the county board in 1858." 

While the above is in the main correct, yet 
many points will be found corrected in another 
column. The statement as to the first settler is 
especially criticised, and many, in fact all, say it is 
wrong, and that the Beardsleys were the first set- 
tlers. Among others who were prominent early 
settlers the names are remembered of a few who 
will be briefly mentioned. 

Samuel A. Beardsley and John. Hull, his son-in- 
law, together witli their families, came by ox team 
from Illinois, brought considerable stock, and set- 
tled on the south side of Rice Lake. Beardsley 
remained until about 1860, when he removed to 
Wisconsin, and from there went to Otter Tail 
county, Minnesota, where he yet is. Hull re- 
mained a short time and went to Wisconsin where 
he has since died, through an accident with a 
gun. 

Ole Halvorsen, Hans Larson, and Ole Christian- 
son were the first Norwegians to settle in tlie 
town. 

In 1858, we find a number of Americans had 
settled in the township , among whom were 
Charles Williams, — • — Brackett, Joseph Neil, 
Nels and James Snyder, Nick and John Reims, 
and Thomas Walaska, who have all long since 
gone to more congenial climes. 

In 1858, quite a family of pioneers put in an 
appearance in the persons of Deacon Isaac Baker, 
his good wife Phcebe and their children, William 
H., Charles E., Margaret N., Amy J., Rhoda, and 
Sarah E. Baker. They settled upon section twenty, 
and in about seven or eight years the father re- 
moved to Austin, where he has since passed 
away. The two boys, William H. and Charles E., 
still live in Riceland, and are among its most 
prominent and intelligent citizens. 

Soon after this party had got settled, Nathan 
P. Amy and Charles Bartlett, from the eastern 
States, arrived, the former bringing the first team 
of horses. They have both left. 

William L. McNish was another early settler, 
and still lives in the township. 

About 1860 the Norwegians began crowding in, 
as the Americans crowded out, and now there are 
only three of the latter in the to>\;n. 

DECEASED. 

Deacon Isaac Baker. — On the 24th of Novem- 
ber, 1879, this estimable man closed the book of 



natural life, at the age of 73 years. His first 
apppearance on this stage of action was at Wood 
Creek, Washington county, New York, on the 
2-ltli of December, 1806. .\t the age of six his 
fathers family moved to Pennsylvania. When 22 
years of age his marriage took place with Mrs. 
Phiebe Bear.lsley. In February, the year of his 
death, the golden wedding was observed. In 1843, 
he removed to Shirland, Winnebago county, Wis- 
consin, and from thence to Riceland, where he re- 
mained until 1870, when he removed to Austin. 
Mr. Baker and his wife were two of the six con- 
stituent members of the Baptist church at Shell 
Rock. 

ITEMS OF INTEREST. 

The first birth in the township took place on the 
23d of .■Vpril. 1858, and Caroline Oleson came into 
existence. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Ole C. Oleson, who lived upon a farm in section 
thirty, and the child yet lives. 

The earliest marriage of which there is any rec- 
ord, took place on the 1st of January, 1858, and 
joined the future destinies of Stephen Beardsley 
and Sarah Croy. 

It is claimed, and is undoubtedly a fact, that 
the first death that occurred within the limits ot 
Riceland, was that of Martha Hull: aged about 
16 months, in October, 1857, of Scarlet Fever. 

The next was the demise of Miss Sarah Baker, 
on the 18th of July, 1859, from a stroke of light- 
ning. It seems that two sisters. Amy and Sarah, 
were sleeping near a stove, and toward morning 
a thunder-storm arose, which scattered its bolty 
messengers with a profusion that was terrific, and 
a bolt struck the house, ran down the stove pipe 
and glanced across the room, striking the girls 
and instantly killed Sarah, severely wounding her 
sister, .Amy. The Ijolt then passed through the 
floor and down a studding into the ground. 

The first school taught in the district, was held 
at the residence of Harry Beardsley in section 
sixteen, in the summer of 1859, Miss Amy Baker 
being the instructor. 

The first religious services held in the township 
were presided over by the Rev. Mr. Phelps, in the 
spring of 1857, at the residence of Samuel 
Beardsley. 

The township of Riceland originally bore the 
name of Beardsley, in honor of an early and prom- 
inent pioneer; but it was finally changed by the 



RICELAND TOWNSHIP. 



V27 



residents to Riceland, suggested by the name of 
the lake. 

BLiCKSMiTH Shops. — The first blacksmith shop 
in the town was opened iu the fall of 18.57, in a 
little log hut in the northern part of section 
fifteen, by Samuel A. Beardsley. 

John Peterson, a Norwegian, in 1880, erected a 
one story, 18x20 foot, frame building in section 
eighteen, and opened a shop for shoeing, repair- 
ing, and blacksmithing generally, which he still 
continues. 

Saw-Mill. — In 1857, buildings were erected 
on the south shore of Rice Lake, or rather a 
shanty, by Samuel A. Beardsley, who moved ma- 
chinery from Rice county and commenced operat- 
ing a steam saw-mill. The establishment continued 
turning out lumber for about one year when it 
was removed to Itasca, When the machinery was 
first moved from Faribault, Rice county, it was 
jilaced upon a wagon, with shelves or rnnners 
placed underneath to prevent the load from drop- 
ping out of sight in the deep mud, and in this 
shape, behind a big yoke of cattle, the trip was 
made. 

Wind-Power Mill.- In 1880, N. P. Bartelsoii, 
a native of Denmark, erected a structure, put in 
two run of stones, and attaching it to a sixteen 
foot winged wind-mill, commenced grinding feed, 
etc. The stones are what is here termed hard- 
heads, and were dug from the ground in the 
vicinity of the mill, and manufactured into buhrs 
by Mr. Bartelson. The establishment cost about 

»aoo. 

Fairfield Village. — A village under this name 
was platted by Samuel Beardsley, on the south 
shore of Rice Lake in section fifteen, on a pro- 
posed road from Fairfield to Shell Rock. A Post- 
office was established and a regular mail route; ij; 
was on the same section as was the saw-mill, and 
everything looked lovely for rapid growth; but 
that looked for railway never came and the village 
became a thing of the past. 

Riceland Lodge of Good Templars. — This 
society was organized in the spring of 1871, at the 
house of Frank Ross in section tnenty-eight, by 
members of the Moscow Lodge. The society con- 
tinued here until December following, when the 
base of operations was changed to what was then 
the village of Sumner; but the following year, the 
interest waning, the charter was surrendered. 

Seventh Day Adventists. — The first preach- 



ing to the adherents of this faith took place in 
186.5, at the house of Nels Hanson, with the Rev. 
John Mateson as minister; and after this, services 
and Sabbath school have been held regularly in 
private residences and schoolhouses. In 1880. 
the church was erected, size, 20x30, at a cost of 
S500. At the time of organization the society 
had about thirty-five members. Regular (juar- 
terly services have been held since October, 1865. 
The present elder is Hans Rasmusson, and the 
Sunday school Superintendent and Class Leader 
is Hans Johnson. The Sunday school now con- 
sists of about forty members. Preaching is held 
about once each month by itinerants. 

There is a burial ground in connection with the 
church, which was laid out in 1872. The first 
buriai here was of the remains of Andrew Pe- 
terson. 

POLITICAL. 

As stated elsewhere, this township was origin- 
ally known under the caption of Beardsley. The 
first town meeting was held at the residence of 
Samuel A. Beardsley, but as the records for the 
early years are entirely destroyed, or effectually 
misplaced, any statement we might make as to 
their proceedings would be merely "hearsay." It 
is claimed the first officers were: Supervisors, 
Isaac Baker, Chairman, Charles Williams, and 
James Harris; Clerk, James Snyder. The names 
of the balance of the officers have been for- 
gotten. 

The matters pertaining to the town have always 
been in capable hands and have been attended to 
with commendable zeal and honesty. The last 
town meeting was held at the house of N. P. 
Bartelson, on the 14th of March, 1882, and the 
following township officials were elected and are 
now serving : Supervisois, John J. Jerde, Chair- 
man; P. Iverst)n, and William H. Baker; Town 
Clerk, Knud Ingebretson; Treasurer, C. Jacobson; 
Assessor, B. K. Winjum; Justices of the Peace, L. 
T. Bell and O. O. Bagaason; Constable, C. E. 
Baker. The gentleman named as Justice of the 
Peace, L. T. Bell, has just been nominated by the 
Republican County Convention for the position of 
representative of his district in the lower house of 
the Minnesota Legislature. 

ST.\TISTICAL. 

The Year 1881. — The area included in this re 
port takes in the whole town as follows: 



528 



niSTOBT OF FREKIiOHN COUNTY. 



Wheat — 4,384 acres; yielJing 55,376 busliels. 

Oats — 686 acres; yielding 24,101 bushels. 

Com— 699 acres; yielding 29,867 bushels. 

Barlev — 130 acres; yielding 3,146 bushels. 

Potatoes — 49 acres; yielding 3,735 bushels. 

Sugar Cane — 6 acres; yielding 511 gallons. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881 — 5,626 acres. 

Apples — number of trees growing — 1086; num- 
ber bearing — 399; yielding 92 bushels. 

Grapes — 15 vines; yielding 30 pounds. 

Sheep — 243 sheared; yielding 948 pounds of 
wool. 

Dairy — 417 cows; yielding 34,750 pounds of 
butter. 

The Ykar 1882.--Wheat, 3,557 acres; oafs, 
732; corn, 230; barley, 144; rye, 6; buckwheat, 
2; potatoes, 57; sugar cane, 9; total acreage cul- 
tivated in 1882—4,327. 

Apple trees — growing, 874; bearing, 419. 

Grapes — vines bearing, 30. 

Milch cows — 337. 

Sheep — 214; yielding 836 pounds of wool. 

Whole number of farms cultivated in 1882 — 
106. 

PoprLATioN. — The census of 1870 gave Rice- 
a population of 633. The last census, taken in 
1880, reports 783 for this town; showing an in- 
crease of 150. 

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. 

District No. 25. — The first board of school offi- 
cers in this district was as follows: Clerk, H. lug; 
Treasurer, O. Henry; Director, John Jolinsou. 
In 1872, the first schoolhouse was erected at a cost 
of S700, size, 18x20 feet, which answered the pur- 
pose for about ten years, when it was dispensed 
with, and the present neat frame building was 
erected, size 26x36 feet, at a cost of S800, the lo- 
cation being in the southeastern part of section 
seven. The present officers are: O. Henrv, J- Ja- 
cobson. and John Johnson. 

District No. 26. — The first school taught in 
this district was by Miss Williams, with twenty- 
five pupils present. In the summer of 1861, the 
citizens of the district were called out, and the 
firsl sehooUiouse erected in section twenty-nine, 
by sub.scription, size, 16x22, of logs. A new 
frame building is now in process cf erection in 
section twenty-nine, which will be 18x28 feet. The 
last school was taught by Mr. Arthur Grow, with 
thirty-nine pupils present. 

District No. 27. — This is one of the younger 



districts of the township, and embraces the terri- 
tory south jof Rice Lake. The present school- 
house was erected in 1878, a frame building, 
located in the northeastern jjart of section twenty- 
seven. 

District No. 88. — The first schoolhouse was 
erected in 1867, of logs, in section nine, size, 
16x20, and cost .?250, the logs being furnished by 
subscription of the citizens. The last term of 
school was taught in this district by Robert En- 
glish, with fifty-two pupils enrolled. A new 
schoolhouse was completed this year at a cost of 
S800, size, 20x32 feet, in section nine, although, 
as yet no school has been held there. The pres- 
ent school officers are as follows: Clerk, Christian 
Larsen; Director, Jonas Ingvardson; Treasurer, 
Christian Hanson. 

District No. 91. — Embraces the territory in 
the southeastern part of the township, with a 
schoolhouse located in section thirty-five, which 
was erected in 1872. 

Norwegian School. — This educational medium 
originated in 1869, in the spring, when Knud In- 
grebretson called the first school to order, consist- 
ing of about forty pupils, and the institution has 
continued ever since. 

biographical. 

WiLLi.\M H. B.\KER, one of the early settlers of 
Riceland, is a native of Pennsylvania, bom in 
1837. When he was about five years old his par- 
ents moved to New York, and a year later to 
Winnebago county, Illinois. In 1857, the family 
came to ]\Iinnesota and settled in this place, Wil- 
liam taking land in section twenty where he has 
since made his home. He was married in 1861, 
to Mi.ss Mary E. Stark, a uative of New York. 
They have had two children, one of whom is now 
living; Frank E. 

Christain Ulirik Chkistenson was bom in 
tlie central portion of Denmark, on the 15th of 
January, 1852. At the age of eighteen years he 
enlisted in the Danish army, servid one year, and 
then after a period of six months reeulisted for 
another year. In \])ril, 1873, he came to .A.lnerica 
and directly to this county, settling in Geneva. 
On the 5th of July, 1879, he was joined in matri- 
mony with Carrie Mary Christensou and they have 
two children, a boy and a girl. In 1880, they 
removed to this township and bought a farm in 
the east halt of section ten. 

Nils A. Nflson, deceased, one of the pioneers of 



SHELL ROCK TOWNSHTP. 



529 



this place, was born iu Norway and brought up on 
a farm. When first cc)miug to America he settled 
in Wisconsin, but after a short time came to this 
place where he lived until his death, which 
occurred iu 1869. He left a wife and four chil- 
dren; Nils, Bertina, Andrew, and Martin. 

BoTiiER K. WixJUM was born in Bergen, Nor- 
way, on the 5tli of March, 1833. When he was 
tweuty-one years old he emigrated to America, 
and was engaged in agricultural pursuits for four 
years in Dane county, Wisconsin. In the fall of 
1858, he was imited in wedlock with Miss Maria 
Bell, and the same year they came to this town- 



ship. They have had eleven children, eight of 
whom are living. Mr. Winjum owns a farm in 
section thirty-one. He has served as Assessor for 
several years. 

Ole Nelson Wkidal, is a native of Denmark, 
born in 1853. In 1871, he emigrated to America, 
landed in Portland, Maine, and came directly to 
Dane county, Wisconsin. He was married in 1873, 
to Miss Mary Wigdal, and the result of the union 
is two children ; Susan and Annie Christina. In 
1877, they came to Kiceland and settled on the farm 
which they have since made their home. 



SHELL ROCK 



CHAPTER LXXIII. 

Geneeal Description — Early Settlement- 
Early Settlers Deceased — Events of Inter- 
est — Statistics — Shell Eock Village — Gok- 
DONsviLLE Village — Schools — Biographical. 

The town bearing this name is one of the 
southeastern -of Freeborn county, lying contigu- 
ous to Iowa on the south, London township on 
the east. Freeman ou the west, and Hay ward on the 
north. It is a full congressional township, contain- 
-ing 23,010 acres. 

Shell Piock is mostly a prairie town, although 
iu many places is found the oak opening land, so 
common throughout this region, or in other words, 
prairie land interspersed with groves of burr, 
lilack and scrub oak timber. The surface is gen- 
erally 1-olling, but there are no hills or bluffs 
suffinently abrupt to be detrimental to agriculture. 
The soil is a light loam, well adapted to the pre- 
vailing mode of agriculture. The farmers 
throughout tiie town are in comfortable circum- 
stances, and many fine and costly residences dot 
the valuable and fertile farming country. 

The name of the town was taken from that of 
34 



the river, Shell Rock, which flows through the 
eastern part from north to south. 

The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway also trav- 
erses the same part of the town, running in the 
same direction. 

early settlement. 

This township witnessed the first actual settle- 
ment ever made in Freeborn county, and con- 
tained for about one year the only inhabitant of 
the same. The settlement first began in the 
southwestern part of the town, the first man being 
Ole Gulbrandson, or, as he was often called, Ole 
Hall, a Norwegian, who, through the influence of 
a brother in Northwood, was induced to come to 
this locality in search of a' place, arriving in June, 
1853, and locating upon a large farm in section 
thirty-three. He was accompanied by his family, 
and at once erected a log house, the first dwell- 
ing ever erected in this then unbroken county. 
This house is still standing, and at present is, and 
has been for years, the residence of P. J. Miller, 
Esq., one of the well-known old settlers of the 
county. 

He also commenced improvements, and by the 



530 



HISTORY OF FKKEBOHN COUNT 7. 



time the government survey was made, in 1854, 
he had broken seven iicres of lainl, put in a Prop, 
and had it fenced. This plowed and cultivated 
field being the only one in the county it was en- 
tered by the surveyors upon the government sur- 
vey map. In the fall of 1855, Mr. (lulbramlsou 
and his wife, having had trouble and discourage- 
ments, finally separated, and it is said her father 
gave him, in the words of our informant, a "h — • 
of a lickin" for treating his wife so. The foHow- 
ing spring Gulbranilson sokl his place and moved 
to Decorah, since when he has been lost trace of. 

Thus the settlement of this locality remained 
until September, 1855, when an adilition was 
made to it. The first was John Stanley, a native 
of the New England States, but came direct from 
California and took a claim on the corner of sec- 
tions nineteen, twt>uty, twentv-nine, and thirty. 
He brought with him quite a herd of cattle; but 
as he had but little very poor hay, it is claimed 
that all of the stock died. The farm he settled 
upon is now the property of T. Porter. 

Stanley remained three or four years. He then 
went east and brought back with him the two 
Smiths, John and James A., natives of Canada, 
who both took claims in sections twenty and 
twenty-one, but have since left the localitv. 

Then in the spring of 1856, came the next set- 
tler in the person of William Beighley, who had 
been here the year previous, accompanied by his 
brother Jacob, T. J. Gordon, and E. Maybee, in 
November, looking for a suitable location, and 
decided to make this place his future home. So, 
as stated above, in April. 185(), lie again n.ade his 
appearance upon the scene, and bought the claim 
which Gulbrandson had settled on. In May his 
brothers, Jacob and S. P. Beighley, came with 
teams, bringing William's family, and they at 
once selected claims, the former in section;4 thirty- 
two and thirty-three, and the latter in thirty. three 
and twenty-eight, where they both still hold forth. 
William Beighley is still living in the township, 
and is one of the prominent olil settlers of the 
county. 

With this party came J. B. Gordon, who selected 
his claim in section thirty, west of the river: but 
when his father, T. J. Gordon, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, arrived in the fall and fall made himself 
comfortable in section twenty-eight, the son 
moved over and still makes his home tliere. 

A little later in the season — 1856 — James Allen 



' came iu and settled in section thirty, on the town 
line, and remained for about one year when he 
disposed of it to Peter Beighley, and finally went 
to Tennessee. The latter named gentleman also 
took a claim in .section thirty-two, where he lived 
until the time of his death in 1872 or '7,S. 

Chris. Oleson, a Norwegian, late from Pennsyl- 
vania, made his arrival substantial by planting his 
stakes on a farm in sections thirty-one and thirt_v- 
two, in June, 185G. He was a blacksmith by 
trade and still holds the fort on his original 
claim. 

In the spring of 1857, Warren Barber, a native 
of New York, pushed his way within the limits of 
the townshi]), and taking his slice of the govern- 
ment domain in section twenty-nine, continued his 
sojourn there until after the war, when that insa- 
tiable mystery. Death, secureil him, and he was 
called hence. 

But, in the meantime, the northern [jor- 
tion of the township began its evolutions 
toward civilization, and by the time of the 
last mentioned arrival it counted a goodly 
number as a neighborhood. Early in the spring 
of 1855, William Rice came from Wisconsin and 
commenced the settlement in the northern part of 
the townshij) by taking a claim in section eight. 
In the spring of the following year he went to St. 
Nicholas, in Albert Lea townshij), and started a 
hotel there under the sign of "St. Nicholas Hotel." 
He was mail carrier for the village, and on one of 
his trips, on the 3d of December. 1856, he got 
lost, and after wandering abcuit for three days 
brought up at Plymouth; but he was so baelly 
frozen that he died in a few days, and his remains 
were deposited in the Greenwood cemetery. This 
was the second death in Freeborn county. 

Almost immediately following Kice, a little col- 
ony from Wisconsin made their appearance and 
swelled the Shell Rock settlement, arriving in 
June, 1855. This party consisted of Gardner 
Cottrell and family, George Gardner and family, 
Madison Rice with his mother and her family, C. 
T. Knapj) and family, and a couple of others 
whose names have been forgotten. The first men- 
tioned, Gardner Cottrell, stopped for a time on the 
Rice place, which he soon after took for himself 
and remained upon it for about one year when he 
opened the first store in Shell Rock village. After 
managing the business for a number of years he 
retired and has since passed to the great beyond. 



siTEn. RonK Towy.^rrrp. 



531 



while his wife and several children btill live in the 
village. 

George Gardner located upon section six, where 
he remained until 1880, when he went to North- 
wood, where his lamp still holds out to burn. 

Madison Rice, with his mother, made himself at 
home in section eight, and here remained until 
after the war when he took up his goods and chat- 
tels and removed to Wisconsin where he yet lives 
He married the daughter of G. T. Knapp. 

Mr. Kuapp was not behind the rest of the party 
and immediately after his arrival took a farm in 
section thirty-six, just over the line in Albert Lea 
township. Here he lived until 1877, when he 
removed to the village of Shell Rock, and in the 
year following opened the meat market which he 
still continues. 

The next spring — 1856 — F. L. Cutler and Johu 
Smith came, arriving in May. Butler was an 
eastern man coming from Iowa to this place, and 
bought the claim settled by Gardner. He finally, 
after service in the Minnesota First during the 
war, sold his place and went to Freeborn, and 
from there drifted down to Missouri. He was 
quite a sport and jockey, and took great delight 
in fast horses. 

John Smith took land on both sides of the town 
lines of Shell Rock and Freeman. 

About this time came Joseph Marvin, John 
Wood, and John Eddy. 

In May, (18.56 ), Mr. Anthony C. Trow, a na- 
tiva of New Hampshire, came from Mitchell 
count'y, Iowa, and after looking the country over 
on foot finally located on section seventeen, 
where he still continues his sojourn. He selected 
a quarter of the same section for his brother, 
Elisha, who arrived the same month and settled, 
remaining a couple of years and then moved 
away. He now lives in Kansas. 

Joseph Marvin and his son-in-law, Daniel R. 
Young, natives of Massachusetts, arrived on t!ie 
10th day of July, 1856, and selected claims. The 
former, in 1876, was called upon to cross the dark 
river of death, and the latter still lives in the 
township. 

With these, or at about the same time, came 
Aezel Young, Uriah Grover, and Robert Budlong, 
who all secured homes. 

On the 11th day of July, 1856. A. H. Bart- 
lett made his appearance, and the village of Shell 
Rock, through his energy and capable manage- 



ment, sprung into existence. He yet resides in 
the village, one of the prominent public men of 
Freeborn county, and a man capable, trustworthy, 
and efficient in every respect. 

E. P. Skinner and Blr. Beattie arrived in early 
days, and taking a good deal of land commenced 
speculating and continued for many years. The 
latter, Mr. Beattie, was for years known to the 
residents, and, in tact, everyone, as the "One-Leg- 
ged Speculator." 

In 1857, A. M. Burnham drifted upon the 
scene and erected the first bridge thrown across 
the Shell Rock River, and with him came a num- 
!jer from Albert Lea. The population grew very 
rapidly and the country settled with a good 
class of inhabitants. An idea of the ingress can 
be formed from the fact that in 1857, 100 votes 
were cast at the general election. 

EAKIiY SETTLERS DEOEA,SED. 

Rev. Walter Scott was an eaaly settler at 
Shell Rock, coming in the summer of 1856. In 
1857, he was licensed to preach by the Methodist 
Episcopal church. On the 24th of November, 
1877, he died, at the age of 53 years, leaving a 
wife and six children. He had removed to North- 
wood. 

John S. Corning was born in St. Lawrence 
county. New York, in 1827, where he lived until 
1855 when he came to Mnnesota, and erected the 
first frame house in Shell Rock, and for two years 
did two men's work — run a saw-mill, kept a storc^ 
and managed a hotel, and afterwards kept the 
Webber house in Albert Lea. For twelve years 
before his death he kept a hotel in Austin. When 
52 years of age, on the 10th of October, 1879, tlie 
gong sounded for him to retire from this world 
forever. 

Mrs. Nancy M. Brown, wife of Watson Brown. 
A singula! ly noble character with an even dispo- 
sition. She was the oldest of ten children, and 
was married in 1859. New York was her native 
State. Her eyes were closed in death on ttie 10th 
of February, 1881, at the age of forty-eight 
years. She fully realized the value of early in- 
struction, and was particularly active in Sunday 
school work. 

Mrs. Lucretia Weeks, grand-mother of Mrs. 
H. T. Chase, of Shell Rock, finished her earthly 
sojurn on the 7th of December, 1871, at her home 
in Pevinsylvaiiia, at the age of 93 years. Her 
descendants at the time of her death were, nine 



532 



HISTORY OF FllfSEBORN COUNTY. 



children, fifty-eight grand-children, and one hun- 
dred and four great-grand-children, and six of 
the next generation. 

'' Thou hast for many a lengthened year. 

Life's weary pathway trod; 
Seen generatioiiH disappear. 
Laid low beneath the sod- 
****** 

We bid thee, aged friend, adieu ; 

Our friend of many a year. 
We laid thee here beneath the yew, 

And leave thee with a tear." 

Hopkins B. Riogs was introduced into this 
world in the state of New York, on the 21st of 
May, 1820, and transferred to the next on the 9th 
of June, 1675, after a lapse of 55 years. At 14 
years of age he went to Michigan, and livel there 
twenty-five years. At first he joined the Metho- 
dist church, and then the Baptist, and was a true 
man, considerate of the rights of otliPrs. As he was 
breathing his last he said, "I am in the waters: 
let me go." 

VARIOUS MATTERS OF INTEREST. 

Early Births. — Early in the spring of 1854, 
the first child born in the county came into ex- 
istence at the log cabin of Ole Gulbraudson, the 
first actual settler, who lived in the southwesteri] 
part of the town, as treated in full elsewhere. The 
youngster was a girl, christened Bertha, and at 
last accounts was living healthy and robust. 

Annther early birth was the minor arrival of 
Susan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William 
Beighley, on the 13th of April, 1857. She is now 
married and living in Dakota. 

A girl was born to Mr. and Mrs. James Luff, 
who lived in the village of Shell Rock, where 
they kept a taveru. The child's nativity was earl) 
in the spring of 1857, and was christened Minnie. 
She now lives in the West. 

In November, 1855, Willie Andrews, sou of 
Oliver and Mary Andrews, who the July previous 
had located in the township of Hayward, was 
bom, being the second white child, and the first 
male, to commence its existence in Freeborn 
county. 

Early Marbiaoes. — The first marriage in the 
county took place here, early in 1857, or late in 
the year previous. Ilanuibiil Bickford, or as he 
was generally known "Bunk," walked to the 
State line, where he procured ahorse and brought 
his proposed. Miss Maria Colby, to Shell Rock, 
where the ceremony making them one was duly 
performed by William Andrews, Esquire. Mr. 



Bickford etill resides in Manchester, one of the 
solid men of the county, with two children. Mrs. 
B. died several years ago. 

Early Deaths.— We will let A. H. Bartlett, in 
the words used by him in his recent speech to the 
Old Settlers in their late reunion, in Albert Lea, 
relate the story of the first sad event of this 
kind. 

"Mrs. Fannie Andrews, wife of William Andrews, 
Esq., a well known and prominent early settler of 
the county, and the mother of a large family of 
stalwart pioneers, who accomjjauied her and her 
husband and .settled in the county in July, 1855, 
after a brief residence of nearly two months, liv- 
ing in their wagon while their habitation was be- 
ing erected, was suddenly called for by the inex- 
orable tyrant, death, and her immortal spirit, so 
lately filled with grand and hopeful expectations, 
winged its flight to its eternal home above, while 
the entire community, aa weeping mourners, fol- 
lowed her earthly remains to their last resting 
place, the gr.ive, to be known no more on earth, 
forever. The sculptured marble (now to be seen 
in Greenwood cemetery, in the town of Shell 
K'jok ) has for years reared up its front, proud to 
perpetuate her name and virtues, and rehearse to 
the passing traveller that on the 21st day of Decem- 
ber, 1858, the earthly remains of death's first vic- 
tim from the pioneers of Freeborn county, was 
here consigned to its last resting place, the tomb." 
And again Mr. Bartlett adds: 

"On the 3d of D.^ceraber, A. D., 18.38, William 
Rice, ( the second settler in Freeborn county 1 while 
carrying the mail across the broad and bleak 
prairie, lying between the Cedar and Shell Rock 
rivers, was caught in a severe snow storm, and lost 
his way. He wanlerel around, over the track- 
less prairie, without shelter or protection from the 
severity of the storm, until he froze to that extent, 
that he died of his injuries, some three or four 
days afterward. This calamity was followed in 
quick 8Ucce.ssion, on the 20tli day of the same 
month, by Byron Packard and Charles Walker, 
(a part of the company who hiid out and founded 
Shell Rock City ) being caught in a terrific storm, 
on the same broad prairie, while hauling a steam 
boiler to its destination at Shell Rock, and both 
perished from the severity of the storm and the 
extreme cold. Their bodies, frozen stiff and cold 
in death, were found four days afterwards, lying 
upon the frozen crust of the deep snow. Their 



sitBLL rOgk township. 



533 



bodies were carried to Shell Rock, and there bur- 
ied upon the town site tbey had so lately helped 
to lay out and form. No relatives were there to 
attend the funeral obsequies, and mourn their sad 
fate, yet sorrowing friends and brother pioneers, 
composing the entire community, assisted in per- 
forming the last duty to the untimely departed. 
No preacher of the gospel could be found in the 
county to speak words of consolation to the sor- 
rowing and bereaved friends and associates, and 
our friend, Jacob Hostetter, one of Freeborn coun- 
ty's earliest pioneers, feelingly and eloquently ad- 
dressed the early pioneers there gathered, upon 
the sadness and suddenness of their bereavement; 
upon the mysterious and inscrutable ways of an 
overshadowing providence, in which no one can 
tell why, in the prime of vigorous and useful man- 
hood, when hope, the ministry of life is most buoy- 
ant, and future expectations in the com- 
ing life of usefiilnes is most prominent, that a 
mysterious power should step in with its 
dread mandates, and the brightest and most prom- 
ising life should be consigned to oblivion and the 
grave. These sad bereavements, and others which 
happened in the county about that time, caused 
by the unparalleled severity of the winter of A. D 
1856, oast a sad and sorrowing gloom over the 
youQg settlement of Freeborn county. Some few 
of the settlers became disheartened and discour- 
aged and early the following spring returned to 
their former eastern homes." 

Township Officials fob 1882. — Supervisors, 
G. W. Gleason, Chairman, I. R. Flatt, and M. 
Mackin; Clerk, S. Messinger; Trea.surer, A. C. 
Grow; Assessor, H. H. Gordon; Justices of the 
Peace, J. W. Prichard and James Abbott ; Consta- 
ble, Jud. Randall. 

Shei,l Eock Grange No. 310. — This society was 
organized on the 9th of July, 1873, with a charter 
membership of thirty. The following were the 
first officers of. the lodge: Master, O. C. C. How; 
Secretary, Ira A. Town; Overseer, W. G. Barnes; 
Stewart, G. T. Knapp; Assistant Steward, E. E. 
Budlong ; Gate Keeper, E. T. Kelly ; Ceres, Mrs. 
E. E. Badlong; Pomona, Miss Blatilda Howe; 
Flora, Mrs. J. Presswell; Lady Assistant Steward, 
Mrs. George Hyatt. This grange has reached a 
membership of 135. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The Methodists have held services in the town- 
ship almost since the first settlement. About the 



first gathering was held at the residence of Wil- 
liam Beighley in the winter of 1857-58, by the 
Rev. Mr. Mapes, an itinerant Methodist preacher, 
with a congregation consisting almost entii'ely of 
Beighleys. A class was organized about the same 
time with William Beighley as leader. Services 
were continued at various places until the school- 
house of district No. 50 wss erected in the north- 
eastern corner of section thirty-two, since which 
time services have been held part of the time every 
Sunday, and again irregularly; as a rule by the 
pastor from Shell Eock village. 

Dane Cemetery. —This burial ground is loca- 
ted in the southeastern corner of section twelve, 
having been laid out in 1878, and the same year 
the remains of Mrs. Marv Nelson were deposited 
here, making the first interment. The grounds 
contain one acre, well fenced and neatly laid out 
with groves, occupying a high point of laud. 

HoYT Will Cemetery. — Is situated upon a 
high rise of land in the northeastern part of sec- 
tion twenty-four, containing something less than 
one acre, which was laid out in 1872. The first 
burial here was of Daniel S. Hoyt, in 1867, and it 
was on his land and by his wish that the ceme- 
tery is located here. 

STATISTICS^ 

Below we present an extended list of the acre 
age and product, together with other items of 
interest compiled from the Auditor's report to the 
Commissioner of Statistics of Minnesota, and else- 
where, which will prove of interest: 

The Year 1881. — Showing the acreage and 
yield in the township of Shell Rook for the year 
named : 

Wheat— 4.076 acres, yielding 35,362 bushels. 

Oats — 1,388 acres, yielding 40,589 bushels. 

Corn — 1,162 acres, yielding 46,860 bushels. 

Barley — 178 acres, yielding 2,026 bushels. 

Rye— 82 acres, yielding 444 bushels. 

Buckwheat — 8 acres, yielding 43 bushels. 

Potatoes — 62 acres, yielding 7,487 bushels. 

Beans — .V acre, yielding 13 bushels. 

Sugar caue — ^0% acres, yielding 3,852 gal- 
lons. 

Cultivated hay — 245 acres, yielding 307 tons. 

Total acreage cultivated in 1881 -7,232. 

Timothy seed — 37 bushels. 

Apples — number of trees growing 2,456; num- 
ber bearing 532, yielding 251 bushels. 

Grape vines bearing — 28. 



531 



HISTOir OF FHEEBOR^f COUNTY. 



Sheep — 75 sheared, yielding 559 pounds of 
wool. 

Diiry — 302 cows, yielding 32,792 pounds of 
butter. 

The Year 1882.— Wheat, 3,.596 acres; oats, 
1,503; corn, 2,337; barley, 43fi; rye, 39; buck- 
wheat, 21; potatoes, 100?^; sugar ca.e, 2^^; cul- 
tivated hay, 99; flax, 3. Total acreage cultivated 
in 1882—8,321. 

Apple trees — growing 2,259; bearing 772; grape 
vines beariag, 18; milch cow-*, 321; sheep, 72. 
Whole number of farms in 1882—100. 

Forest trees planted and growing — 118)^ acres. 

PoptJLATioN. — The census of 1870 gave Shell 
Kock a population of 512. The last census, taken 
in 1880, reports 1,013 tor this town; showing an 
increase of 501. 

SHELL liOCK VILLAGE. 

Or, as it is called by the railroad company 
Glenville. lies in tlie northwestern part of the 
township of Shell Rock, in sections six and seven, 
on the river bearing the same name and on the 
Minneapolis & St. Louis railway. The site the 
village occupies is all that could be desired, the 
river furnishing a limited water-power, and tlie 
surrounding country is rich and productive to 
those who follow agricultural pursuits. 

Early Days. — The settlement of the locality 
surrounding the village has been treated at length 
in another place; so it wiU be unnecessary to refer 
to it here. In July, 1856, A. H. Bartlett came 
through this region in search for a village site 
and a suitable place for the construction of a mill. 
He was pleased with the locations of both St. 
Nicholas and Northwood; but money would not 
induce the proprietors of these prospective places 
to quit claim to their interests. In following the 
river Mr. Bartlett came to the site of Shell Bock, 
and commenced laying plans for the establishment 
of the village. John Smith and Frederick Cutler 
each donated 20 acres to the project, and Mr. 
Bartlett at once proceeded to survey and record 
eighty acres in lots and blocks as the village of 
Shell Kock. He next commenced the erection of 
a water saw-mill on the banks of the river, with a 
building 20x80, frame, equijjpiug it with a5G-inch 
buzz saw. The water power did not succeed as 
anticipated, so a steam power of 30 horse was 
placed in it and tlie mill for two years continued 
piling up sawdust, when the timber became 
exhausted and the property was sold to William 



Morin and moved to Albert Lea. from where it 
has since continued its journey toward the setting 
sun. 

Just . before the saw-mill was completed, and 
while Mr. Bartlett was in the East procuring ma- 
chinery, E. P. Skinner laid out a town under the 
caption of Shell Eock, a short distance north of 
Mr. B.'s proposed site, in the town of Hayward. 
This promised to be quite a formidable rival to 
the present village, as a Post-office and store were 
established there; but on Mr. Bartlett's return 
negotiations were entered into which were finally 
completed, bv whicli E. P. Skinner got one-fourth 
interest in Bartlett's site, and the Post-office, 
store and goods were removed to the latter place. 
At that time the store was run by R. A. Cornish, 
who was also made Postmaster. This store was 
continued for a number of ye^rs under the man- 
agement at different times of Skinner, Hall, Brown, 
and Smith; but finally, soon after the war, the 
goods were removed to Albert Lea. 

George Whitman next put in a stock of goods 
and kept a store for about one year, when he went 
out of business. Hon. A. H. Bartlett then bought 
the buildimg and got Victor Gilrup to open a 

I store. Mr. G. still continues in the mercantile 

' business, and now owns the entire establishment. 

But little was done toward the development of 

the town {intil the railroad was built through in 

I 1877, when the progress really took root. 

W. H. Peck came with the railroad, and opened 

I a provision store which he continued for three or 
four years. He is now in Jackson. 

I H. G. Koontz also came about the same time, 

I and opened the business he still continues under 

1 the sign o\ "Variety Store.'" 

L. B. Woodruff opened a general merchandise 
store, and is still in the village, although not in 
business. 

P. F. Brown opened the first hardward store, 
and sold to W. H. Peck, who in turn, in 1881, 
turned it over to Greengo X- Laudis, the present 
proprietors. 

John Haugh started a harness .shop here which 
he still manages. 

In the spring of 1878, C. T. Knapp opened a 
meat- market, and still handles the beefsteak. 

The first hotel was erected in 1856, by James 
Luff, and consisted of logs and clay. In this Mr. 
Luff entertained travelers, and supplied them 
with bad whiskev. When the railroad was con- 



SHELL ROCK TOWNSHIP. 



536 



Btruoted, E. P. Kelly remodeled it, and it is now 
run by H. T. Chase. 

In 1877, Dr. H. H. Wilcox opened a drug 
store which is yet in operation. 

A hotel was erected the same year by William 
Beatty, which is now nin by his wife, as he went 
to bed soon after its completion, and has never 
since been up; although the doctors say nothing 
ails the man. 

Hon. A. H. Bartlett is the tirst and only lawyer 
of Shell Eock. 

Shell Rock Post-office. — This office was es- 
tablished in 1856. It was the intention of A. H 
H. Bartlett, who laid out the village of Shell 
Rock, to have a Post-office at once established at 
his embryo village; but while he was in the East, 
purchasing machinery with which to equip his 
mill, E. P. Skinner took time by the fore lock and 
played "check mate," by having an office estab- 
lished at a point in Hay ward township, a short 
distance north of Shell Rock, where he proposed 
the commencement of a village. When Mr. Bart- 
lett returned from the East and discovered the 
state of affairs, he went to Skinner and offered 
him one-fourth interest in Shell Rock, provided the 
office should be removed to that point and the 
proposed opposition town site abolished. The 
offer was accepted and the office was removed to 
Shell Rock as soon as the papers from Washing- 
ton were received, with E. P. Skinner as Post- 
master and A. H. Bartlett, deputy. It was held 
in Bartlett's house, on the river, for one quarter, 
the business in the meantime amounting to $18 
and a few cents, when it was removed to the store 
of Skinner & Cottrell. The mail was carried by 
William Rice, from Mitchell through to Albert 
Lea, and finally, in 1857, a regular mail route was 
established from St. Ansgar to Mankato, by way of 
Shell Rock and Albert Lea, carried by A. B. Da- 
vis of Albert Lea. Skinner held the office until 
the spring of 1858, when, through the influence 
of A. H. Bartlett, R. A. Cornish became Postmas- 
ter, with the office at the same place. Nest came 
Es(juire William Andrews, — who, by the way, was 
the first Justice of the Peace in the county and 
married the first couple, — and he held the office 
for three or four years, when Edward Town re 
ceived the appointment, and following him came 
the presnt Postmaster, Victor Gillrup. 

VILLAGE OF GOEDONSVILLE. 

This hamlet is located on the Minneapolis and 



St. Luuis railroad, in the southwestern part of 
Shell Rock township, and about one mile east of 
Shell Rock River. It was laid out in 1880, by 
S. P. and Jacob Beighley, containing four or five 
acres, divided into four blocks; two of them on the 
east half of the northeast quarter, belonging to 
.Jacob; and two on the west half of the north- 
east quarter of section thirty-two, belonging to 
S. P. Beighley. It was named after the Post- 
office, which was established years before. 

In the year 1879, John Fallen started a black- 
smith shop which has since been running under 
various managements. 

Soon after the railroad was finished J. W. 
Abbott put a small stock of groceries in one end 
of his residence, and in connection with the Post- 
office, which had in the meantime been removed 
to this point, opened the first business house in 
the place. 

In the summer of 1882, Heman Frost erected 
a one story building 24x30 feet, and put in a 
good stock of general merchandise, also taking 
the stock of goods mentioned above of Mr. Ab- 
bott. The Post-office is also kept in this store. 

There are two warehouses; one run by Jacob 
and S. M. Beighley; the other is owned by S. S. 
Cargill, of Albert Lea. 

There is also a good depot, which is well kept; 
but agents do not stay here long, as it is a 
small place, and they are promoted to larger 
places as they become efficient. 

GOEDONSVILLE POST-OFFICE. This PoSt-officC 

was established a few years after the date of first 
settlement, with Peter Beighley as Postmaster, and 
office at his house in section thirty-three. The mail 
arrived by way of the Northwood and Albert Lea 
mail route and was carried at first by JohnP.Beigh- 
ley. In 1S65 T. J. Gordon was appointed P. M., 
and took the office to his residence in section 
twenty -eight; after a time his son, W. H. H. 
Gordon received the appointment and the office 
was kept at the same place until after the com- 
pletion of the railroad, when J. B. Abbott was ap- 
pointed P. M., and the office was removed to the 
station of Gordonsville, where it is kept in the 
general merchandise store of Heman Frost, with 
Mr. Abbott's son, William, as deputy Postmaster. 

PUBLIC INSTBUCTION. 

District No. 50. — First held school at the 
house of Peter Beighley on the farm now owned 
by Joseph Miller, section thirty-two, by one of 



536 



BISTORT OF FBBEBOKN COUNTY. 



Mr. Baighley'a daughters, then by Mrs. Catherine 
Hawk and now Mrs. Charles Grim, of Freeman, 
with a few scholars present. This commenced 
in the fall of 18.58, with a two months term, and 
afterward school was held at various places until 
1856, when the frame school building now in use 
was erected in the northeastern comer of section 
thirty-two, at a cost of about S600. The first 
school taught in this house was by Jane Buch- 
anan to au attendance of about twenty-flve. There 
is now about seventy scholars in the district and 
an attendance at school which will average about 
thirty-five pupils. The schoolhouse is freijueutly 
used for the purpose of public meetings, etc., and 
the school generally goes by the name of the Gor- 
donville district. 

District No. 52. — Embraces the territory just 
southeast of the village of Shell Rock. The first 
school in the district was hela in a granary owned 
by J. S. Corning on section eight; it was taught 
by Miss Emily Streeter with an attendance of 
eight pupils. In 1866 the schoolhouse was erec- 
ted in the northeast corner of section eight, size 
21x30 feet at a cost of $765; in which Miss 
Bennett taught the first school to an attendance of 
twelve scholars. The present attendance is thirty- 
five. 

District No. 59. — This district eSected au or- 
ganization in 1856 and embraces the village of 
Shell Rock and surrounding country as its terri- 
tory. The first school meeting was held at the 
house of Lawyer A. H. Bartlett, and the board 
elected at that time consisted of C. T. Kuapp, A 
M. Young, and A. H. Bartlett. The erection of a 
schoolhouse was at once commenced under the 
supervision of Mr. Bartlett, and it was finished on 
Sunday the 18th day of August, 1857, at a cost of 
$500 it being a neat and substantial frame build- 
ing which still stands and is in use as a wood 
house. The day the house was completed Elder 
Lowry held the first religious services in the town- 
ship at the house of A. H. Bartlet, ignorant of the 
fact that at the same time the boys were hard at 
work on the schoolhouse, and no one took pains 
to inform him. One week from the completion of 
the house the first school was commenced by Miss 
Emily Streeter, who is now in Oregon. The 
schoolhouse just mentioned was the first erected 
in Freeborn county. The school Iniildiug now in 
use was erected in 1878, by A. H. Bartlett, size 
26x24, and cost $2,200. The last term of school 



was taught by Daniel Palmer, principal, to a large 
attendance. The present school board consists of 
F. F. Carter, George Hyatt, and O. C. C. Howe. 

District No. 77. — The first school taught in 
this district was in 1866, at a granary owned by 
Mr Bailey, the teacher being Miss Lena Doris 
with an attendance of eight scholars. The atten- 
dance up to the present time has grown but little. 
The schoolhouse is a neat struture, 16x20 feet, and 
cost about ^400.00. 

District No. 100. — Embraces the territory in 
the northeastern part of the township. The pres- 
ent school edifice was erected in 1876, size 18x20 
feet, at a cost of about .?500. lieing furnished 
with folding desks and the most improved furni- 
ture. The first school was taught by Miss Hannah 
Buchanan to an attendance of eight scholars, 
which has now grown to fifteen. The school- 
house is located in the southeastern corner of sec- 
tion two. 

District No. 104. — Embraces as its territory 
the southeastern portion of the township. The 
schoolhouse was erected in 1878, being a neat 
frame building, 24x30 feet, and cost about ^850. 
seated with patent seals and equipped with all 
necessary apparatus. The first school was taught 
by Miss Elizabeth Beighley to an attendance of 
about twenty scholars, which is about the same as 
at the present time. The schoolhouse is located 
in the southeastern corner of section twenty- 
seven. 

BIOGBAPHICAIi. 

Alonzo Alford was born in Clinton county 
New York, on the 1st of January, 1842. In 1854, 
he came to Wisconsin where hfl grew to manhood. 
He returned to his birth place when twenty years 
old, and the following year married Miss Helen 
Richards, a lady of Canadian birth. He returned 
west with his wife and resided in Hastings until 
1876, when he came to Glenville and engaged in 
the manufacture of boots and shoes, which has 
since been his business. His wife died in 1878, 
leaving a family of seven children. 

James W. Abbott, a native of Morgan county, 
Ohio, was born on the 9th of January, 1843. 
When two years old he moved with his parents to 
Athens county, where he grew to manhood, and 
at the age of eighteen years enlisted in the 
Eighty- seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Com- 
pany H, went south, was in the Army of the Po- 
tomac, and served over three years. After receiv- 



SHELL BOCK TOWN SB IF. 



537 



ing his discharge he returned to the scenes of his 
childhood where he married Miss Sarah E. Pierce 
in 1864. Mr Abbott having lost his health during 
the hardships and exposures of the soldier's life, 
sought a home in Minnesota soon after his mar- 
riage. He located a claim in Oakland and re- 
mained until 1872, when he removed to this place 
and started in the lumber business, afterward 
opened a grocery store, and three years later sold 
out and engaged iu buying grain and general 
produce. In 1878, he was appointed Postmaster; 
has held the principal town offices, aud is at pres- 
ent J astice of the Peace. Mr. and Mrs. Abbott 
have five children. 

Edward E. Budlong, a native of Columbia 
county. New York, was born on the 22d of May, 
1829. At the age of five years his parents re- 
moved to the western part of the State, where 
they remained untd 1844, then removed west and 
settled in Dane county, Wisconsin. Edward was 
united in marriage, in 18.54, with Mi-ss Almira 
Skinner, a native of Essex county. New York. In 
1856, they moved to Mitchell county, Iowa, re- 
maining during the summer, and in the fall came 
to this county, settling in the town of London. 
In 1864, they came to Shell Rook, and have a fine 
farm of two hundred and thirty acres. Mr. Bud- 
long takes an interest in all public matters and 
has held different local offices. He has a family 
of three children. 

Eldad Barber, one of the old and respected 
citizens of this place, was born in New York on 
the 21st of December, 1835. His father being a 
lumberman, he followed the same until the age of 
eighteen years, when he went to Hartford, Connec- 
ticut, and learned the wheel-wright trade. In 1857 
he moved to Iowa, and a year later to Minnesota, 
where his father took the claim Eldad now owns. 
His parents have both died since coming here. 
Mr. Barber takes a general interest in the welfare 
of this place, and has held several offices of 
trust. 

William Beiohley, a native of Pennsylvania, 
was born on the 23d of Novemljer, 1824. He 
was employed at various occupations and grew to 
manhood at his home. In 1851, he married Miss 
Emily Gordon and settled on a farm near his 
father's. He sold out aud camt west in 1855, 
locating first in Iowa, but soon after came to this 
township where he was among the first settlers, 
taking a claim in April, 1856. In 1865, he pur- 



chased his present farm in section twenty and now 
has it well improved. 

Jacob Bbighlby was born in Pennsylvania on 
the 5th of March, 1829. In 1856, he came west 
and became one of the pioneers of this place, stak- 
ing out a claim in section thirty-three, now own- 
ing a farm of two hundred and fifty acres, all 
improved. He was married the year after coming 
here to Miss Susanna M. Miller, also a native of 
Pennsylvania. The union has been blessed with 
one child, Ruth E. Mr. Beighley owns a ware- 
house on the B. C. R and N. Railroad, about three 
minutes walk from his residence, and deals exten- 
sively in grain and general produce. His home 
has always been open to ministers of any denom- 
ination and in an early days was used for relig- 
ious services. As there is no hotel within five miles 
it is also a convenience for travelers, and none 
have ever been turned from his door unfed or un- 
cared for. 

S. P. Beighley, one of the pioneers of Shell 
Rock, was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania. 
on the 12th of July, 1833. At the age of nine- 
teen years he began to learn the trade of tanner 
and currier, which he followed several years. He 
was married in 1854, to Miss Louisa M. Miller. 
Two years later they came to this place and set- 
tled in the southern part of the township, where 
they have since made their home. In 1862, Mr. 
Beighley enlisted in Company C, of the Fifth Min- 
nesota Volunteer Infantry, served in the Indian 
Massacre, then went south and remained in serv- 
ice three years. After receiving his discharge he 
returned to his home and has since devoted his 
time to tilling the soil. He has a family of ten 
children, all of whom reside in this township. 

A. H. Bartlett, one of the first settlers of this 
place, was born in New York on the 28th of Sep- 
tember, 1829. At the time of his birth his parents 
were living in a saw-mill, their house not having 
been completed. His father died in 1833, and 
when A. H. was eight years old the family moved 
to a place twenty miles from their former home, 
where he attended school. At the early age of 
sixteen years he began teaching, and subsequently 
entered the Arcade Academy in Wyoming county, 
remaining two years. In 1852, having for some 
time been troubled with a lung disease, he was 
advised by the physician to take an overland trip 
to California, and after a period of one hundred 
and seventeen days he reached Placerville, where 



538 



tllSrOIiV OF FHEBBORN GOUNTt. 



be ix-miiineil two anil a luilf years. Tii 1854. he 
returned to New York, where he had previously 
married Mis.s Auiia D. Peet, a uative of the same 
State. In the latter year they cume to Iowa, ami 
in 1850, to thi.s county, and Mr. Bartlett platted 
the town site of Sliell Rock. In an early 
day he read law, and in 18G0. was admitted to the 
bar. He was a delegate to the last Territorial 
Legislature in 1857, and also the fii-st State Leg- 
islature. He has been -Judge of Probate several 
terms and takes an interest in all local iiffairs. He 
is the father of four children: Sam, Ida. Jay. and 
Eva. 

T. A. Clow is a native of Canada, born on the 
23d of October, 1843. His father is a minister 
and in 1861 moved with his family from Illinois 
to Minnesota. After a few years A. F. moved to 
Winona county, thence, three years later, to Olm- 
sted county and in 1863, took a homestead in 
Blue Earth county. The same year he enlisted in 
the Second Minnesota Cavalry, Com))nnY H, and 
after his discharge returned to'his farm. He was 
married in 185H, to Miss Caroline M. Paine and 
they have a family of four children. Mr. Clow 
came to tliis township in 1877, opened a black- 
smith shop and niw has a good business. He is 
the father of four children; one son having died in 
April, 1875, aged seven years and three months. 

V. GiLLBUP, one of the oldest and successful 
business men of this plaae, was born near Copen- 
hagen, Denmark, on the 29th of May, 1840. In 
1862, he came to America, arriving in New York 
City and soon after enlisted in the First New 
York Volunteer Eug., Company (x, serving three 
years. After his discharge he came to Watertown, 
Wisconsin, and engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness for two years, then in Albert Lea a short 
time and from there to Shell Kock, where he was 
one of the first to open a substantial mercantile 
business. He was married in 1872, to Miss Lilly 
I. Carter, a native of Wisconsin. They have had 
five children, 'Tlour of whom are living; Hattie, 
Prank, Harry, and Walter. Burt, aged five years, 
died in February, 1882. 

O. C. C. Howe is a native of Allegany county. 
New York, born on the 23d of November, 1823. 
He learned the millwright trade when a young 
man and in 1852. came west to Iowa. He built 
a saw-mill which he conducted and also farmed un- 
til 1.SG4, then came to tliis township and bought 
his present land. He is engaged principally in 



stock raising. Has held most of the local oflices 
and is a staunch democrat. 

Daniel S. Hoyt a native of Ohio, was bom on 
the 3d of March, 1847. At the age of six years 
he moved with his parents to Iowa and two years 
later to this State, locating first in Fillmore coun- 
ty and in 1862. came to this township, where they 
were among the first settlers. His father died in 
1878, leaving a large circle of friends to mourn 
his loss. Daniel came into possession of the home- 
stead at the death of the latter and his mother re- 
sides with him. 

Ch.\bles T. Knapp was born in Medina, Medina 
county, Ohio, on the 1st of November, 1820. He 
was married in 1838, to Miss Mary Hamilton. In 
1851, they moved to Dane county, Wisconsin, 
and four years later came to Minnesota, settling 
in Freeborn county, and Mr. Knajjp was the first 
to use a breaking plow in Albert Lea township. 
His first wife died in 1870, leaving five children; 
Betsey E. M., Jane J. A., Chloe, and Margaret E. 
He afterwards married Miss Jane Wilsey, who 
died in 1875, leaving three children; J. H., Ada, 
and Ida. The maiden name of his present wife 
was Catherine Bates whom he married in 1877. 
The same year lie miveil to this township and 
opened a meat m:irket in Glenville. 

WiLLAKD F. Marvin, one of the |)ioneers of 
this county, was born in Rutland county, Ver- 
mont, on the 13th of May. 1825. He resided in 
his native State until 1846, when he removed to 
Illinois, and soon after to Wisconsin. In 1859, 
he was united in marriage with Miss Hnldah 
Wilco.x, a native of New York. They came to 
Shell Rock in 1857, and pre-empted land in .sec- 
tion eighteen, which has since been tiieir home. 
They have a family of five children; Nancy, Cur- 
tir, Cynthia, Viola, and Clara. 

Morris Marshall, one of the old and respected 
citizens of this place was born in Monroe county, 
New York, on the 8th of October, 1830. At the 
early age of sixteen years, he enlisted in the 
Mexican War, serving in 'Company F, of the 
Eighth United States Infantry for a period of 
sixteen months. He sailed for the .scene of action, 
and landed at Vera Cruz, on the 5th July, 1847; 
joined the command of Franklin Pierce and went 
to Pueblo, participrting in many hard fought bat- 
tles. After his discharge he came home, and in 
1849 came to Wisconsin but soon returned to his 
native State. He removed to Jackson county, 



SHELL ROCK TOWNSHIP. 



539 



Michigau, where he was engaged in farming sev- 
eral years. There he was joined in marriage with 
Miss Joliett Scofield. In 1862, they came to Min- 
nesota, and settled on their present farm, which is 
well cultivated. They have a family of seven 
children. 

Peter J. Miller was born in Westmoreland 
county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of September, 
1807. He grew to manhood in his native county, and 
learned the art of coverlet weaving. In October, 
1829, ha mirried Misa Sirah Cribb^, and fur sev- 
eral years was employed in the above occupation. 
In 1836, he moved with his family to Mercer, 
Mercer county, in the same State, and engaged in 
carpet weaving until the Rebellion. In 18G6, he 
cams to Minnesota, and purchased "Pdot Grove" 
farm in Shell Bjok township, which has ever 
since been his home, his house being the first 
built in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have 
a family of ten children, five sons and five 
daughters. 

Christopher Olsen, one of the pioneers of 
this place, is a native of Norway,born near Chris- 
tiania, on the '20th of June, 1817, and when six- 
teen years old began to learn the blacksmith 
trade, He was married in 1840, to Miss Nellie 
Evenson, who has borne him two children. In 
18.53, Mr. Olsen came to America, engaged at 
his trade a short time in Montreal, Canada, then 
moved to New York City, and later to Virginia, 
thence to Iowa first living in D>ibuque, and 
afterward in St. Ansgar. In 185G he came to this 
place, locating in sections thirty-one and thirty- 
two, where he built the first blacksmith shop in 
the township, and has since carried on the same in 
connection with his farming. 

Jo.sEPH K. Page wa.s born in Lycoming county, 
Pennsylvania, on the 13th of September, 1838. 
When he was five years old his parents moved 
to Indiana, and located on a farm in La Ports 
county, where Joseph grew to manhood. In 
1866, he married Miss Matilda Minuinm, who was 
born on the 26th of January, 1841, in Crawford 
county, Pennsylvania. They have six children; 
Joseph S., born on the 24th of March, 1867; Ada 
A., the ilth of December, 1868; John J., the 
19th of July, 1870; True R., the 31st of July, 
1872; William A., the 29th of January, 1875; and 
Hugh D., the 21st of October, 1879. Mr. Page 
is a highly respected citizen, a member of the 
Baptist church, and always takes an active part 
in the welfare of the town. 



Thom.4s Pobtee, an early settler of this town- 
s»hip, was born in Canada, on the 6th of Decem- 
ber, 1829. He was married in 1855 to Miss Al- 
mira Smith, and they have a family of ten chil- 
dren; Albert, Bennett, Arvilla, Georgiana, Cyn- 
thia Maria, Carrie Viola, George I., Rolau, Alice 
Minnesota, and Amy. Three are dead; Kilburn, 
who died on the 14th of June, 1882; William H., 
the 15th of October, 1862; and Morella, the 13th 
of April, 1876. Mr. Porter moved from Canada 
to Minnesota in 1859, and settled on land in sec- 
tion thirty. Shell Rock, which has since been his 
home, his farm containing two hundred and 
eighty acres, the greater portion of which is un- 
der cultivation. 

W. H. Rathmell, a native of Pennsylvania, 
was born in Lycoming county, on the 5th of 
May, 1820. He attended school in the town of 
Williamsport, and at the age of fourteen began 
learning the harnessmaker's trade, at which he 
was engaged several years. He was joined in 
matrimony with Miss Ann Page, in 1844. Mr. 
Rathmell was for several years Captain of a 
steamer on the Pennsylvania Canal. In 1850 he 
went to California, but two years later returned 
and settled on a farm near La Porte, Indiana. 
After a residence of about twenty-five years in 
the latter place, he came to Iowa, and in 1871 to 
Shell Rock. He bought a tract of land contain- 
ing over five hundred acres, and it is now well 
improved. He erected the first warehouse, as 
well as some of the finest buildings in the place, 
having since sold most of his real estate, and for 
the past nine years has made a business of loan- 
ing money. He has raised a family of three 
children; Mary, Sarah J., and H. C, the latter 
being located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. 

John E. Skinner was born in Essex county, 
New York, on the 6th of September, 1838. When 
fifteen years old he moved with his parents to 
Dane couuty, Wisconsin, and in 1855 came to 
Minnesota, but soon returned to Wisconsin. He 
made another trip to this State in an early day, 
remained during one winter, and returned to his 
home in Wisconsin. In 1862, he enlisted in the 
Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
Company G, taking part in several important bat- 
tles, and served three years. In 1865, he came 
again to Minnesota and settled in this township. 
He was married the following year to Miss Jane 
Gardiner, who has borne him four children. Mr. 



51(1 



HISTORY OF FUREBORN GOUNTT. 



Skinuer has held several offices of trust siuce his 
resilience in this place. 

Anthony C. Trow, one of the pioneers of Shell 
Rock, is a native of New Hampshire, born in New 
London, Merrimac county, on the 14th of July, 
1833. At the age of seventeen years he began 
working for himself, when not needed iit home. 
In 1855, came west to Iowa. an<l the following 



spring to Minnesota. After traveling over a por- 
tion of the State in May, he located in Shell 
Rock, and has since been one of its residents, 
owning a farm of two hundred and eighty acres, 
well improved. He came in company with his 
brother, and they experienced all the hardships of 
a jiioneer's life, using burnt corn for coffee, and 
grinding corn meal in a coffee-mill. 



■ ■*^-^— 



INDEX. 



511 



INDEX. 



EXPLOEEES AND PIONEERS OP MINNESOTA. 



EASE 

Abraham, Plainsof 1 

Accault (Ako) Michael, compan- 
ion of Hennepin, in, 18, 20, 23, 24, 26 

Described by La Selle 18 

Leader of Mississippi Explo- 
rations \ , 19 

Achiganaga arrested by Perrofc. . . 12 
Tried for murder before Da 

Luth 13 

Aiouez, see loways 

Albanel. Jesuit missionary at 

Sault St. Marie... 11 

Allouez. Jesuit missionary visits 

La Pointe 4 

Meets the Sioux at the ex- 
tremity of Lake Superior.. 4 

Ames, M. E., early lawyer 122 

Anderson, Captain in British ser- 
vice 81 

Andrewp, Joseph, killed by Sisse- 

ton Sioux 02 

Aquipaguetin. Sioux chief men- 
tioned by Hennepin 21, 27 

Assineboines 2, 9, 23. 43, 46. 65 

Augelle, Anthony, alias Picard 
du Guy. associate of Hennepin 

10, 18,23,24, 26 

Ayer, Frederick, missionary to 

Ojibways 107 

Baker, B. F., Indian trader 112 

Bailly. Alexis, drives cattle to 

Pembina 93 

Member of Legislature 93 

Balcombe, St. A. D 127 

Balfour, Captain 62 

Baas, J. W., early settler at St. 

Paul 116 

Beauharnois, Governor, favors 

■*" Verendrye 68 

Beaujeau, urged by Langlade of 

Wisconsin, defeats Braddock.. 61 
Bellin alludes to Fort Rouge on 

Red river 87 

Fort on St. Croix river 112 

Beltrami, G. C, notice of 93 

Discovers nortbern sources of 

the Mississippi 94 

Bishop, Harriet E., establishes 

school at St. Paul 114 

Blue Earth River explored 45, 47 

D'Evaque visits 48 

Boal, J. M., early settler at St. 

Paul 116, 118 

Bottineau, J. B., exposed in a 

snow storm 102 

Boisguillot, early trader on Wis- 
consin and Mississippi 32 

Boucher, Pierre, described Lake 

Superior copper mines 7 

Father of Sieur de Le Per- 

riere 51 

Boudor trades with the Sioux 4J- 

Attacked by the Foxes 49 

Bougainville, mentions Indian 

tribes seen by Verendrve 6m 

Boutwell Rev. W. T.. Ujibway 

missionary 106, 113 

Removes to Stillwater Ill 

Notice of Stillwater 114 

Braddock's defeat 61 



PAGES 1 TO 128. 

P.AGE 

Bremer, Frederka, Swedish nov- 
elist in Minnesota 122 

Brisbin, J. B 127 

Brisbois, Lieutenant in British 

service 81 

Brissette, Edward, notice of 114 

Brown, Joseph R.. drummer boy 

at Fort Snelling 95 

Trading Post at Lake Trav- 
erse 102 

Keeps a grog shop for sol- 
diers 103 

At Grey Cloud Island Il3 

Member of Wisconsin Leg- 

ishature 113 

Makes a town site near 

Stillwa*er 113 

Secretary of Council 1849.. 119 

Bruce, trader at Green Bay 63 

Brunson, Rev. A., Methodist Mis- 
sionary Ill, 113 

Brunson, B. W 119 

Brusky, Charles, Indian trader. . 77 
Bulwer, Sir E. L.. translation of 

Sioux Death Son" 67 

Cameron, Murdock, sells liquor 

to Indians 74 

Campbell. Colin, interpreter !I2 

Carver's Cave mentioned 66. 78 81 

Carver, Capt. Jonathan, early life 

of 64 

In battle of Lake George 64 

Arrival at Mackinaw 61 

Describes the fort at Green 

Bay 61 

Visits Wine bago Village 61 

Visits Fox Village 64 

Describes Prairie du Chien.. . ol 
Describes earth works at 

Lake Pepin Ci.') 

Describes cave at St. Paul 66 

Describes Falls of .St- An- 
thony 66 

Describes Minnesota river... 66 

Describes funeral rites- 67 

Translation of Bulwer ana 

Herschell 67, 68 

His alleged deed for Sioux 

Land 70 

Grandsons of, visit Minne- 
sota 82 

Charlevoix on La Hontan's fab- 
rications 86 

On Le Sueur's mining opera- 
tions 45 

Chatlield, A. G., Territorial 

Judge 125 

Chouart, Medard. see Groselliers 

Christinaux mentioned 43, 44 

Clark, Lt. Nathan, at Fort Snel- 
ling 90 

Letters from Gen. Gibson 94 

Coe, Rev. Alvan, visits Fort Snel- 
ling in 1829 106 

Convention to form a State Con- 
stitution 128 

Cooper, David, Territorial .Judge 118 
Copper mines of Lake Superior, 

Early notice of 7 

Notice of Isle Royal 7 



PAOK 

Notice of Ontanagon 7 

Copper mines spoken of by 

Talon A. D.. 1669 .'. 7 

Coquard, Father, accompanies 

Verendrye (Jo 

Mentions Rocky Mountain 

Indians 61) 

Dakotahs or Dah kotahs. see Sioux 

D'Avagour. Governor of Cannda. 

opinion of the region West of 

Lake Superior i 

Day, Dr. David ....'.'. 124 

De Gonor, Jesuit, visits Lake 

Pepin 51, .^8 

Return to Canada .M 

Converses with Verendrye... 58 
De la Barre, Governor, notices 

Du Luth 11 

De la Tonr, Jesuits missionary.. . 13 
Dela Tourette. GreysoUm, broth- 
er of Du Luth 10 

Denis, Canadian voyageur, joins 

Le Sueur 42 

DenonviUe. Governor, attacks 

Seneccas 15 

Orders Du Luth to build a 

Fort 16 

Send-* for western allies 3ii 

Commissions Du Luth \',1 

Denton, Rev. D., missionaJy to 

Sioux Ill 

D'Esprit, Pierre, seeRadisson.... 
D'Evaque, in charge of Fort 

L'Hnillier m 

Devoticm. M , sutler at Fort 

Srielling 91 

D'Iberville, Gov., criticises Hen- 
nepin S8 

Relative of Le Sueur 39 

Dieskau, Baron 61 

Dickson. Col. Robert, visits Lt. 

Pike 77 

Trading post at Grand Rapids 7H 

At Mendota 7s 

During war of 1812 80, 81 

.\t Lake Traverse 89 

At Fort Snelling 93, % 

William, son of Robert 96 

Du Chesneau. intendaut of Can- 
ada, complains of Duluth II 

Dii Luth, Daniel Greysolon, early 

lifeof 11 

Various spellings of his name ti 
Establishes a Fort at Kaman- 

istigoyrt 9 

Descends the St. Croix river 

11. 112 
Arrests and executes Indians 

at Sault St. Marie 11 

Brings allies to Niagara, for 

De la Barre 15 

Establishes a Fort on Lake 

Erie 1.". 

Returns to Lake Erie with his 

cousin Tonty 16 

Brother of, from Lake Nepi- 

gon 16 

In command at Fort Fronte- 

nac 16 

Death of 17 



542 



uisTonr OF vnEEBonx couxtt. 



AtFallsof St. Anthony.... 18, 2« 

Meets Hennepin 25 

Tribute to 27 

His tour from Luke Superior 

to I^Iississippi 112 

Meets .^ccault and Hennepin 112 

Uu Pay, a voyascur 10 

Uurantayc, commander at Mack- 
inaw 33 

At Ticonderoga .!!!!....'. 62 

At Niagara ].] 15 

Ely, E. v., missionary te.icher.!. 110 
fc-njali . ;. Jesuit missionary at 

Sault St. Maire H, 13 

I'affart. interpreter for Uu Luth lu 

visits tile Sioux H 

Kails of Saint Anthony, first 

white man at 2r> 

First mill at .ilij, iil 

Described bv Li Sulle ' IH 

Described by Honiiepin, 21.25, 2« 
Described by Lt.Z.M.Pike, 75. 7tj 

Described by .Major Long 85 

First newspaper at 123 

Bridge, first across Missis- 
sippi 126 

Fisher, traier at (irecn Bay! .'.'.'. G3 
titch, pi-ineer in bt. Croi.t Val- 
ley J12 

Flat Mouth. Oiiliway f'hief. vis- 
its Fort SiieUin;;, A. D. 1N27.... »7 
lorsyth. Major Thomas, accom- 
panies first troojis to Fort Snel- 

ling gi 

Pays Indians for reservation. . . 91 
lort Beauliarnois established A. 

IJ 1727, at Lake Pepin 51, ,V2 

Commanded by St. Pierre, 56, 57 

rort Crawfiivd nvt 

La Reine, on River Assine- 

, borne... 33, 87 

Le Sueur, below Hastings ... 37 
L Huillier on Blue Earth 

river 43 

Left in charge of D'Evaque 47 

McKay gj 

Perrot. at Lake Pepin ..'.'.'.'.'.' 2« 
Shelby, at Prairie du Chien 

Fort Snelling site secured by Lt." 

Troops for, at Prairie dii 

Chien yj 

Birth of Charlotte OuisconI 

sin Cl.irk 90 

Col. Le: venworth arrives at 

Mend ti 91 

First i.ffioers at cantonment. . 91 
Major Taliaferro Indian 

agent .at 91 

Cass and Schoolcraft visits. . 92 
Col Spelling succeeds Leav- 
enworth 92 

Events of A.D. 1821 '. 93 

Advance in building 93 

Events of A. D. 1822, A. D 

1823 93 

First steam boat at '. 93 

Beltrami, the Italian, at.. 9,% 91 

Major H. S. Long arrives at. . 94 

Government mill near HI 

Sunday School at 94 

Events of A. D 1821 95 

General Scott suggests name 

for fort 9,5 

Euents of A. D. 1825 and Isiiii! 96 

Mail arrival at 9(i 

Great snow storm March, 1836, 96 

High water at, April 21. 1826, 97 
Slaves belonging to officers 

at 97 

Steam boac arrivals to el"se 

of lS2'i . 117 

General Gaines censures Col- 
onel of c; 

Events of A.D. 1827....!!!!" 98 

Flat Mouth. Ojibway chief. 
visits, in 1827 98 

Col. Snelling delivers mur- 
derers for execution 99 

Construction of, criticised by 
General Gaines lOO 

Kev. Alva Coe in 1829 preach- 
es at 108 



J. N. Nicollet arrives at 102 

Marriages at Iir2, 1(8, 120 

Steamer Palmyra at, in July, 
1^3-1. with notice of ratitica- 

tion of Indian treaties 112 

Indian council held at, by 

Governor Ramsey 121 

*'"'J.?'v,'^''""'°y' now"Snelling. . 95 
ot- Charles, on Lake of the 

Wooas -,g 

St. Joseph, on Lake Eric, es- 

tablished by Du Luth 16 

St. Pierre, on Rainy Lake.... ."kS 
Interview with Perrot SI 

Mentir.ned. 33. 37, 38, 48, 46. 5l', 55 
I'lanklin. Sir John, relics of,pas8 

through St. P.iul 126 

I'ronteiiac. Governor of Canada, in 

Friend of IJuluth n 

Encourages Le --ueur 39 

Hr.azer, trader 7jj 

t uller, Jerome. Territorial Chief 
Justice.. .. 

Furber, J. VV.. ...'!! 

Gaitier, Rev. L., buVlds 
chapel in St. Paul 



first 



123 
127 



114 
111 



100 



81 
6 
2 



(Taviii, Rev. Daniel missionary., 
(nbson. General, letters relative 

to St. Anthony mill 91 

Gillan, Capt. Zachar.v, of Bos- 
ton, accompanied by Grosel- 
li""", ind R idisson, sails for 
Hudson's Bay in ship None- 
such 5 

Goodhue. James M,', first' Minnel 

sota editor J17 

Death of :............" 124 

Goodrich, Aaron, Territorial 

Judge ug 

Gorm.an, Willis A. Governor!.'.'.'; 125 
Gorrell, Lieut, at Green Bay.... 02 
Graham, Duncan, arrives at Fort 

Snelling 

Grant trader at Sandy Lake, vis- 

itedby Pike 77 

Gr.-ivier, Father James, criticisea 

Hennepin 28 

Greeley, Elam .,". 109 

Griffing LaSalle'sship '.'.'.'..'. 10 

. Voyage to Green Bay 19 

Griguod. Cabtain in British ser- 
vice 7g 

Groselliers. Sieur, early life!!!. 1,' 

Visits Mille Lacs region 

Meets the .\ssiaeboiues . ■> 

Visits Hudson's Bay 4 

Name given to what is now 

Pigeon river .r, 

Visits New England ' 6 

Encouraged by Prince Ru- 
pert 5 

Death of "" g 

Guignas. Father, missionary 'at 

I'ort Beauharnois 51 

Guignas, Father, captured by'l'n- 

dians 54 

Returns to Lake Pepin.!!!" 50 

Gun grandson of Carver 82 

Hall. Rev. Sherman. Ojibway 

missionary 107 

Moves to Sauk Rapids. ..'.'.' HI 
Havner, H. Z., Chief Justice of 

lerritorv loj 

Hempstead accompanies Major 

Long, A. D. 1817 

Hennepin, Louis. Franciscan inisl 

slonary, early life of 

Depreciates .Jesuits . . 
At Falls of St, Anthony 

'«• 22, 24, 

Denounced by La Salle la 

Chaplain of La Salle 20 

At Lake Pepin •>2 

MetbyDuLutti !.!!' 25 

Career on return to Europe. '. 25 

His later davs 28 

Opinion of Jesuit Missions!! li»i 

Henni.^s, C. J., Editor 1-1 

Hersehell, Sir John, translates 
Schiller's song. Son of Sioox 

Chief gg 

Historical Society, firBt"p'u'bii'o 

meeting ng 

Hobart, Rev. 0......'.!!.'.'.' 119 



82 



19 

18 



25 



Holcomb, Capt. Wi 1 Ham ."iio 

Hole in-the-Day, the father at- 
tacks the Sioux 103 

Hole-in-the-Day. Junior attacks 

Bioux near St. Paul 121 

On first steamboat above fails 

of St. Anthony ]21 

Howe, early settler at Marine!!!! 113 
Uiiggms, Alexander, mission 

: arnier yyj 

Huronsdrvento Jiinne.sota 2 

At war with the Sioux 4 

Indiana Territory organized 73 

Indians of Mississippi Valley, 

earliest communication about. 

Upjior Missouri, seen by Ver- 

..'.'"''■ye 80 

Minnesota i(u 

loways, visited bv Hurons. . !! " ' ' 2 

visit P.-rrotat Lake Pepin... 29 

iroqucus. Virgin, her intercession 

sought by Du Luth 

isle, Pelee, of the Mississippi' 

below St. Croix River 

Isle Royal, copper in 1667, noticed 
I'asca. orijjin of word. 



46 



17 



37 

7 

107 



115 



Jackson, fienry, early ' set'tle'r 'i'li 

ot Paul \n 

Jemeraye, Sieur de la, with the 

bioux •. 513 

Explores to Rainy Lake..58, 59 

Death of eg 

Jesuit. Father Allouez. .!!!!!.'.'.".■ 4 

Cnardon " r^tj 

De Goiior '.',',', 51 

De la Cha.S8e ! ! ! 51 

Guignas .51, 54,'55! 56 

Marquette 5 

Menard .2 3 

Mes.sayer .'.V.'.'.V.'. ,' 58 

Jesuit missions unsuccessful.!!" 106 

Johnson. Parsons K 119 

.Judd, early settler at Marine."" 113 
Kaposia, Chief, requests a miel 

Biimary ,,, 

Kennerman, Pike's sergeant 79 

Kickapoos, at Fort Perrot.. '" 30 

Ciijiture French from Lake 

Pepin 54 

King, grandson of Carver!!!!'.!'.' 82 

La Hontau. his early life ... ' 3.^ 

Ascent of the Fox River."!!' 35 

Criticised L'arlevoix "" 36 

Noticed bv Nicollet. "" 38 

LaidlowtravelsfroniSelkirkset- 
tlement to I'rairiedu Chien.. . 91 

At Fort Snelling 33 

Lac qui Parle .Mission 1U9 

Lake (Jalhoun, Indian farm'esl 

tablished iQg 

Lake Harriet mission ilescrihed!! 1U9 
Lake Pepin, called Lake of Tears 

Described in A.D. 1710 41 ' 

Fort Perrotat 29 

Fort Be.'uiharnois at !.! " 58 

Lake Pokeguma Mission ! ! ! ! ! 109 

La .Monde, a voyager ig 

Landsing, trader, killed,. 63 

Lambert. David, early settler i'li 



St. Paul. 



La 



mbert Henry A„ ear'ly'settier 
n St. Paul 



118 



Langlade, of (Jreen Bay, "urges 

attack of Braddock gi 

La P. rriere, Sieur de, proceed's't'o 

Siouxeountry 51 

Son of Pierre Bftueher.!!!! , 

Arrives at Lake Pepin !!. 

La lorte, see Lovigny 

La Potherie describes Fort Per- 
rot at Lake Pepin 

Larpeiitcnr, A., early settler iii 

St Paul 

I .a .Salle licensed to trade in Buf- 
falo robes 

Criticises Du Luth. ...!... ii)! 
First to describe Upper Mis- 
sissippi ^^ 

.Describes falls of St. Anthony 19 

La laiipine. see Moreau 

Laurence. Phineas, pioneer at St. 



.51 



18 



Croix Valley .' n;. 

h. Calvin,a founder of Stiiil 



Leac 
water 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Lead mines on MiRsissippi 33 

Lr-Mvcn worth, Colonel, estab- 
lishes Fort SuelUng _. . . . 90 

Letrardcur, Auprustine. associate 

of Ferrot 32 

Legislature. Territorial 119 to 127 

First State Legislature 128 

Leslie, Lt., command at Macki- 
naw 62 

L'Huillier, Fort why named 43 

Lc 8ueur. associated with Per- 
ri't, builds a Fort below Has- 

tiDss 82 

At Lake Pepin in 1683 and 

l&^'J. 37, 40 

At La Ponte of Lake Supe- 
rior, 1(592 37 

Brings first Sioux chief to 

Montreal 37, 83 

Visits France 38 

Arrives in Gulf of Mexico... 39 
Passes Perrot's lead mines... 40 

At the Kivcr St. Croix 42 

Holds a council with the 

Sioux 44 

Returns to Gulf of Mexico. 45, 74 
Libbev, Washington, pioneer at 

St. Croix Falls 113 

Lignery. commands at Macki- 
naw. , 50 

At Fort Duquesne 61 

Linctot. commander at Macki- 
naw 51 

Little Crow, Sioux chief, goes in 

lN2t to Washington 95 

Long, Major Stephen H., tour to 

St: Anthony. A. D. 1817 82 

Burial place 83 

Kaposia Village 86 

Carver's cave S4 

St. Anthony Falls 85 

Opinion of the site of Fort 

Snelling 86 

Loomis. Captain Gustavus A., 

U.S. A 108 

Loomis, D- B., early settler of St. 

Croix Valley 122 

Loras, Bishop of Dubuque 109 

Louisiana, transfer of 73 

Lowry. ^ylvanus. early settler... 127 

Macalester College 125 

Mackinaw re-occupied 5U 

Presbyterian mission at 106 

Rev. Dr. Morse visits 196 

Robert Stuart resides at 106 

Eev. W- M, Ferry, mission- 
ary at .^ 106 

Ma<nnnis makes a claim at St. 

Croix Falls 112 

Map by Franquelin indicates Du 

Lutli's explorations 3 

Marest, James Joseph, Jesuit 
missionary, signs the papers 
taking possession of the Upper 

Mississippi • • 32 

Letter to Le Sueur 39 

Marin, Lamarque de, French offi- 
cer 60 

Marine, early settlers at 112 

Marshall, Hon. W. K. mentioned, 

115, 126 

Marquette. Jesuit missionary at 

La Pointe. -1 

Martin, Abraham, pilot 1 

Maskoutens mentioned 37 

Massacre Island. Lake of the 

Woods origin of the name 59 

McGillis, Hugh.N. W. Co- Agent, 

Leech Lake 78 

McGregor, English trader ar- 
rested 15 

McKay, trader from Albany 63 

Lt. Col. William attacks 

Prarie du Chien 81 

McKean, Elias, a founder of Still- 
water 113 

McKenzie, old trader 87 

McKusick J., a founder of Still- 
water • • • • 113 

McLean, Nathaniel, editor 119 

McLeod, Martin, exposed to snow 

storm 102 

Menard Rene, Jesuit missionary 
letter of 2 



PAGE 

Among the Ottowas of Lake 

Superior 3 

Medary, Governor, Samuel 127 

Meeker, B. B , Territorial Judge 

118, 119 
Messaver. Father, accompanies 

the Verendrye expedition Ii8 

Miami Indians visited by Perrot, 30 
Ask for a trading post on Mis- 
si ppi 33 

Mill, first in Minnesota 93, 98 

Mille Lacs Sioux visited by Du 

Luth 9 

Hennepin 22 

Minnesota, meaning of the word, 116 

River, first steamboat in 122 

Historical Suciety 119 

Territory, proposed bounda- 
ries. 11 ij 

Convention at Stillwater 115 

When organized 117 

First election 118 

First Legislature 118 

First counties organized 119 

Recognized as a State 12.S 

Mitchell, Alexander M., U- S- 

Maishal 118 

Candidate for Congress 125 

Missions. Jesuit 5. It). 106 

Mission Stations 106 to 111 

Missionaries. Rev. Alvan Coe 

visits Fort Snelling 1" '7 

Frederick Ayer 107 

W. T. Boutwell 107 

F. F. Ely, (teacher J lOS 

Mr. Denton Ill 

Sherman Hall 107 

Daniel Gavin Ill 

John F. Alton Ill 

Robert Hopkins 117 

Gideon H. Pond 107 

Samuel W. Pond 107 

J. W. Hancock HI 

J. D. Stevens 107 

S. R. Kiggs Ill 

T. S. Williamson, M. D 107 

M.N. Adams Ill 

Moreau, Pierre, with Du Luth at 

Lake Superior 9 

Morrison, William, old trader, 73, 67 
Moss, Henry L., U. S- District 

Attorney 118 

Nadowaysionx, see Sioux 

Newspapers, first m St. Paul 

117 to 123 
Nicolet. Jean, first white trader 

in Wisconsin * 1 

Nicollet. J. N., astronomer and 

geologist 102 

Niverville, Boucher de, at Lake 

Winnipeg 60 

Norris, J. S 126 

North, J. W 122. 128 

Northwest company trading posts 73 
None. Robt-rtal dela. re-occupies 
Du Luth's post at the head of 

Lake Superior 50 

Ochagachs, draws a map for Ve- 
rendrye 58 

Mentioned by the geographer 

Bellin 87 

Ojigways or Chippewas. ...30, 31, 37 

Early residence of 105 

Principal villages of 105 

Of Lake Pokeguma attacked 110 

Treaty of 1837 112 

Oliver. Lieut. U. S. A., detained 

by ice at Hastings 91 

Olmstead. .S. B 126 

Olmsted. D:ivid, President of 

first council 119 

Candidate for Congress 122 

Editor of Democrat 125 

One Eyed tSioux. alias ''ourgne 
Original Leve, Rising Moose.. 85 
Loyal to America during war 

of 18i2 81 

Ottawas. their migrations 2 

Ottoes, mentioned 42, 43, 44 

Ouasicoude, { Wah-zee-ko-tay ) 
Sioux chief mentioned by Hen 

nepin .- 23. 27 

Owens. John P.. editor 123 



543 



PAGE 

Pacific Ocean, route to 

36, fO, rj8, 60, H'.t 

Persons. Rev. J. P lilt 

Petron. umle of Du Luth 11 

Puiucaut discribes Fort Perrot. . 29 
Fort Le Mueur on Isle Pelee. . '.Tt 

Mississippi river 12 

Describes Fort L'Huillier... 47 
Pennensha. French tiuder among 

the Sioux 53 

Pere see Pej rot. 

Perkins, Lt. U. b. A. in charge of 

Fort Shelby 80 

Perriorre. see L Perrierre. 
Ptrrot. Nicholas, aiic^ts Achiga- 

na"a at Lake Superior 12 

Early days of 20 

Account of Father Menard's 
ascent of the Mississippi 

and Black Rivers .. 2 

Susp- cted of poisoning La 

8;ille 29 

Associated with Du Luth 29 

Presents a silver ostensorium 3o 

In the Seneca expedition 31 

His return to Lake Pepin 31 

Takes possession of the coun- 
try 32 

Condn cts a convoy from Mon- 

^ treal 34, 38 

Estal^lishes a post on Kala- 

maz'io river 31 

Threatened with death by 

Indians 38 

Pctert., Rev. Samuel, interested 

in the Carver claim ''0,71, 96 

Petuns, seeHurons. 

Phillips. W. D., early lawyer at 

St Paul llti. 119 

Pike, Lt. Z. M., U- S. army at 

Prairie du Chien ,. 74 

Addre.ss to Indians 74 

Description of Falls of St. 

Anthony 75, 76 

Block house at Swan River.. 77 

At Sandy Lake 77 

At Leech Lake 7.8 

.\t Dickson's trading post... 7« 

Confers with Little Crow 78 

Pinchon. see Pennensha. 
Pinchon, Fils de, Sioux chief, 

confers with Pike 78 

Editor of Dakotah Friend... 122 
interpreter at treaty of 1851. 124 
Pond, Rev. Samuel W- notifies 

the agent of a Sioux war party 103 
Porlier, trader iwvt Sauk Rnpids 

76, 78 

Poupoii, Isadore, killed b> Sisse- 

ton Sioux ". 92 

Prairie du Chien described by 

Carver 64 

During war of 1812-1815 8il 

McKay at HI 

PiTBcott, Philander, early life... 91 
Provencalle, loyal to America in 

warof 1812 81 

Quinn, Peter 103 

Raclos. Madeline, wife of Nicho- 
las Pej rot 34 

Radisson, Sienr, early life and 

nmrnage 2 

Rae, Dr., Arctic explorer at St. 

Paul 124 

Rams y, Hon. Alexacder, first 

Governor 117 

Guest of H. H. Sibley at Men- 

dota 118 

Becomes a resident of St. 

Paul 118 

Holds Indian council at Fort 

Snelling 121 

Randin. visits extremity of Lake 

Superior 110 

Kavoux, Rev. A., Sioux mission- 
ary 109 

Reaume, Sieur. interpreter 52 

Red River of the North, men- 
tioned 87 

Renville, Joseph, mention of.. 76, 109 

Renville, John 109 

Republican convention at St. An- 
thony 126 

.^ice, Hon. Henry M., steps to or- 



544 



nisTnnr of FREEnnnN rorxTV. 



■ ..■ PAOE 

' ganizo Minnesota Territory,! 15, 116 
Klected to Congresn .... 125, 126 

U.S. Senator i23 

Kirhards, F. S., trader at Lake 

Pepin 117 

Kiggs, Kev. 8. K., Sioux mission- 

ary. letter of m 

Kobbinette, pioneer in St. Croix 

Valley n2 

Robertson, Daniel A., editor,. 124, 125 
Kogers, ('aptain. at Ticonderoaa 112 

In charge at Mackinaw 82, (ili 

Uolette, Joseph, Sr., in the Brit- 
ish service 81 

Itolctte, Joseph. Jr '. 127 

Koseboom, English trader, ar- 
rested near Macninaw 1.5 

KoBcbootn, trader at Green Bay. 03 
Kos«er, J. T., Secretary of Ter- 

ritiiry I25 

Russell, Jeremiah, pioneer in St. 

Croix Valley loo, 112 

Becard, in 1K3'6 notices Lake Su- 

I>erior copper 7 

Saint Anthony Express, first pa- 

Iier beyond St. Paul ife 

Saint Anthony Falls. Suspension 

bri djie ov<-r i2fi 

Ooyernment millat 93, 91 

St. Croix ctiunty organized lit 

Court in nt 

Saint Croix river, origin of 

nam^ 42, 112 

l>u Luth first explorer of.... 112 

Pi'ine.-rs in Valley of ]12 

_ Early preachers in valley of. ll:l 

Saint Paul, origin of name 114 

Early Settlers of ]i4 

High water in 18■^^^ 121 

Fir»t execution for murder .. 124 
Effort to remove seat of gov- 

( rnment therefrom 127 

Saint Pierre, Captain, at Lake 

Superior 50 

At Lake Pepin .55, H5 

Commander at Mackinaw l!l 

At Fort La Reine (ID 

!■ N.W.Pennsylvania (io, (ji 

Visited by Washington 611 

Saskatchewan, first visited by 

French ,59 

Fort at 1. 80 

Schiller, versifies a Sioux chief's 

speech 67 

Scott, Dred, slave at Fort Snell- 

11? 97 

ocntt (leneral Winfield. suggests 

the name of Fort Snelling 163 

Selkirk. Earl, Thomas Douglas.. 87 
Semple, Governorof Selkirk set- 
tlement, killed.. 88 

Senecas defeated bv the French, 15 
Shea, J. Q., on failure to estab- 
lish Sioux mission 108 

Sherburne Moses, Judge 125 

t^hields. Gen. James, elected U. 

S. Senator . 128 

SibUy. Hon. H. H., at Stillwater 

convention 115 

Delegate to Congress from 



WT. . _ . TkOB 

Wisconsin Territory 116 

Elected delegate to Congress 122 

Sioux, origin of the word 1 

Peculiar language of ] 4 

Villages visited by Du Luth., 9 

Described by Cadillac 16 

Meet Accault ^nd Hennepin, 

19, 2. 1 

Of Mille Lacs 22 

Nicolas Perrot 29 

Described by Perrot 31 

Meaning of the word '.. 101 

Different bands of Ui4 

Warjiaytwawns 105 

Seeseetwawiis 105 

Mantanlaws 32, 44 

Sissetons 32 

Oujalesptntons 43^ 44 

Chief's speech to Frontenac. 88 

Chief's death at Montreal 38 

Chief visits Fort L'lluillier. 13 

In council with Le Sueur U 

Visited by Jesuits 51 

A foil to the Foxes 55 

Bands dcsciibed by Carver. .. 65 
Chief's speech described by 

Carver 67 

Language, Carver's views on 89 
Chief. Original Leve, Pike's 

friend 7.5, 81 

Formerly dwelt at Leech 

Lake 7s 

Sisseton murderer brought to 

Fort Snelling 92 

In council with Ojibways 94 

Sioux Delegation in A. D. 1824, 

go to Washington 95 

Delivered by Col Snelling... 99 

Executed by Ojibways 99 

Killed by OJibways, April, 

18.« ... 103 

Attack Lake Pokeguma band 

in 1811.. 110 

Are attacked m 1842 in 

Treaties of 1851 . . 123 

Attacked in St. Paul by Ojib- 

ways 125 

Simpson, early settler in St. Paul 114 

Slaves, African, in Minnesota 97 

Smith, C. K., first Secretary of 

Territory us ug 

Snelling, Col. Josiah, arrives at 

Fort Snelling 92 

Delivers Sioux assassins to 

Ojibways 99 

Death of lol 

W. Joseph, son of Colonel, 

career of 97 

Pasquinade on N. P. Willis'.!! 98 
Steele, Franklin, pioneer of St. 

Croix Valley 112, 113 

At Stillwater Convention! 

18W H5 

Stevens, Rev . J. D .iijfi 108 

Stillwater, battle between Sioux 

and Ojibways 103 

Founders of 113 

Land slide in 1852 .' ! ! 124 

Stratton, pioneer in St. Croix 
Valley 112, 113 



Stnart. Robert, at Mackinaw, in. 

fluence of jog 

Swiss emigrants, at Red River!!! 89 
Taliaferro. Maj. Lawrence, agent 

for the Sioux, notice of 91 

Letter to Cid. Levenworth.. 92 
Takes Indians to Washington 

A. D. 1824 ii5 

Tanner, John, stolen from his 

parents 88 

Tannery for Buffalo skins 46 48 

Taylor, Jessie B.. pioneer in St. 

CroiT Valley J12 

Joshua L !...! 118 

N. C. D., Siieaker House of 

Representatives 18.54 12H 

Spi'cch to Gov. Frontenac... 38 
Tegahkouita, Catherine, the Iro- 

rjuois virgin 17 

Terry, Hlij.ih. murdered by Sioux 

at Pembina ". 121 

Thorn p.son, David, geographer, 

N. VV. Co 78 

lonty. Henry, with DuLuth at 

Niagara 15 

Treaties of 1837 with Sioux and 

Ojitiways ll'. 

Tuttle, C \.. at Falls of St. Croix 112 
University of Minnesota created 122 

Van Cleve, Gen. H. P ii' 

Varennes, Pierre Gualtier, see 

Verendrye. 
Vercheres, in command at Green 

Bav 81 

Verendrye, Sieur, early life of .. . 58 
Expedition west of Lake Su- 
perior 58 

Return to Lake of the Woods 95 
Sieur. Jr., accompanies St. 

Pierre 59, 61 

Wahkautape, Sioux chief visits 

liC Sueur 43, 4i 

Wahmatah, Sioux chief 95 

Wait, L B Ill) 

Wakefleiri, John A 118 

Wales, W. W 127 

Washington visits St. Pierre...! 81I 
Welch. W. H. Chief Justice of 

Territory 125 

Wells, James, trader, married.!! 102 

At Lake Pepin 117 

Wilkin. Alexander, Secretary of 

Territ^iry ]24 

t'andidate for Congress ' 125 
Willianis<m, Re». T 8, M. D. 

early life 107 

Organizes church at Fort 

Snelling 108 

Missionary at Lac qui Parlo 

Kaposia 114 

Willis. N. P., lampoons Joseph 

Snelling 97 

Winnebagoes mentioned 40, 52 

Wisconsin River called Meschetz 

Obeda by La Salle 18 

Wolfe, General, death of 1 

Wood, trader among Sioux 78 

Yeiser. Captain at Fort Shelby.. 80 
Yuhazee, executed at Bt. Paul... 124 



IND/SX. 



545 



INDEX. 



OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, 



PAOB 

AdmisBion of the State 129 

Agricultural Building 147 

Austin, Horace, sketcH of 156 

Aldrich. Cyrus, sketch of 159 

Averill, John T-. sketch of 159 

Battle of Pittsburg Landing 133 

Fair Oaks 133 

Savage Station 133 

luka 134 

Corinth 134 

Gettysburg 137 

Biennial session of the Legisla- 
ture 140 

Bancroft, George, speech of 141 

Blind, Kducation of the 148 

Cavanaugh. James M., sketch of. 159 

Cavalry Companies 133 

Deaf and Dumb Institution 147 

Davis. C. K., sketch of 157 

Donnelly, Ignatius, sketch of 159 

Dunnell, Mark, M., sketch of..,, 159 

Kdi^'erton, A. J., sketch of 158 

Kignth Minnesota Regiment 137 

First State Legislature 129 

First steamboat on the Red River 

of the North 130 

First white person executed 130 

First Minnesota Regiment. . . . 181, 137 
Fifth Minnesota Regiment... 134, 137 
Fourth Minnesota Regiment 137 



Page 129 to 160. 

PAGE 

Fifth State Legislature 138 

Fillmore, ex-President, speech 

of 141 

Flag presentation 143 

Goraian, Willis A., sketch of 153 

Hubbard, Lucius F., sketch of. .. 157 

Insane Hospital at St- Peter 149 

Rochester 150 

King, Wm. S., sketch oE 159 

Miller, Stephen, sketch of 155 

Marshall, W. R., sketch of 156 

McMillan, S.J. R.j sketch of .... 158 

Minnesota in the civil war 131 

Normal School act 13U 

Northfield Bank, raid on 139 

Noyes, J. L. sketch of 149 

Norton, Daniel S., sketch of 158 

Page, Judge, impeachment of — 140 

PiUsburv, J. S., sketch of 157 

Phelps, Wm. W., sketch of 159 

Poehler, Henry, sketch of 160 

Railroad land grants 129 

Ramsey, Governor, tenders the 

services of his fellow-citizens 

to the President 131 

Religious instruction excluded 

from schools 14<!) 

Ramsey, Alexander, sketch of 151 

Rice, Henry M., sketch of 158 

(Second State Legislature 130 



PAGE 

State railroad bonds issued 130 

Capital, history of 141 

In flames 144 

Penitentiary 14 1 

University 14'> 

Faculty 147 

Campus and buildings 147 

Rettjrm School 150 

Normal Hcho<jls 151 

Second Minnesota Regiment.. 132. 137 

Sharpshooters 132 

Sioux Outbreak 135 

Seward, Wm. H., speech of 14'! 

School for the Feeble-minded.. U9 

Sibley, H. II.. sketch of 1.5a 

Swift. H. A., sketch of 155 

Shields, James, sketch of 15a 

Stearns. O. P., sketch of V<n 

Strait. Horace B., sketch of ir.'l 

Stewart. Jacob H.. ■Pkt-trli of . . .. 11,^ 

Third Minnesota Ue^nnu-iit l:i3 

The Rocky Mountain Lucust I'i'J 

Women al lowed to vote for 

school officers 139 

Wilkinson. Morton S., sketch of . InS 

Windom, William, sketch of 15rt 

Wilson, Eugene M., sketch of... 1^9 

Wasnburn, W. D.. sketch of 16 i 

Yorktown, siege of UJ 



INDEX. 



BTATB EDUCATION. 



PAOB 

Introduction 161, 162 

Colonial Period 163 

Education in 1787 164 

State Aid 164, 16ri 

Education in Minnesota 1C6 



Page 161 to 176. 

PAGE 

Boird of Regents 16<) 

Ijand Grant 167 

State University IfH 

Uelated System'. ItJli 

State School Fund 171 



PARE 

Loral Taxation 172 

(ir.-ided School System 172 

l'"qiial rights 174 

A Coramon foe 175 

Uesults hoped for 178 



35 



.Hfi 



ffrsTonr of fuweborn corxrr. 



INDEX. 



THB SIOUX MAS3A0BE OF 1862. 



AMack on the Upper Agency 186 

Attack on Fort Abercrombie 239 

Battle of Birch Coolie 249 

Wood Lake 249 

New Ulia .'....*.*.*. 2J7 

At Lower Agency Ferry...."! 221 

Near Glencoe 228 

Of Fort Ahercromljie 285 

Baker, Mrs.,flightof 195 

Byrnes, Lieut., with forty-seven 

men utarts from Minneapolis 

for Meeker and Kandiyohi 

counties 228 

Carver, Jonathan !."!"." 177 

Causes of irritation preceding 

the massacre 180 

Covin's Mrs , statement ....'.'.'..'. 209 
Chittenden's Captain, letter to 

the "New Haven Palladium".. 213 
Cox, E. Ht. .Julien, arrives to the 

relief of New Uhn 217 

Camp I'lelease, white prisoners 

brout;ht into 250 

Dodd, Capt. William B., death 

of 218 

Dead bodies are found and bur- 
ied in Meeker county 225 

Davis. Captain, ordered to the 

relief of Fort Abercrombie 235 

Expedition to Fort Leavenworth 319 
Fugitives on the wav to St. Peter 213 

Fight at Lake Hhetek 215 

Fiebt at the wind-mill at New 

Ulni 217 

Fort Kidgely. siege of * 222 

Forest City, troops arrive at.!!!'. 225 
Freeman, Capt.un, ordered to 

the relief of Fort Abercrombie 235 

Fort Abercrombie relieved 239 

Fortifications erected at Paynes- 

ville, Maine Prairie, St. Joseph, 



Page 177 to 256. 

and Sank Centre 131 

Galbraith, Major, statement of!! 18t 

Hennepin, Louis 177 

Detained by Indians!!.'!!!!!'! 177 
Henderson, Mrs., horrible death 



of. 



201 



Hayden s. Jlrs. Mary, statement. 2ii2 

Horan .s. Kearn. statement 202 

Husbands and fathers search for 

their lost families 

Harrin;;ti>n's M 

derings 

Hurd. Mrs 



weary wan- 



210 
211 
215 
231 



177 

178 



starts for the settle- 
ments with her naked children 

Hostilities in the Red Uiver Val- 
ley 

Indian tribes in Minnesota iii 

Indian treaty at St! Loiiis!!!!!!! „,-, 

Indian reservations 17H 

Indian life, sketch of !' 17H 

Indians, efforts to civilize ...!!!! 179 

Inkpaduta Massacre !! I8I 

Indians, thirty-eight hung at 

i\Iankato o.M 

Indians, annuity, paid !!!!!! 183 

Indian chiefs at church 188 

Indian officials changed !. ! 188 

Indians, large numbers of, ar- 
rive at Yellow Medicine 193 

Indians forcibly enter the ware 

house of Yellow Medicine 193 

Indian atrocities 2^)4 

InclKiiis iittack Colonel Sibley's 

caiupat Wood Lake 2Ji) 

Indian syjtipatlii/ers 2'il 

Jones'. .Servant faithful vigil..! 187 

Jones, Mr., the hrst victim 195 

Koch's Mrs., escape "15 

Little Crow, death of ..!!!!!!!! ! ! ix 
Statement by son of 258 



Mnrmuring3 of the impending 

storm ]9j 

Massacre liegins !!.!!!!!!!! v.\'t 

Massacre at the L».wer Agency.! Ii'l7 
Mas.sacre at the Oerman settlc- 

^mpnt 201 

JMassacre at Lake Shetek 215 

Mas.sacre extends into Dakota... 218 

iilassacre at Norway Lake 230 

Murder of .\mos Ifuggins 21li 

Marsh, ('apt. killed 2'1 

Memorial to the President 2.i2 

Nicollet county the scene of 

bloodshi'd 212 

New Ulm, citizens evacuate.!!!!! 2l(i 
Other Day, John, rescues whites. 2u'i 

Death rif , .- .^^i^ 

Prichette, Major, at Yeilow'liledl 
icine in 1.8:>7, holds a. council 

with the annuity Indians 1S2 

Prescott. Philander, murdered.. Iii8 

Patoile's escape 205 

Robert's. Louis, store attacked! Iii8 
Kedwood Kiver Agency attacked WJ 
Iiiggs. liev. S.I!., escape of, and 

otbert- 2**7 

IJetugees at St. Peter !!!!!!! 217 

Uescue of women prisoners by 

^ the Wapetou Si(ui< 182 

Spencer's Mrs., story J97 

Stronts', Capt.. party attacked.! 227 
rr.arting post at Big Stone Lake 
destroyed and the whites 

killed 214 

Thomas, Ualph. statement 219 

War dance at the Upper .\gency. 186 

U hiton's, Mrs 8t.atement 211 

Walia-ha surrenders and is fol- 
lowed by over 2,000 wairiors... 250 



■^-^o—- 



~^: 



<=-^ 



INDEX. 



547 



INDEX. 



HISTORY OP FBEEBOEN CODNTT. 



GENERAL HISTOBY. 



Area 

Assessors' returns... 

Bible society 

Centennial History 

Parker 

Coal, 



hy D. 



... -263 
... 331) 
... 333 
G. 

281-29'2 
267-2«S 
272 



Coal mining Company ■ • ■ -'' 

County Government ,ik1ih 

County seat contest Jlb-oin 



329 
263 
273 



C' op reports 
Drainage — . 

Karlv explorations ■■••■; ^'^ 

Early settlements and events 274-2/9 

Educational viq om 

General remarks .)RK_5fi7 

Geological structure 'OO ^^' 

Internal Revenue h'lhX'n 

Items.of Interest -ji^-Jj',;, 

Judicial 263 

Lakes 271 

Lime. 263 

Location 039 

Meteorological ■ • ■ ■ ■ • ■. a;; ,,o 

Names of officers and .■'oldiers 343-346 

Old Settlers' Association 292 m 

Patrons of Husbandry ^''271 

Peat ..■•■ 264-265 

Praine land 27-329 

Railroads ■ oocokr 

Soil and timber •i63 

Surface ' " ' ^.^^ 

Taxes 269 

The drift. 4«-346 

War record **•" 



CITY OF ALBERT LEA. 



377 
377 



Educational ., ;Ai Jnq 

Official record. . . .- %^^ 

Posi-o£Bces «9-*l" 

Statistical . iiA-Fil 

Village of Alden "" "1 . 

BANCROFT. 

Biographical 120-423 

EirTy settlers "5-41 , 

Embryotic villages. * ,i^ 

Location and description ..; -{la 

Matters of interest I,h 

Official record Wn i.)n 

Schools "9-tf' 

Soil "^ 



Alber Lea route •. 

Anti-horse thief association. 

Biographical 387 -4(L 

Cane growers ^' ' 

Cemeteries qrs-W) 

Creamery Company *» •*■ 

Descriptive .»||4™' 

Early settlers Slq?; 

Educational . ''' •^'■ 

Fraternal orders •■o??:,?! 

Government •••jjl^^j 

Kstriai::.::;-::: - 367-370 

Lea, Col. A. M 3hl-3b. 

Military..... ■■■• ■ifii-qfi: 

Necrologioal fjifl 

Periodicals VmVA 

Religious..... »™-|«5 

Ruble, Geo. b •■• ^t 

Taxes ^""•'''' 

ALBERT LEA TOWNSHIP. 

Biographical . 40^ 

i;arly events * 

Educational J^^ 

Location ■ Jin-4(U 

Town government «" *"* 

ALDKN. 

Biographical 

Descriptive 

Early settlement 



.412-414 
.... 407 
.407-108 



Associations 

Biocjraphical 

Early settlement. . . . 

Educational 

General description 
Items of interest — 

Official 

Religious 

Statistical 



.... 426 

427-428 
.423-424 
.... 427 
.... 423 
. .424-425 

425 

428 

. .425-426 



CARLSTON. 



Biographical 

Churches 

Description of 

Deceasea pioneers „ 

Early settlers ^^'fS, 

Schools *'*2 



432-434 
... 431 

429 
43l)-431 



Statistics . 



431 



FREEBORN . 

Biographical *'^ Iqi 

Descriptive -j^i 

Early settlers • ■ • ^;» 

Educational M"* "^^^ 

V reeborn village 



438 



432 



Government--.. 

Historical sketch ;i; Tqr 

Honored dead 435-436 

Matters of interest \ik Tm 

Reiigi".""* t,?::,I 



Statistics . 



.437-438 



FREEMAN. 

Biographical i«-449 

Early events iikJu 

Early settlers **^ , ,J 

Official.... *{» 

Pioneers deceasi il "^ 

Religious «° 

Schools "*" 

Statistics ,■•;•■■■•■'■■ 

Topography and location 



Biographical.... 

Early settlement *" 

Geneva villaiie *''^ 

Honored dead "' 

Manufacturing • *■''' 

Patrons of Husbandry 
Political 



Religious *^? 

Statistical *°i 

Schools «* 

HAYWAKD. 

Biographical ^''^"tljn 

Cemetery |™' 

Early settlement -.. *•;» 

Early events ■ • *''" 

Hay ward village... *3; 

Patrons of Husbandry 4Wi 

Political *™ 

Statistics j£' 

Schools *1 



445-446 
443 



. .554-458 
419 



HAIITLANU. 

Biographical 

Early settlers 

Eflucational . 

Hartland village 

Matters of interest 

Official records 

Statistics 

LONDON. 



Biographical 

Early settlers 

Educational 

Events of inte'-est.. 
Statistical 



.468-470 
.... 465 
.... 468 



452 
451 



.... 465 
. ... 466 
.... 467 



..473-474 

471 

473 

.. 472 
... 472 



MANCaESTER. 

Biographical ^^'^\ 

Early settlers • ^'Jl 

Farmers' Insurance Company. .. 4i8 

Honored dead..... ■}'» 

Matters of interest.. *'» 

Mediums of education *'» 

Manchester village 4(» 

Official organization *;^ 



Statistics 
Town name 



479 



MANSFIELD. 

Biographical 487 ■ 

Eai ly settlement 

Lutheran Church 

Matters of interest 

Political 

Post office 

Statistical 

Schools 

'Topography ■ • 

MOSCOW. 

Biographical ''^^'im 

Early settlement toi 

First death •.• ■ 

First store 

First mill 

Honored dead 

Moscow village 

Religious 

Sumner village 

Societies 



489 
434 

485 
485 
4S5 
485 
486 
486 
484 



494 
494 
494 
491 
493 
493 
494 
40.1 



548 



HT STORY OF FREEBORN COUNTY 



NUNPA. 

Business matters 502 

Bioftraphical '.'.'.'.'.'.'. isOS-SOS 

Cemeteries 502 

Events (if interest ]".'."!! 501 

Early settlers (ieneased . . . . .^ . . .' . 501 

Early settlement 4!i9 

Location anil topography 498 

Keligions 5(12 

Schools 5(^ 

Statistics v.'.'.'.'.'.'... 503 

Twin Jjake village 503 

Town organizatiin 501 

„. NEWRY. 

Biographical 51] 

Early settlement 509 

Educational 511 

Matters of interest ........... 510 

Relieious sn 

Statistical 510 

Town organization 510 



OAKLAND. 

Biographical 515-516 

Descriptive 512 

Early settlement 512 

Events of interest 513 

Official record.'. .'..'.'.'. 513 

Oakland village 514 

Kel i(fi»tus 514 

Statistics .'.','.'.. 514 

Schools !V.. 515 

PICKEREL LAK£. 

Armstrong village .519 

Biosraphieal 521-524 

First settlement .518 

Items "f iiit'-rest 519 

Indust'-ial enterprises 519 

Official record 519 

KeligiouB .520 

Statistics 520 

Schools 521 



BICELAND, 

Biographical 528-529 

Deceased 528 

Educaticmal 529 

Early days '.V.'.'.'^.'.'.'.'^' 526 

Items of interest., 526 

Political 527 

Statistical 527 

SHELL BOOR. 

Biographical .536-.54fl 

Early settlement .■>29 

Early settlers deceased .'. .5,'31 

Gordonsville village 535 

Location and topography 529 

Matters of intere-t ..'. 532 

Religion'* 533 

Statist cal !!.'.'.'.'!!...' .533 

Shell Rock village 534 

Sch(»ol8 53.5 




Minneapolis & St. Louis R'y. 



The Albert Lea Route" 

FOR ALL POINTS IN 

THE] <3-X_.0:F^I0XJS KTOIFLTlBai^'^A^EISa?. 



Close connections are made in Union depots both in Minneapolis and St. Paul with trains of the 
Northtim Pacific and St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, and St Paul & Duluth Railways for Uuluth, 
Brainerd. Fergus Falls. Moorhead, Crookston, St. Vincent, Winnipeg, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Bis- 
marck, Billings, and all points in 

MANITOBA 

—AND THE— 

Red River and Yellowstone River Valleys. 

THE DIEECT LINE TO 

CENTRAL IOWA AND SOUTHWESTERN POINTS 

Through traims are run between Minneapolis and Dee Moines, via ALBEBT LEA, connecting 
at Des Momes with the various roads centeriug there FOR SUCH POINTS AS 

Ottum-nra, Albia, Knoxville, Council Bluffs and Omaha. 

Two trains daily between St. Paul, Minneapolis and Chicago. Solid trains between Minneapolis 
and St. Louis. Running EXCLUSIVELY PULLMAN PALACE SLEEPING CAKS 
between St. Paul, Minneapolis and Chicago. 



TICI^ET 



are for sale via the "ALBERT LEA ROUTE," at all the principal ticket offices throughout 
the West and Northwest. 



TICKET OFFICES: 
MINNEAPOLIS: ST. PALL: 

UNION DEPOT, City Office TSo. 8 Washing'tone Ave. VNION DEPOT, 

City Off ice Cor. Third and Sibley Streets. 

C. H. HUDSON. SAM. F. BOYD, 

General Manager. Oen'I Ticket and PassAgt. 

J. A. McCONNELL, Trav. Agent. 

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN 



Sf ! 



U D 



, ] 



^THE 



f ' 




IS i- Ml 



RAILWAY COMPANY 

OPERATES 



1 TWO GREAT TRUNK LNES*- 



RUNNING 



NORTH AND WEST 

FROM 

ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS 

UNITING AT 

Forming the only line which reaches every part of the Red River 

Valley. It touches the Red River at three difFerert 

points and connects at either with 4,000 

miles of inland navigation, 

AND IS THE ONLY LINE REACflING THE FAMOUS DEVILS LAK E AND TURTLE MOUNTAIN REGIOM, 

It traverses a section nf ('(mntrv. wliifli oli'ers: 

TO THE FARMER 

A soil wliioh in richness and variety is unequaled. 

TO THE BUSINESS MAN 

An agricultund cruunuuity who have been blessed with a saocession of bountiful harvests. 

TO THE SPORTSMAN 

In its forests, on its prairies, in itn numberless lakes or streams an abundance of game, and fish 
of every variety. 

TO THE TOURIST 

Not only the most attractive Summer Kesort on the Continent— Lake Miniietonka~'"'* 
the matchless beauties of the famous Park Region. 



A. MANVEL, 



W. S. ALEXANDER, 



S. R STIMSON. 



H. C. DAVIS, 



Oeneral Manager. General Traffic Manager Ocn'l Snperintcndent. Ass't General Pasfenger Agent 



ST, zp^TJL, iMiinsritT. 



T lEi E] 



Northern Pacific Country, 



FROM THE 



Great Lakes to the Pacific, 



TRAVERSES 

The G-reat Wheat Belt, Glrazmg Range, 

and the Vast Gold and 

Silver Regions 

OF 

Minnesota, Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. 

The most attractive regions f(ir Dew settlement are unquestionahly tho grain and grazing lands alouy the Hue of the 
Northern Pacific railroad in Minnesota, Dakota. Montana, Idaho, Orewon and Washington Territory. No Recti on is 
settling so rapidly. None offers such advantages to the farmer and stock raiser. The Northern Pacific Kailroad com- 
pany now offers for f-ale 

4,000,000 Acres of the Mcst Productive Wheat Lands 

la the world, adjacent t(» its completed road in Dakota and Mianesota, which lands are now ready for the plow. No 
failure of crops to apprehend. Average yield of twenty-two bushels of whe^t to the acre in Dakota last year. 
Twenty-five to thirty bushels of wheat not an exceptional crop. No agricultural industry is more profitable than wheat 
farming wpon these rich and roiling plains. The couatrv is well watered. Plenty of timber for domestic purposes. 
Low f reigiit rates on farm products and settlers' household '^oods. 



T^T5 TOT? OTI' T A ^T^^ East of the Missouri Itiver, in Dakota and Minnesota, $4 per acre, with a rebate 
4^XwXU Jj W^ .UAXN UQ, of 25 percent, for acreage cultivated within two years from purchase. West of the 
Mirisouri Iliver, along its completed road in Western Dakota and Montana, and in the beautiful valley of the Yellow- 
stone, the company offers a large area of fine farming lands at the government price of $2.r)l) per acre (with a charge of 10 
cents per acre to cover cost of surveying, cfec.) admirably adapted for stock raising and general farming purposes. The 
Northern Pacific is now completed and in operation to a point niu'^ty miles west of Miles City, on the Yellowstone 
River in Montana, and will soon be opened 2iK' miles further west. Settlers who go into this new region will have the 
advantage of a choice of locations and lands, and of the rapid rise in the value of property. The climate of the Pacific 
country is bracing and healthful. 



IN THE MOUNTAIN REGION OF MONTANA 

Soon to be traversed by the road there are many lovely and fertile valleys awaiting settlement, and va-it wealth in 
Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron offers fine openings in every kind of mining enterprise. Upon the Pacific slope the 
Northern Pacific railroad is now in operation from Puget Sound to Pen d'Oreille Lake in Northern Ldaho. 10,000,00- 
acres of magnificent timber and wheat lands of unparalleled fertility in Oregon and Washington Territory are offered 
for sale by the company in the immediate vicinity of rail and water transportation at the rate of $2 bl) per acre. 

PACIFIC COAST LANDS. 

B'or information relating to the lands of the company west of the Rocky Mountains, address J. H. Houuhton. Genera 
Land Agent. New Tacoma, W. T.or Paul. Sohulze, General Immigration Agent, Portland, Oregon, or A. S. Stokes, Geu 
eral Agent, vt'Z Clark street, Chicago. 

THE NORTHERN PACIFIC COUNTRY, 

From Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean, has unsurpassed attractions to the tourist. It offering an unrivalled rield for 
tishinf? and hunting. For information and reduced rates for round-trip tourist and excursion tickets, address G. K. 
Barnes, General Passenger and Ticket Agent, St. Paul, Minn. H. Haih-t, General Manager. .1. M. Hannaford, General 
Freight Agent. G. K. Barnes, G. P. & T. A., St. Paul, Minnesota. 

MINNESOTA. DAKOTA, AND MONTANA LANDS. 

For land seekers' and colonists' rates of fare and freight, and in(iuirios relating to movements of colonists, and with 
reference to traveling and land agencies, address P. B. Groat, General Immigration Agent. 

For all information referring to location, description, and prices of the millions of acres of cheap lands for sale by 
this company, and for maps and descriptive publication-* relating thereto, address H. M. Newport. General Land Agent. 



.aN'^' 



y 



,0 ■ 



'J- V 



V 



A^^' 




